Photographs and Text by, Corey Amaro
The French Riviera conjures up images of an enticing, blue sea. Where sirens sing with the cicadas, alongside the parasol pine trees. Where famous towns such as Monte Carlo, St. Tropez, Nice, and Cannes recall a roaring twenties, with fashionable people wearing navy, stripped, cotton shirts, and full leg, white pants. Where sitting at a sidewalk cafe, sipping Pastis became a way of worshiping the sun.
The French Riviera sparkles along a back drop of stark, white cliffs. Where once-upon-a-time, small fishing communities were nestled along the way. Many of these small, enchanting, fishing villages, and small ports, are in my opinion, the heart of the south of France. Places such as Cassis, Sanary, Bandol, St Rafael… but, more so the tiny inlet communities: Morgiou, Sormiou, Figuier, Port Miou… the list is as long as the twenty mile foot path that leads from Marseille to Cassis.
The path along the coastline is not always this smooth, nor as easy. Nevertheless, there are trails for every level of hiker and/or day tripper. Saturday, late afternoon, one of our dearest friends celebrated their 60th birthday on one of the cliffs of the Calanques. We hiked in, each carrying part of the picnic potluck, and waited for the full moon to rise.
I could hardly walk two steps along the trail, without taking yet another photo: The ever changing waves of blue, the parasol pines, the ancient trail with its stone wall, the distant red earth cliff, the view is– step by step breathtaking. To say the least I was at the end of the line, as my friends lead the way.
Happy Birthday Herve! (I think he and French Husband are having a contest about who can grow their hair the longest!)
Herve and his wife Michelle know the calanques like I know the flea market, they found the perfect spot to have the birthday party picnic.
There was champagne, oysters on the half shell, salads, quiches, and chocolate mousse dessert. Sandwiches were nowhere to be seen. For the birthday party, potluck picnic I made pinwheels with puff pastry dough, stuffed with ricotta, artichokes, mushrooms, and garlic.
Herve and his friends are fans of Andy Goldsworthy. Whenever they are out about nature they create a piece of art to celebrate the moment. For the birthday party they walked out on the edge of cliff and created this piece of stone art for Herve. Three stones balancing on the edge…
Walking along the calanques, becoming intoxicated with the sea breeze,
being with such dear friends I wondered:
What three stones, make up my foundation?
Certainly one of Herve's is creativity.
And yours?
For more information about places to see, restaurants along the Riviera, places to stay,
and things to do you might want to check:
Leave a Reply