After a few days staying with family it was time to get on the road again. We left Callian with a plan to go to Port Grimaud as it had a reputation of a “little Venice”. When we got to the Aire we found it no longer existed. We set off for the next one on our list, Saint-Tropez,. We had a nice drive through the town but couldn’t locate the Aire. The third Aire on our list, Ramatuelle, was a little further down the coast and finally! Somewhere to stay for the night.
After a quick cup of tea, and the pastry Donald bought at the boulangerie, we took a stroll along the beach. After all the wind and rain of the previous few days, the beach was covered in masses of seaweed.
Wandering along we came upon a charming beach bar. Perfect timing to enjoy the sunset sipping a glass of wine. It was such a lovely place we ended up having dinner there too.
Gentle stroll back to the van and an early night as we had plans to visit Port Grimaud the next day.
The next morning we set off bright and early. Well, early by Donald’s standards, which means anytime after 9am and sometime before midday!
Port Grimaud lived up to it’s reputation as a “little Venice”. That is, if you substituted gondolas for 30 foot yachts moored outside your front door!
We found a family run restaurant called Le 415 and sat in the sun having a leisurely lunch. It was lovely. Especially considering that we weren’t quite sure of our translation of the menu but figured anything with L’Americaine probably meant the French equivalent of Big Mac and Fries (it doesn’t).
Razor backs, switch backs or hair pin bends, take your pick. The sign saying nothing longer than 8 meters should have been a hint. Still, I enjoyed the drive to Cavalière. Karen, not so much but then I was the one doing the driving. Karen was muttering something about steep inclines, single track with blind corners on loose gravel and sheer drops. I was too busy enjoying the scenery and wondering what it would be like riding a motorbike here.
We stopped at the top and what an amazing view out to the Mediterranean.
Lovely beach at Cavalière and we were staying at an Aire just a stones throw from it. Grabbed the chairs and spent the day lazing on the beach. We positioned ourselves next to the sailing school and one of their catamarans acted as a nice wind break. Wind was just a little bit too strong to take the paddle boards out.
This was the most expensive Aire we have stayed at so far on this trip at €25 Euros per night. Probably due to it’s location, which was stunning.
We were planning to stay at Le Lavandou for a couple of nights as there are a lot of restaurants next to a lovely golden sand beach and marina. Unfortunately, being out of season, the nearest campsites were closed and there were no Aires.
Motorhomes are allowed to park on the road out of season but there were only a couple of places that we found suitable and these were already taken.
So we spent the day there. Had lunch and then continued on to Toulon.
We drove through Toulon to Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer, which is at just across the port. The Aire here was quite small and very busy. I can see why. It is a short walk to a lovely sandy beach.
We headed straight there and sat sipping a cold beer whilst watching the sun set behind the mountains.
The following day the sun was bright and warm. We took our chairs and headed to the beach. Had lovely lazy day with a nice long French style lunch over a bottle of Rose.
Callian to Ramatuelle
Mileage – 56
Route – A8
Toll – €8/£6.30
Ramatuelle 2 Aire – €7.32/£6.30
Ramatuelle to Cavalière via Port Grimaud
Mileage – 24
Route – D27
Cavalière Parking €25/£21.50 per night with EHU
Cavalière to Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer
Mileage – 36
Route – D98
Free Parking at an Aire
