Last leg

We've decided to shorten down our trip, since Mark was getting bored of constant cycling/camping therefore we agreed to finish our trip at Saint-Tropez. As we were approaching the highway, leading to Saint-Tropez, we hit a wall of traffic and instead of fighting it we decided to divert inland toward Toulon, thus completely bypassing a small peninsula, where Saint-Tropez is located.

After about 35 km of cycling we came upon a nice campground with an amazing swimming pool. Once we pitched our tent we decided to cool down in a pool, but to our amazement we were told that North-American style swim shorts are not allowed in the swimming pool. We were asked to buy Speedo style swim wear at a store near by. Not thrilled with that we took down our tent and moved on toward Hyeres, which was the longest cycling distance we've covered, or about 55 km in a single day. At Hyeres we caught a local train to Toulon, and from there a night train to Paris.

This was the last leg of our trip.

On the way to Bormes-les-Mimosas campsite

On the train to Toulon

Last leg at Hyeres

Actual distance covered

French boarder crossing

Italian side boarder crossing 

Sainte-Maxime

Our next leg from Cannes was to Sainte-Maxime which was a pleasant ride out in the hot sun. We were rewarded with a stay in a beautiful campground with a swimming pool and very close to the beach.

Cannes

The ride to Cannes was beautiful with rolling hills and sandy beaches. Once we hit the city the traffic became unbearable and beaches very crowded. We did enjoy wide and safe biking paths along the ocean and if we did have to go on the road the drivers were very courteous toward our "caravan"

Wide cycling paths

To find a camp site we had to cycle pass Cannes and find a nice pad in Theolu-sur-Mer, which is about 3km from Cannes

Back to Nice

From Nice to Cannes. (32 Km)

After spending 4 days in Menton and making few short sight seeing trips to Monaco and Saint-Agnes we decided to head back to Nice. There seems to be no camp grounds along the Mediterranean shore between Menton and Nice and on Saturday we took a train back to Nice, instead of cycling the same route again. Local trains take bikes on board for free which was very convinient for us. Once in Nice we biked around the city and went to the old part of town full of small restaurants. After having a good night rest in Nice we started for Antibes hoping to camp there. As we approached Antibes my bike computer showed only 18 km so we headed on to Cannes. Once we passed the ritzy-glitzy Cannes we were able to book a last spot in a camp ground close to the ocean, on the outskirts of Cannes. In the evening we went to a beach close by and later on we are going to check out Cannes.


P.S. To my amazement the beaches and water, in Nice or Menton, were not as nice as I was hoping for. The beaches are very rocky and the water is not very warm, but as we went through Antibes and Cannes we started to see some nice sandy beaches. Surprisingly the water is not very warm at all even though the weather even in the winter time stays about 10C.

Sainte Agnes

Today we decided to take a bus to see a village called Sainte Agnes The transit system in France is excellent and the fairs are cheap. After paying 1 euro each we took a bus up to an extremely steep mountain to see this unique village. After a 40 minutes bus ride up a very, very steep hill we were glad we did not take our bikes. The pictures worth a thousand words.

Sainte-Agnese

From Nice to Menton

After having a good night's sleep in Nice, we re-assembled our bikes and hit the road.  We cycled through Monaco, Monte Carlo and arrived in Menton in the  late afternoon.  Mark had a flat tire in Monte Carlo and we were changing it beside some high priced vehicle. Many people stopped by to take a picture, but I assume they were looking at the car and not us changing the tire. Once in Menton, we went up a steep hill to get to the camp, but found a "FULL" sign on the gate.  After further investigation, we figured out that it was full to camper vans, and to our relief, we got a spot overlooking the ocean and the old city of Menton.  After pitching the tent, we went around the city, which was full of tourists speaking Italian since we were close to the Italian border.

Getting there

After almost 10 hour flight and then 1 hour 30 minute mad rush from the airport to the train station, we finally made to Nice, after spending another 6 hours on a high speed train from Paris to Nice. We were very tight for time getting on the train in Paris and if we did not take a cab in Charles De Gaulle we would have missed our train for sure.  The train ride was picturesque and very smooth.  The streets of many small beach towns on the way to Nice were deserted for some strange reasons but as we were getting close to Nice we started to see some signs of nightlife.  Once we checked into our hotel, which was a short but awkward walk (with our bike boxes!) from the train station, we went for a short walk. Tomorrow we are going to put our bikes together and tour around the city.