Up and at 'em about 7:30 and on our way by 9. We were sorry to leave the unusually bucolic Au Bien Être Hotel in Villecroze. The rooms were spotless, our adjoining patios were really extensions of our very private rooms and what more can we say about our gourmet dinner last night! What a great place to spend a week relaxing. Too bad we don't have that kind of time!
We were here in the hills of Provence to see Tourtour affectionately known as "the village in the sky." There, at 635 meters, the views down the valleys and over to the Luberon Mountains are outstanding. We spent some time in the open piazza, had coffee and croque-monsieurs, did some shopping for provisions and also for ourselves and hopped back into the car for the trek down to the autoroute. Winnie, unfortunately, had some trouble maneuvering the many roundabouts......or was it operator? We were 4 hours from Camogli, Italy and wanted to get there by 4 so off we went!
Said "au revoir" to France about 12:30 and then traveled the old fashioned way, by map! Winnie has a chip for Ireland and one for France but none for Italy!! So we said "au revoir" to Winnie also. We did stop for a picnic at a rest area above Monaco. Bea commented, " No wonder Grace Kelly left the US!" We saluted our last "piqué-nique francais" with more fabulous French bread and cheese, sliced tomatoes and salami. This time, thanks to Bea, we also had gherkins and petite onions, olives and French mustard!
For the most part we did A-OK with our Michelin Map of Italy. The auto-strada along the both Rivieras, French and Italian, is elevated or tunneled! How did the inhabitants of these towns ever go anywhere?By traversing the mountains we guessed!
We got to Camogli pretty easily but then had to maneuver a one way street, unload ,get the car to the private parking lot and then descend a steep stone stairway to the hotel entrance. This was some feat! Hotel Casmona is right on the beach. Each room has huge floor-to- ceiling windows so the breeze and the roar of the waves is always present.
We met on the hotel patio at 6:30 to drink some more of the French wine we'd bought and then proceeded to Ristorante Don Paulo where we had reservations for 7:30. It was the first evening we had not eaten "al fresco" but the restaurant could accommodate only inside even with reservations! We met Therese, John G's favorite waitress, ordered some more wine and commenced to peruse the menu. Our waitress spoke no English or French so we felt a little disadvantaged!! However, we did fine ordering our food. I ordered curled octopus with rocket (arugula), Bea had anchovies with tomatoes, Tom had a delicious, warm salad and the three of us had frito misto. Peter opted for the trenette pesto and risotto marinara. All was very tasty.
After dinner we strolled along the promenade, listening to the rolling waves, people-watching, even stopping for a cappuccino. Back at Hotel Casmona, we opted to continue listening to the rolling waves from our beds! Decided to meet the next morning for an early breakfast, then walk around Camogli and take some photos with Simone Schiaffino before heading to Tuscany to meet the rest of the Arrows at our villa in Foiana Della Chiana.
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