BEACH DUNK 1
Hyères-Les-Palmiers, France. Côte d'Azur, French Riviera. The mistral winds made it hard to enjoy most of the beaches here, but I still went in here, alone, before an amazed spouse who was surprised I so calmly took off my caftan, and swam in my built-up slip without even bothering with my bathing suit. No one else was there. You have kilometers of beaches here and three islands which are nature preserves, and one island is nudist. Hyères has a scungy element in the city you might not like, but it also has many ports and different locales and you can pick the place you like to rent a furnished place. This is prime area for nature observation, sports, and there are always cultural activities in the city, often free, and I don't recommend vacationing in Europe during July or August, as prices are high and it's crowded. We go early season and late season. We are going back down here in late September, into October even, and already have a train ticket booked for getting to Avignon. That city has so much going for it, the spouse has no objection to being based there for a week. Next week, he wants to be on the sea again, which is perfect for me. I plan to take my fins and snorkel mask. I've never been a champ swimmer but I love the Mediterranean, for one thing! Despite the winds, this beach, though a bit smooth-pebbly, was also sandy and quite okay. All the swimming options are unsupervised, however, so it's wise to have someone aware of where you are and even to watch you. The food is excellent in this part of France, and I loved buying at the markets large and small, which are held outdoors on certain days, and I always cook for us on vacation. If you like boats, you can get anything you want here, and serious scuba divers have a bonanza. I simply must get that salt all over me at least a couple of times, or I am not happy. copyright 2014 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. cutecatfaith.com Dailymotion: LisaFalour YouTube: SLOBOMOTION, CUTECATFAITH The house we rented for a week in Hyères was from NOVASOL and it's an excellent, huge, well thought out house. You can get shuttle buses to and from the ports and to the ferry and out to the beaches. Some of them are free and they really run often. Roads may be closed to cars during high season. We used a Hertz rental car, a Peugot 208, manual, diesel, and since it was still May, we had access. You might really like this place for a vacation. My spouse liked it even more than I did. The street people and hardcore Muslims in Hyères were a drag and very hostile and annoying, but hey. There are so many historical sites, cultural events even for free, gardens and lots of nature, the city has a lot going for it. It even has an international airport it shares with Toulon.
