Cabris and Cassis

After farewelling Wendy and mum, we drove to the charming, hill-top town of Cabris – our first destination of stage 2 - the French (and Swiss) August vacation.

Cabris is very close to Grasse, the hometown of our long-time Melbourne French tutor, Tony. Tony and partner Catie are back in Grasse for an extended stay. Cabris is the location of a fabulous restaurant, L’Auberge de vieux chateau, where some months ago, Tony, Catherine, Dale and I planned to meet up for dinner. We were also able to secure excellent accommodation on site.

This panel tells the story of how Cabris was founded 1000 years ago, but 350 years later every inhabitant died of the plague.  The town was deserted for 150 years, until 500 years ago when 50 families were 'installed' to restart the town.

Dramatic views off the hillside of Cabris

After having acquainted ourselves with Cabris, we sullied forth to explore Grasse, the capital of French perfumery. First up was a most informative tour of Fragonnard, the home of the home of French perfumery.  

We were interested to learn about the precise chemical difference between a perfume and an eau de toilette (14% fragrance vs about 10%), but furthermore there is also something different in the skin of men and women that means women need the higher fragrance concentration of a perfume which is largely unnecessary for men.  Another Pink Tax?  Having just bought perfume versions of two of our favourite aftershaves only days earlier, we can now come to our own conclusion.

Of course information is great, but spritzing oneself with multiple scents and making purchases is even better.

We strolled around the incredibly picturesque old town, but which Tony and his brother Claude said is only beautiful in summer. Luckily, that is when we were there.

 

During our stroll we chanced upon the boutique parfumerie that Tony had previously recommended, via Claude. A married couple, both parfumiers, create and sell their special creations. The man died a couple of years ago, but Lynne de R continues to concoct her unique compositions.

So charming and special to find unique perfumes where you can talk to the creator. Thanks Tony and Claude!

Dinner was a blast. Lovely company and lovely food, on an expansive and elegant terrace on a balmy summer evening. It was such a delight to meet Caity, Claude and Regis after hearing so many wonderful stories about them over the years.

The following day we had a relaxed breakfast on the terrace and then took the slow road to Cassis. On Tony’s advice we stopped at the nearby towns: Saint Vallier, Saint Cesaire and Speracedes. Each picturesque and endearing in their own way.

It is many years since we, very briefly, visited Cassis with Manuela and we were ecstatic to return. It has a beautiful port, is on the route des cretes between Marseilles and La Ciota and there are calanques nearby (great for swimming).

Saturday was overcast with some spitting, which was the first time we had experienced rain in 4 weeks.  But it was market day and so we spent several hours wandering around market stalls and in an out of shops. There was time for a dip in the sea when the weather cleared later in the day, and we rounded things out with drinks and tapas on the hotel terrace looking at calanques and the setting sun over the mediterannean.

Sunday dawned hot and clear, if a little windy, and we set off on a hike to see a couple of calanques. Unfortunately, yet luckily, we were stopped after about 20 minutes because access to the calanques had been closed due to the fire risk. The extremely helpful ecoguard explained that the combination of the ongoing drought, the heat wave, the wind and the fires elsewhere in Provence meant that it was too problematic to keep the calanques open. We totally understood. Instead, we walked around the presqu’ile southwest of Cassis that runs alongside the first calanque. Sensational views.

Then we happened on a wonderful swimming spot at the end of the pesqu’ile near the entrance to the Baie de Cassis. It was awesome. You had to get in and out using ropes fixed to the slippery rocks – or jump in at the deep spot. It was incredibly deep and with the goggles we could see loads of fish and interesting rock formations. There was a gentle swell that you could lie back and bob around in, in between diving down to look at the fish and the rocks. The water was cold, colder than in Nice, but incredibly refreshing.

About 10 minutes further on we found another swimming spot that was almost as good. It was easier to get into and out of, although you still needed to be careful on the slippery rocks. But there was the same abundance of fish and rocks and a gentle swell. I think we were turning into fish by the time we dragged ourselves away.

Bestouan Beach, in front of out hotel

After an afternoon nap there was time for another quick dip in the sea before finding an endearing, local wine bar for more wine, charcuterie and fromage. Not quite knowing which local wine to order, the proprietor said leave it with me – glad we did – had one lovely blanc followed by another lovely rose.   We walked on to the main beach and capped the day off with icream, and a walk out to the harbour lighthouse.   All in all, a perfect day and the perfect end to our little sojourn in Cassis.