Roadtrip Update: Cote d’Azur

June 5th, 2011 | Rachel

After we had our fill of wine in Bordeaux (if that is even possible), Steve and I drove east to the Mediterranean coast.  We stopped for one night in the adorable, medieval town of Avignon.  We didn’t have a hotel reservation before we arrived, so I picked a hotel in my Lonely Planet book, and we made several unsuccessful attempts to navigate the narrow, one-way streets of the old city.  Ultimately we parked at the parking deck in the center of town and walked to the hotel, which was full.  Ah, c’est la vie.

The next day we drove to Cannes, found a hotel for two nights, and picked up the Ducati Steve reserved.  Wanting to make the most of our 48 hours with the bike, we immediately set off on the Rue de Napoleon toward Castillon.

Castillon

For our second day with the Ducati, we rode south on the coastal road to St. Tropez.

Passing through St. Raphael

Red cliffs of Massif de l’Esterel

Cove on the drive from St. Tropez to Cannes

We made it back to Cannes in time for the sunset that night.

Sunset in Cannes

We were sad to return the motorcycle on the third day, but we drove to Nice afterward and spent the afternoon on the beach, so the day wasn’t a total loss.

Pebble beach in Nice

The plan was to drive to Lyon next, but we stayed in Nice too long and only made it as far as Aix-en-Provence.  The next morning we drove to Paris, stopping for an early dinner in Dijon.

Dijon was full of friendly, quirky people, including several bachelors and bachelorettes dressed up in odd costumes (one bride was dressed as a surgeon super hero, two separate grooms were dressed in drag).  We also stocked up on mustard.

Dijon

Popular square in Dijon

It was an eight-hour drive from Aix-en-Provence to Paris, but Dijon was the perfect pit stop.  Now, its just two nights left in Paris and then time to return home :-/

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