Agay on the Côte d’Azur
Thursday 8 June – we arrived at Nice Ville station and there to meet us was my dear friend Sharon who coincidentally was in Nice for a few days on a business trip. Unbelievable how much chatting two women can get through when there is a time limit – we certainly had a good go whilst Geoff was off sorting out the rental car. Could have done with another 6 hours or so, but we gave it our best shot!!!!!!
A quick bit of negotiating our way out of the traffic around Nice and Cannes and we were soon on the A8 and whizzing down to Agay. Located in the heart of the Estérel Massif, a volcanic mountain range of low altitude but with steep slopes, it is on the territory of the French commune of Saint-Raphaël and belongs to the Côte d’Azur. Jo and Ashley, family friends of Geoff’s, were waiting for us at their beautiful home and we were given a very warm welcome, firstly with a refreshing gin and tonic on their veranda, followed by a delicious home-cooked meal prepared by Jo sitting on their outdoor terrace.
What a beautiful house they have, apparently one of only 32 homes on the Riviera that have the luxury of actually being on the edge of the Mediterranean sea. Stunning gardens (Jo’s passion) of lavender, hibiscus, geraniums and oleander in all sorts of colours, lawns and a beautiful swimming pool surrounded us, with windy rock paths down to their boathouse and to the sea where a ladder was conveniently installed for easy access to the water which was surrounded by rock making it a completely private little bay. What a heavenly oasis. A dreamy sleep in an upstairs bedroom where we left the shutters open so we could see the moonlight reflected on the water and hear the waves, followed by the sound of birdsong in the early morning – we were very spoilt.
Geoff and I were up early and had a lovely walk into the village where we picked up some croissants, pain aux raisin and a baguette for breakfast, after which we had a refreshing swim (yep, I braved it!) before I got on with a little bit of admin…….it is almost three weeks since we had been near a washing machine, so I took advantage of Jo’s kind offer to use her laundry room and managed to get three loads through and all the ironing done during the course of the day!
A delicious lunch followed at Club Agathos on the beach, conveniently located just down the road – a few pictures below (look closely at the photo of the four of us taken by the waiter and you can see the topless girl’s boobs coming out of my right ear!!). A pleasant afternoon was spent snoozing and relaxing before Jo took us for a drive up the mountains where we got to see a lot of wild boar – quite menacing looking and very protective of their patches, but the babies were rather cute darting around and I managed to get a few photos before leaping back into the car! A bit higher up and a fabulous view of the Mediterranean as far as Cannes which made the walk from the car well worthwhile. Jo got the barbecue going on our return and cooked us a delicious lamb dinner which once again, we enjoyed on their fabulous terrace accompanied by a few nice glasses of wine.
It was a short stay, but very delightful and very much needed after the last few weeks of rushing about on trains and cars and doing a lot of serious sightseeing. So nice to be welcomed into a home and enjoy wonderful hospitality and a good rest!