Saturday 17th May
The weather had started off quite nice but slowly went down hill. We had accepted an invitation to Clare and Martyn’s house in Montauroux where Neil and Debbie would also be in attendance for 7 pm. We decided that we would leave La Colle a little bit early and stop in Grasse on the way.
In Grasse we could both have a drink and keep on looking for a present for Madeleine and Tom’s 50th anniversary. We drove and parked in an underground car park smack in the middle of the old town of Grasse. We emerged into a square surrounded by Arab men sitting around drinking (presumably not alcohol). The rain had restarted and we decided to go up hill and found ourselves facing a waterfall underneath a walkway.
We continued wandering fairly aimlessly and found ourselves in the Place de la Poissonnerie. Maggi looked in at a pottery shop and we entered to look for this damned present. I’m pleased to say we found an interesting looking bowl that hopefully Madeleine will also like.
After our success we climbed a bit higher and stopped in the first bar we found open called Le Secret. We broke the ice and became their first customer. The place had an odd atmosphere with large brightly coloured portraits, which I assumed were famous people, although I didn’t recognise any of them. The artist had a studio nearby.
We arrived at Clare and Martyn’s house exactly on time with two tarts we had bought at Grande Fraiche and a bottle of sweet wine to accompany the puddings.
We stood around in the kitchen chatting for awhile and were then ushered outside to a new seating area they had created at the side of the house. Debbie and Neal had received an invitation for the same time but didn’t arrive until 25 minutes later. In the meantime we ate most of the blinis and crisps, which made up the appetiser.
The weather had remained cool all day with the rain and I cheered up when the invitation arrived to go inside for our dinner. Clare had made a mix roasted vegetables and a chunk of tuna steak. Nothing exciting but all tasted fine.
The conversation proceeded very pleasantly but without any excitement. I didn’t feel restricted by their chatter but I certainly didn’t feel inspired. All the people around the table are intelligent and very capable, but an air of conformity and correctness makes the atmosphere a little stifling. No one looks to lighten things we all remain serious and talk about serious things.
We left and Maggi drove back with a little trepidation, slower than I would have liked, but very safely.
18th May Rose Festival and walk to the coast
Maggi created a picnic and we headed off to walk to Villeneuve-Loubet via the Rose Festival in La Colle. Whenever La Colle has a festival day the village heaves with people. Walking down Ave. Clemenceau through the centre requires a lot of weaving back and forth. Plenty of stalls sold plants and flowers, but face painting entertained the kids, entrepreneurs offered food to eat and a whole variety of artisan offerings lined the road.
We left the village and headed down to the banks of the River Loup which we followed all the way to Villeneuve-Loubet. A nice sunny day makes this a charming walk with the river running beside you and the tall cliffs above looking down on our temporary existence. At one point the path becomes very narrow and close to the walls of the gorge. I feel pleased that I can climb up, down and around the natural obstacles. Hopefully I can remain able to continue to along such a path with dexterity for a long time to come.
When the gorge opened out we stopped for our picnic at a bench in the shade, just beside a stables with a couple of horse riding circles for the young girls to practice their skills.
We stopped at the village of Villeneuve-Loubet for a coffee and Maggi had a pastry which she didn’t like. We carried on after our short break and headed on down through the park beside the Loup. I thought we could cut off to the left rather than walking all the way down to the coast, but I was wrong. Once we crossed into the park area we had only one exit and that was the coast.
This last section of the walk seemed to stretch on just a bit too long. The path takes you beside the Hippodrome. To return to Cagnes-Sur-Mer station where we can catch the bus means you have to walk around three sides of the Hippodrome, which was much more than we wanted to after already tramping for more than 5 miles.
We eventually arrived at the station and amazingly our 655 bus stood there accepting passengers and we departed a couple of minutes later.
At home we both had a break and then Arsenal came on to play Newcastle at the Emirates. Newcastle played the better in the first half and should have been ahead except that Raya made 3 wonderful saves. In the second half the Gunners played much better and Rice scored an excellent goal. Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners. Not a great game from anyone’s point of view. The win guarantees Arsenal Champions League football next year and makes certain a second place in the league for the 3rd year running.