2025 Provence and Cote d’Azur Tour Summary
From April 11 to April 21, Travel Escapades took
six wonderful travelers
—Andi, Deb, Gwynne, Jane, Rita, and Sandy—
to the southeast corner of France on a tour of Provence and Côte d’Azur.
This was a special group of travelers and will forever be our Coke Zero Group!
If we had drunk as much alcohol as we did Coke Zero, nobody would remember a thing about the trip! And who can forget Deb teaching us how to say, “Duh” with a simple hand gesture, and we used it on each other
from then on.
And we had a few laughs over “Let's get a photo of the four of us”
(since we were eight).
GREAT TRAVELERS!
We enjoyed getting to know each of our six travelers and could easily travel again with any one of them. Many thanks to each of you for being delightful, initiative, and responding well to our pivots and offering y
our own pivots
at key points along the trip.
You will forever be our Coke Zero Group!
THREE CHEERS FOR THE BUS DRIVER WHO IS WITH US TODAY
I'm forever grateful for my dear husband and co-owner Paul for not only going along with my business venture, being supportive and a good listening ear for itinerary design, but also for doing and enjoying all of the driving of a large van through tiny French streets. He even kept his cool when Google maps led us right into a tiny but bustling neighborhood square with no exit but behind us. It took 15 minutes to get the van turned around toward the direction we came from in the limited space!
Well done, Paul!
PERSONAL REFLECTION
This trip I learned a few things as a
tour company owner.
For double occupancy, use double beds, not twins.
Eight is a magical number for an intimate
touring experience.
April is more rain than I want my guests
to experience.
Three days of Roman antiquity might be too many for some.
And check out airline weight limits for carry-ons before booking
(yes, CARRY ONS!)
I know I will keep learning,
and that contributes to my sign off too…
For the love of discovery,
Annie for Annie and Paul Wolter
DAYS 1 and 2
Nice, France
We visited Nice, located in the foothills of the French Alps. We enjoyed a 1-hour boat tour on the Mediterranean. It was beautiful to see Nice and Villefranche-Sur-Mer from the sea and intriguing to learn that Sir Elton John has a home up in the hillside around Villefranche. Maybe we passed him on the street, hidden behind a disguise?
The Hop On Hop Off bus tour introduced us to the historic city and its amazing architecture and stories of the past. Some of us ventured up to Castle Rock while others took a perfume making class.
On the way to Nice over the Alps from Zurich.
Days 1 and 2 were spent in Nice.
Nice Doorway.
On our way to breakfast
Perfect spot for an English or American breakfast
Watching the world from inside Garden Cafe
On a 1-hour cruise in the Mediterranean
Villefranche-sur-Mer from the sea
Eating at a Creperie in Nice
Walking the streets of Nice and seeing lots of Hausmann style architecture
Day 3
Monte Carlo, Monaco
We took the train to Monte Carlo / Monaco. The Hop On Hop Off bus took us up to Old Town and the Prince’s Palace (so distinct that no one took a photo of it). In the Monte Carlo Casino, we took our chances with the 10 Euros that came with our entry fees; some of us left with a little cash in our pockets. :-) A walk through Old Monte Carlo led to a delicious lunch and many cute shops. (We were not allowed to take photos inside of Monte Carlo.)
Day 4
Hilltop Eze and
Villa Ephrussi in
Cap Ferrat
We pivoted away from our plan to visit Villefranche-sur-Mer for the day (we to Uber up to the highly praised hilltop town of Èze. We weren’t disappointed. The narrow streets, only as wide as a sidewalk, offered picturesque scenes of which we heartily took advantage. At every turn we found a small shop offering jewelry, clothing and other items that one or more of us could not resist.
After a lunch offering very French options (see photo of three each eating a bowl of French onion!) and a bit of more shopping, we went to another town called Cap Ferrat to visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. This was a delightful chateau offering beautiful landscaping and amazing stories of the past.
Day 5
Boating in the Gorge du Verdon—“The Grand Canyon of France”
At the top of day five we picked up our van (our rental company WeVan actually delivered it to our hotel and I can’t say enough good things about WeVan) and drove up into the Alps through mountain roads and past lavender fields. The lavender wasn't blooming yet, but it was still fun to see the long fields of planted lavender along the way. At Sainte Croix lake, we rented electric boats and ventured into the Gorge du Verdon at the whopping speed of 5 mph. Some call the Gorge du Verdon the Grand Canyon of France. The tall rock formations and aquamarine water made this a beautiful and unique experience.
We finished the day by heading up to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie to stay at Hotel La Bonne Auberge, where we had a lovely French dinner.
Some of us ventured into the downtown that night and in the morning, where there was plenty of pottery to be purchased or admired.
Day 6
Lunch and Shopping in Drizzly Gordes, Rita’s Italian
Birthday Song, and a beautiful confectionary shop.
After a rainy morning of shopping, we left Moustiers-Sainte-Marie for the town of Gordes. On the way, we passed through acres and acres of lavender fields—plants that were not yet in bloom. But we could get the picture of the vastness of the commitment.
In Gordes, we had pizza at an Italian restaurant where we celebrated Rita's birthday, complete with the happy birthday song being played over the loudspeaker in Italian. This was another town for shopping, and shop we did. (It was enjoyable to see and hear on a regular basis what people were buying.)
Day 7
A Free Day in
Aix-en-Provence
For the rest of our trip, we set up base in Aix-en-Provence at Hotel des Augustins, a hotel built into a former 12th century Augustinian convent, complete with a foyer of large arching walls that resembled a cathedral, situated right in pedestrian Old Town Aix.
On day seven, everyone had a full day to relax and venture out to explore Aix. Open markets were abundant. The flower markets were especially beautiful.
Day 8
Vaison la Romain
We went to Vaison-la-Romaine, a town formed by the Roman empire in the second century after conquering a Celtic tribe that had been there. Here we visited the town's rich Roman ruins with the stone wall outlines of ancient Italian homes available to walk around while listening to audio summaries of each room. This experience made me hungry to go to Pompeii. We also drove to another town called Orange and took pictures under a Roman arch of triumph, only about 18 centuries older than Napoleon's arch of triumph in Paris. In the video below, Paul demonstrates a Roman toilet.
Day 9
Marseilles and Cassis
On day nine, it was time to go back to the sea, so we headed down to the towns of Marseille and Cassis for some sun and touring. The water was lovely and the marinas colorful and active. Off in the distance was Chateau d’If on the island of If. This is where the fictional Count of Monte Cristo was wrongly imprisoned.
I wished I could call my mother, long since departed, to send her photos of this island since she was the one who had encouraged me to read the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas.
Day 10
Pont du Gard and
Nimes on Easter Sunday
The last day took us back to Roman antiquity as we visited the Pont du Gard, a giant Roman aqueduct that once spanned 50 kilometers to bring water to the town of Nimes. We enjoyed a French Easter festival going on that day because….it was Easter! The festival was called Easter at the Bridge although its name in French was much more alliterative as “Pâques au Pont.”
Afterwards we drove to the town of Nimes to see the giant Castellum Aquae, where centuries ago water was deposited from the aqueduct. A giant reservoir with the shape of a well, it collected and distributed water through an amazingly designed pipe system that prioritized where in town the water would go, based on its abundance.
The next morning we arose at 4:00 a.m. in order to leave at 5:00 a.m. for the airport back in Nice. We returned our van to WeVan, who met us right at our departure gate to collect the van.
An Ephrussi stairwell
Sisters together in France
A beautiful bakery in Gordes
The Triumphal Arch in Orange is "considered one of the most beautiful and interesting provincial triumphal arches from the reign of Emperor Augustus," says Google AI.
Help! I'm the only man to eat everyone's leftovers!
French toast, anyoe?
In the gorgeous Gorge du Verdon!
More photos!
The forehead plant to kindly say, "Duh" to each other whenever we could
Travel Escapades owners Annie and Paul
Driving by a circus in Avignon
Andi - always colorfully dressed
The Maison-Carrée (square house) in the town of Nimes, so named before the word rectangle existed
This is the Castellum Aquae, Nimes water distribution center where the Roman Aqueduct deposited water for the city.
