On Wednesday we went to Stephanie’s one-time childhood hometown of Fayence to visit with her grandmother who wouldn’t be able to attend the wedding and her aunt who was staying there in order to attend the wedding.

We were also going to pick up some things for the wedding, so we loaded the car with a foosball table (baby-foot), and then stopped by for a little conversation accompanied by some cream puffs (les choux à la crème) and Clairette de Die, her grandmother’s favorite sparkling wine.

The weather patterns this time of year are such that it’s often sunny with big white clouds on the coast, while inland the blue sky disappears and the clouds grow dark gray and forbidding, unleashing the occasional afternoon thunderstorm. We encountered this phenomenon on our last trip to Fayence and this time things were the same, plus rain.

So we really didn’t have the time or the weather for a walk around the centre-ville, but I managed to get a shot of Fayence’s dense hillside layout just as the rain was passing. Though her grandmother lives in the “countryside” surrounding the center of town, it strikes me how densely these old, small villages were (and still are) built.

The last time we visited Nice I pretty much summed up the week-long trip in a single post, Une semaine à Nice, because that’s kind of how it felt—time just flew by. We kept comforting ourselves by saying it was just a preliminary trip, and that we’d come back to explore the things we missed.

Well, we’re back! And on the top of our mental list (besides exploring more of the Vieux Nice) was spending more time outside, in the natural environment. Chris was very keen to this, and found a whole stack of “rando” guides full of various hikes.

At the bottom of the Une semaine à Nice, there are two pictures I took driving along the Côte d’Azur where the stunning orange-red Massif de l’Esterel meets the sea. So on Tuesday we drove down to Théoule-sur-Mer and started hiking up toward some of the red rocks.

Sunday was jetlag recovery day. Left the apartment late in the morning for a leisurely stroll through the Vieux Nice. Made our way again to the coast where there was a big Italian cultural exposition going on. Sort of a celebration of Italian food, wine, and cars along the promenade. Saw several “new” Fiat 500s which sort of look like a cross between a Smart car and MINI Cooper. In other words, awesome!

Stopped at an outdoor brasserie for lunch and had the French version of bruschetta, basically pizza made with a large round round slice of toasted bread. Pas mal.

I followed that up with my first classic French double ice cream cone. How did I miss that on my first trip? Actually I think those were scoops of gelato, banana, and nutella.

Took many pictures of the narrow streets of the Vieux Nice. Here’s three. I’m sure there are many more to come.

After a nap from which I did not want to wake, we took a walk around the nearby Nice harbor, gawking at the giant yachts of the rich and famous. Here’s a nice picture Stephanie took of me just beyond the harbor.

On Monday we had lunch with Stephanie’s sister Aurelie by her work, walked the entire Promenade (below) to Aurelie’s apartment, spent some time with Aurelie’s daughter, and managed to drive away with Stephanie’s mom’s car who was able to borrow a friend’s car while we’re here. This was a completely unexpected gift, and means over the next few days we should be able to move in and around town without much complication. Back in the Vieux Nice we went to a restaurant next door called “Le Barbecue” for dinner and had an excellent super-thin crust pizza and some grilled meats.

Wow, we made it to Nice without issue. Compared to last time, this trip was a breeze. Left for SFO around 4pm on Friday and arrived in Nice just after 6pm on Saturday. Stephanie’s mom, sister, and almost one-year-old niece were all at the airport to greet us.

Stephanie’s mom, Chris, had already done us the favor of picking up the key to the apartment in the Vieux Nice that we’ve rented, which was just a short drive from the airport along the Promenade des Anglais. It’s on the 3rd floor of an old building, up some very steep stairs, overlooking a narrow street (ruelle) and restaurant below.

Chris also picked up some groceries for us, so we had a simple French dinner of bread, saucisson, cornichon, and cheese. Though it was getting late (for our jetlagged bodies), we took a walk through the Vieux Nice down to the sea. As you can see in the pictures the weather was overcast, but the temperature is quite mild, probably in the mid 60s. I was amazed at how many people were out eating at the outdoor restaurants. We managed to find our way back through a maze of angled, narrow streets, and now it’s time to crash!

On Thursday night around 6, Stephanie and I started driving towards Death Valley. We made it as far as Mojave. I think it was close to midnight when we stopped at a Motel 6 to sleep. We set our alarm for 8 the next morning, but we both woke up before it went off. We took what would be our last shower until we got back Sunday night, and then continued on our way, getting to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center before noon on Friday.

Our first mission was to find a campsite (we’d made no reservation in advance). To our dismay, the main Furnace Creek campground was full. We continued just up the road and luckily found a spot at the nearly full Texas Spring campground. It’s always unsettling trying to find and then stake a claim on a first-come, first-serve campsite when few are available, but we managed to pay our fee, clamped our receipt to the pole marking our site, and began to set up our tent to mark our territory.

Here are some photos from the first leg of our adventure:

Here are links to the other parts of our adventure:

• The Golden Canyon endurance challenge
• Reaching a new low
• Like camping on the moon
• Hiking Keane Wonder Mine
• The flora and fauna of Death Valley
• The Mosaic Canyon narrows