Douce France

Third landing on French soil. 6 August: from Ventimiglia we enter France to reach Nice for a short stop. The traffic and the worry about parking hound us. We see the famous Promenade des Anglais, the Hotel Negresco, the birthplace of Giuseppe Garibaldi, then after parking in an unimportant street we visit a shopping centre (Carrefour, to be precise). We set off promptly. We spend the night at the Vidauban motorway services together with other Italians. 7 August: a quick breakfast and off to Nîmes, where a friend and his girlfriend will host us. With some difficulty we reach our friend's house, a little outside the city. The house has a big garden and a plot where we'll rest for the next two days.

After the pleasantries, by bus (1.95 euro one way) we return to the city centre to visit the famous Maison Carrée, a Roman-era building fully restored and a bit disappointing, and the La Coupole shopping centre. First night in a tent. 8 August: to Carrefour Grand Nimes for the supplies we need. A more thorough visit of Nîmes: the arena, a splendid and well-kept garden. From a boulangerie we taste the fougasse, a typical local savoury filled bread. 9 August: after lunch in an Italian restaurant run by Gianni, a genuine Roman from Rome, LA BELLA ROMA, where for 21.45 euro you can eat very well, we take the route nationale towards Avignon, the ancient residence of the popes. The city is clean and well kept. We admire the famous bridge, the popes' palace and Mont Ventoux. We linger in a bar opposite the Palais des Papes to enjoy a crêpe. Italians abound.

10 August: leaving for Paris (but that's another journey). 12 August: we reach Grenoble in the evening after crossing a series of pleasant little villages. We stop in the Italian quarter near the Isère, where there are many places run by Italians who by now have nothing Italian left about them. 13 August: visit to the beautiful city of Grenoble. We head for the border, passing through some interesting villages such as Briançon. The route towards Montgenèvre is very demanding. We are in Italy after 11.