June 2009

A few days away for Elsa's birthday. Elsa was six months pregnant at the the time, so we decided that rather than fly to the south of France, we'd take the Eurostar to Paris, spend a night there, then jump on the TGV down to the Marseilles and explore the Cote d'Azur from there.

Highlights were the secluded beach with little fort near our hotel in Juan-les-pins, having lunch at the Cafe de Paris in Monaco on Elsa's birthday, and a magic day driving from Nice to Gourdon via Biot and Grasse.

All the places we visited were spectaculor, but Gourdon will always have a special place in our hearts. From Grasse you drive up an insane mountain pass which continues beyond all expectation and ends up at a stone village at the summit. There's a gem of a boulangerie there with delights I've consider making the 1500km round trip from London for - especially the caneles. Mmmm...