Archive for the ‘Around Nice’ Category
July 21st, 2009 | 
Author: This weekend the villagers of Breil-sur-Roya had a ball re-enacting an event from their history in which the populace rose up against the oppressive local nobility. The precipitating event was the so-called “droit de cuissage” in which the governing ruler could sleep with any bride on her wedding night. Even though there is no documented instance of this alleged “right” ever being exercised, the Breillois got mad all over again on Sunday! There was the ringleader of the opposition petitioning the Count of Ventimiglia to hold the offending nobles accountable for their outrage. There was the demure bride, sitting sidesaddle as the Count took her under his protection. Then there was lots of commotion as the rebels pursued the noblemen who were captured, escaped, and captured again. Eventually all was forgiven but not before everyone had a chance to get photographed in their meticulously designed medieval fashions.
A Stacada is the name of this medieval show and it’s only staged every four years. For more, see the following video:
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In March 1209 (that’s right 1209) Count Alphonse II of Provence gave the little “perched village” of Biot to the rich and powerful Knights Templar and Biot has finally got around to celebrating the matter. On March 27, 28 and 29 the whole town will turn out to commemorate this event in an exciting program that includes, pageants, costumes, reenactments and probably a lot of really good food (I’m just guessing).
The legendary and mysterious Knights Templar amassed a stupendous fortune (kind of like AIG executives) that provoked such an outpouring of greed and envy that King Philippe confiscated their entire holdings in 1312. Many of the Knights were arrested, tortured and burned at the stake. That will probably not be reenacted later this month but it should be a good time anyway.
See the Biot municipal website to get programs. Find out more about Biot here.
Not exactly in Nice but just across the Var river that separates Nice from St Laurent du Var is an ornithological reserve and protected nature park. Called the “Estuaire du Var” or “Petit Camargue”, this little piece of marshland at the Var estuary provides sanctuary to some 270 bird species!
I didn’t see quite that variety today; it was more like 270 birds. Still, the smell of fresh water and reed-lined river banks were an abrupt change from the Baie des Anges. I did spot some impressive herons grouped on a sand bar in the middle of the river at it rushed toward the sea and two enormous white swans. Cormorants, terns and gulls were also plentiful. There were a few guys there with serious lenses so I assume that there were rarer birds on site to make their investment worthwhile.
A wooden walkway runs along the banks and a half-dozen signs explain the bird life. Apparently, the reserve is on one of the major migratory routes that run from Africa to parts north. There are also nesting birds but the signs are unclear about who’s nesting and who’s travelling on.
The ornithological reserve must be in one of the world’s least welcoming places. It’s sandwiched between Cap3000, the giant shopping centre, and Terminal 2 of the Nice Airport. Planes roaring off the runway every 10 minutes seemed not to trouble the birds in the least. Nor did I see any flying into the jets to see what was going on in the engines. We have very smart birds on the French Riviera, not like those dumb Hudson twits!
Even when you live in what is arguable the most heavenly place in Europe, sometimes you just gotta getaway. And so we took a little break this week in the Var, a region I don’t know terribly well. OK, I visited St Tropez once about five years ago as part of a guidebook update but, as usual, was too frazzled to enjoy it. This time we did.
Just heading aimlessly west, we found ourselves in a little village called La Plan de la Tour (le what de la what?). It’s a tiny stone village buried in the Maures mountains inland from the Golfe de Saint Tropez. We headed to the tourist office and started calling around for accommodation. What luck! We settled on La Bergerie a couple of kilometres outside the village. It’s a typical mas de Provence with a sprawling terrain that includes a swimming pool, vineyards, boules court and outdoor terrace. The room was cheery and the Carantas couldn’t have been more welcoming. This delightful, outgoing couple provided a wealth of local info and conjured up amazing breakfasts.
St Tropez is, as always, an island of pastel houses and boutiques amid an ocean of cars. For a midweek afternoon in April, the traffic getting into and out of town was truly stupifying. I can only imagine the summer gridlock and imagining it is as close as we intend to get to St Tropez in the summer.
It wasn’t really beach weather but I really wanted to check out Pamplonne, St Tropez’s premier beach. It’s 5km of sand curving around a gentle bay with the mountains in the distance. The famous beach hangouts were just barely getting started so we were able to appreciate the silence broken only by wind and waves.
The region surprised me by its rusticity and lack of development. It’s not at all like the Nice region with its urban sprawl. There, you can drive for miles and see little but parasol pines and vineyards–lots of vineyards!
Other spots we were most impressed with include Gessin and Grimaud, two little mountain villages where the narrow streets are festooned with flowers and plants.
We could have used some restaurant advice though. In Plan de la Tour we ate only moderately well and it was quite expensive. Sainte-Maxime was little better. The food was OK but that’s all.