MIles: 870/270
Coordinates: 43° 6' 26.37", +5° 56' 29.56" (Toulon)
As the autoroute du soleil gave way to the autoroute provencale lush forests, plains and rivers were substituted by craggy hills and mountains, pine forests and dramatic hilltop villages & medieval castles. Once you leave Aix-en-Provence behind going south, you know that you enter Med-country; it smells, sounds and feels like all the places that are washed by it. It smells of sun-burned earth and vapourised seawater, it is steeped in the sound of the cicadas that fry under the blistering heat - they are actually the mascot of the Cote...in other words it feels like home.
Toulon itself is a very interesting city and worth a day's visit. A naval base and chantier/shipyard of old, has been reinvented by the French as a popular/affordable seaside resort. The skyline by the huge harbour(s) -which is still a host to anything that floats -from fishing boats to aircraft carriers- is dominated by white high-rises that must be some sort of state-built holiday homes. Having said that, the town is very well looked-after and does not feel at all like its best days are past it.
Our hotel for the night proved to be the best so-far, although 'safe parking' was a bit tricky...
Romanella?
Well, this is the name of the pizza we ordered at 9.10pm at the world famous Pizza Litto (so in demand that they ran out of dough at 9.30pm). After two failed attempts to produce an intact pizza, the proud owner finally put us out of our misery at 10.30pm by giving us a half-burned Romanella with a hole in the middle (which stuck to the wood-fired oven malheuresement) and another unspecified one that would never be delivered to its rightful owner. Vraiement desolé!
In that long hour or so, we learnt the intricacies of the pizza business. The less you know the better it is, so 'nough said.
Well, this is the name of the pizza we ordered at 9.10pm at the world famous Pizza Litto (so in demand that they ran out of dough at 9.30pm). After two failed attempts to produce an intact pizza, the proud owner finally put us out of our misery at 10.30pm by giving us a half-burned Romanella with a hole in the middle (which stuck to the wood-fired oven malheuresement) and another unspecified one that would never be delivered to its rightful owner. Vraiement desolé!
In that long hour or so, we learnt the intricacies of the pizza business. The less you know the better it is, so 'nough said.
Bizzare fact about roadtrips
As we have confirmed on numerous occasions, every time a car (on a roadtrip - it doesn't apply to ordinary vehicles) passes under a bridge that crosses a highway, a bike is halfway on that said bridge. Fact. Conflicting worlds:
Christiano Ronaldo was enjoying the good life at Toulon (obviously as a stop-over to Nice and Monaco)
On this bombshell (as Mr Clarkson likes to say) we bid you good night. Á demain!
I see your car wasn't only parked at the hotel, it was shrink-wrapped! I guess it doesn't get any safer than that.
ReplyDeletewell said! as long you managed to put it in unscathed (and close the door) it was all good. Fingers crossed for tonight; the car was valeted away at Cannes..
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