BEST ONE WEEK WALK IN EUROPE – the pictures

Crossing the Lac des Vaches, with the Grande Casse in the background.

I’d done parts of this walk before – along the GR5 and the GR55, but this was the first time I’ve tackled the whole six-day Tour des Glaciers in the Parc de la Vanoise, the oldest national park in France.

From beginning to end it’s spectacular. Here’s the photographic evidence…

A FRENCH TOWN THAT’S ON THE NOSE

La Place aux Aires. Pleasant even for those who can’t smell it.

I’ve just discovered that I have little or no sense of smell. I can’t even distinguish marijuana from whisky in a sniff-off at the smelling tubes in the International Perfume Museum. 

It may explain my devil-may-care attitude to applying deodorant and changing socks.

I’m probably not ideally qualified to comment on a town that’s built a thriving tourism business around its fragrances. 

FIVE LITTLE ADVENTURES IN TOULOUSE –

La Ville Rose (the Pink City) surprises us.

Although it’s France’s fourth largest town, (see below for numbers 1-3*) Toulouse was just a place to pass through on our way to hike in the lovely Languedoc. It was an afterthought for me to book an extra night there.

We soon wished we’d made it longer. It’s not a big place, but a day and a half wasn’t enough to do everything in a relaxed, Toulousian manner.     

WE’RE SURPRISED HOW MUCH WE LIKE THIS PLACE

Luxury yachts and a crowded beach. All the things we’re supposed to hate in a resort town.

We Australians don’t visit France’s Côte d’Azur for its beaches. We don’t like paying to sit on a deckchair or renting a towel. We hate the idea of private beaches for hotel guests only.   

On the other hand, we don’t know any Australian resort towns with covered markets, massed petunia baskets hanging above cobbled alleyways and a Picasso Museum. 

CANNES – do they let ordinary people in?

Just plain folks who’ve spotted someone special. It makes anyone go a bit silly.

Mevrouw T and I have never been to Cannes at film festival time. I’ve been waiting to be nominated for the Palme d’Or and unsurprisingly that hasn’t happened yet. Not even Un Certain Regard…

But this year we happened to be in the neighbourhood, so we dropped in to see what all the fuss was about. It was fun.

WALKING WITH HERETICS

It’s a steep pull up to the ruined castle at Montsegur. It’s nearly as tough bumping downhill on our ageing knees. The view makes it all worthwhile.

The site of a bloody religious war is now a gentle, but spectacular walking route through some of France’s  most beautiful countryside.