Karryll Travels

Our last day promised to be a long one, but we decided not to try for Saint Tropez and the lavender fields which were now past flowering in late August. We then planned on curtailing our ride at Cannes and spending more time in Antibes on the way back.

Our third and most adventuresome day dawned bright and sunny, promising the heat of prior days. As we rode along the narrow, winding ancient Route of Napoleon, it actually became increasingly cooler. When we stopped for coffee in Castellane — the last village before entering the Gorge de Verdon — it began raining.

Getting an early start, we rode through what might be called the “suburbs” of Nice to the edge of the sea. The Promenade des Anglais leads to the Corniche outside of Nice, following the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels) nearly all the way to Monaco. Despite Monday morning commuters, which included hundreds of scooters, it was thrilling to ride almost at the water’s edge of that impossibly blue sea.

What’s that old saw about adventure? Oh yeah, it’s “not everything about an adventure is necessarily good.” We all want the thrills of an adventure, but not the spills, actual or figurative. So it was with my week-long scooter tour of the French Riviera.