A day trip to France

With Sue back home, last Monday we headed out on what we thought was just a trip to Menton, across the border in France. It is a popular destination as, apart from being very attractive, prices for some goods are cheaper than in Italy. But the trip turned out to be more about the local Ligurian hill towns as we took a winding route north, then west and back down to the coast again at Ventimillia, the Italian border town.

The day started inauspiciously enough with a huge thunder and lightning show with torrential rain. Only the third time it had rained in the month we have now been here. So after a delayed start we headed off down our track with frequent stops to remove rocks that had rolled into it. Our first port of call was Cerianna, the hill town we had spotted from the ridge-line a couple of weeks back when Vicki turned her ankle. It lived up to our image of it, yet another beautiful stone medieval town perched on a steep hillside. As the rain cleared up so did the skies. The heat haze that had been hanging around for ages had disappeared and we could see a lot more clearly. And the temperature had dropped too, down to 19C at one stage! Though some of that was due to the altitude. The sea was an incredible dark grey as it reflected the storm clouds, and those clouds were a photographer’s dream.

The rest of the morning involved narrow winding country roads with wonderful vistas of forest and olive groves, punctuated by picturesque villages along various ridges. We’d just be getting our necks back into alignment when we’d pop around a corner and be faced with yet another one. Consequently it was a late arrival in Menton.

There is a border post between the two countries but it appeared to be unmanned. The only use it appears to have is as a place for the free parking campervans. The actual border is marked by a particular ravine. Entering Menton is not unlike entering Sanremo, just the signs are in French and the roads seem slightly wider and less congested. The buildings are predominately yellow and orange. Like all these coastal cities it has a large marina full of expensive boats, a popular beach, expensive shops and cafes, and an old town heading up the hill  away from the sea. Food and clothes prices seem more expensive here than Italy. Menton was a popular destination for ex-pat Brits, along with British and Russian aristocracy.

The old town is full of picturesque alleys and brightly painted buildings, leading up to a cemetery at the top with good views all around. After a time exploring we regrouped to head to the hypermarche. Here Sue, our host, stocked up on French wine and cheap pool chemicals, and then it was off back to Italy. A wonderful day out!