The next morning we were not in a rush and were able to enjoy the large breakfast spread provided by hotel Bellini. But after our one night in the over used and maybe under appreciated city of Naples, we were a bit over-traveled already and about to deal with EasyJet.
We flew delayed over to Milan but it was ok because our connection was delayed. Then we almost missed our flight to Toulouse because EasyJet updated the screen at the airport, but not the application on our phones. When I went back to look at the screen, I found it said now boarding and it was flashing! So we raced to the terminal only to find that the flight was still going to be delayed by another half an hour. When we arrived in Toulouse the door opened as we exited the arrivals area and Benoit was standing right there smiling.
We went directly to their beautifully appointed home in Beaupuy, to have dinner and spend the evening. Benoit made prawns on the grill, along with Nadine’s ratatouille and bread.
It was fantastic to be back together again. We sat outside that night, enjoying pastis and wine.
On Saturday we had our big 12 K walk on the Epicurean Trail. This was the 9th annual event that was setup with the help of Nadine’s son Roman and the company he owns. We met their friends, Mark and Veronica, who they would be going with on a government backed ‘thermal cure’ near Sète for 3 weeks!, the week after we leave. They were very nice. The walk was interrupted a few times along the route, with temporary stations that were setup with wine samples and small appetizer bites.
That night, we had dinner at their place with canard out of a can, which we’ve had before there and it was again excellent.
On Sunday, we got to see Matilda and Etienne and their children Zoe and Lou. Matilda’s parents also came and we had a couple games of boules on the court Benoit had made in their yard. Her dad Gabriel was an expert at hitting boules on the fly. That night Frank came over and we met his new bride Sandra and her four-year-old girl Lindsey. They met at Orange, the cell provider company they both work for. While we are sad to not see Frank’s first wife Jennifer their daughter Elenna, who we had met a couple times in the past, we can understand how hearts can move in different directions and we are happy that Frank seems very happy and Sandra seems really wonderful.
Saintes-Marie de La Mer
On Monday, we got back on the road in Benoit’s Tesla Model3. They planned our picnic lunch off the highway wayside stop on our way to Saintes-Marie de La mer. There we checked into the Hotel Les Palmiers for a one night stay. That afternoon we took a boat tour of the Camargue (Les Quatre Maries II) to see bulls and horses in the wild. Afterwards we climbed to the top of the church there. Literally climbing onto the rooftop tiles. Can’t believe Randi did this. Went out to dinner in town at La Bouvine for paella and walked along the beach, bare feet on the earth, before bed.
Bandol
The next morning we walked a little in Saintes-Marie before driving towards Bandol. We again planned a picnic lunch at a wayside rest.
We stopped at the InterMache and picked up a few groceries before checking into our Airbnb apartment there in Bandol. We really liked the apartment with multiple patios and a jacuzzi hot tub. We stayed there for dinner and wine that night at the apartment.
The next morning we drove to Cassis to hike the calanques. More specifically we hiked the Calanque de Port-Miou. It was ‘cool and tranquil’ according to Benoit …but with uneven slippery rock screaming for a possible long descent. Unfortunately I think we cut the hike shorter than they may have wanted but after a couple small slips we started worrying about all the days of travel and walking we still had ahead of us. Found a hidden spot for a picnic lunch on the rocks.
Walked through Cassis and had ice cream. Dinner in Bandol, on the port at a restaurant called ‘Auberge Du Port’. I had boulebaisse which was amazing.
Next day we went to Sanary-sur-Mer. Took a boat to the island Ile Des Embiez. One of the most beautiful islands ever and developed minimally by the pastis giant Paul Richard. This made the place even more magical to me and certainly to Benoit :)
That night we went into Bandol town looking for moules and frites and ended up at the same excellent restaurant having ‘Moules maines de bouchot et fites maison’.
Nice
We left our excellent Airbnb in Bandol to drive to the old city center of Nice. We walked the town and ate lunch at Lou Gese.
Drove to our promotel. Nadine did Randi’s hair. We walked to Lou Castelet for excellent dinner.
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