Let the train take the strain

Monday was a day for a day out. The mountains were calling us. So, off on the bus to Jean Medecin to then take a tram to Liberation - close to the Gare des chemins de fer de Provence. This is a narrow gauge railway that runs trains up into the hinterland way behind the cote d'azur - it's also known as the Train des Pignes and runs, ultimately, to Dignes les Bains - a 3.5 hour journey.

Given our usual attention to detail, we weren't ready to travel until the 1250 train so decided to only go as far as an old mediaeval town called Entrevaux, formerly a stronghold on the border between France and Savoy - we're talking before Italy was created as a country, here!

We had our first moment worthy of comment as we were buying our tickets - we heard the lady behind the guichet say something about "cinquante cinq" (55). Not being sure what she was on about, Carol simply said "Cinquante cinq, oui?". Nothing more was said and we paid the €27 asked for. It was only later, looking at our tickets, that we realised we'd been asked if we were 55 or more, as that is the break point for old people's prices! So I was travelling fraudulently! Carol, of course, obeyed the letter of the law! (Like the subtle phrasing?!)

Only a few minutes late, off we set. There were stops in the strangest places - next to a lamp post, behind a hedge, etc - or so it seemed as we wended our way out of Nice through cuttings and tunnels. A unique feature, at least to me, was the idea of "arret facultatif"- essentially a request stop - if you want to get on the train, you put your hand out!!

Once we'd cleared Nice and its suburbs, we were into pretty wild country - high peaks, villages perchees, all the time travelling alongside the river Var, occasionally stopping at some bush or other to let people on and off. The train was pretty cramped - we were towing a carriage but nobody seemed to be using it! SouthEastern trains it wasn't!

Eventually, we reached Entrevaux where the station is, of course, down the hill from the town. So clutching crutches (?) we set off up the incline to the bridge across the river that takes you into the old town through the Porte Royale. This was a town that had been fortified by Vauban, a general of King Louis XIV who was one of the first to get frequent traveller status - he fortified just about every town of any consequence in France. Once into the town, it was all narrow winding streets that we followed, initially, to the cathedral which also formed part of the fortifications. Very French Catholic of its time with an amazing amount of decoration for such a relatively plain town. We carried on round the town finding that one of the common themes was that everything was ferme! We also came across the old town baking oven where a tableau had been put together which, upon pressing a button, scared Carol witless!

Having exhausted the charms of the old town, we went looking for a bite of lunch. There was a bar open that had no food! Another place was a restaurant where we couldn't be sure we'd have had our food by the time the train was due to leave (plus it was more than we wanted to eat, or pay!). Finally, we tried a little empty bar where Monsieur was happy to make us a sandwich. Ham for Carol, saucisson for me - it turned out he'd used the last of his bread to make them so noone else could get any! Washed down with a small beer and costing a total of €11.40 for two, it really hit the spot.

Then back to the station to wait for the return journey. Whilst waiting, we fell into conversation with a couple from Keighley who, it turned out, were here for the first time and were not sure they'd made the best selection of accomodation. We told them our story and they took a note of the Primary Rentals details - wonder if we should bid for commission? They'd also rented a car which, where they were staying was almost essential but it meant they struggled to get into Nice because of the traffic. We shared our experiences with public transport etc and they said they'd probably follow our lead next time.

We ended up sitting with them on our return journey - they were members of a church in Keighley which was struggling - in the middle of an Islamic community with an ageing congregation - how lucky we are at St Stephen's! They agreed.
We continued chatting till they reached their stop at Lingostiere, close to the Centre Commercial.

Once we reached Nice, it was a tram to vieille ville and a couple of beers - who says I'm a creature of habit? Then home for ravioli in home made tomato sauce (had to have 2 goes at this as the first lot of shallots got crispy whilst, a) I was on Skype to my Dad and b) Carol was glued to the TV again). Silent supper!

Then mooched about for a little while then off to sleep again.

Bon nuit!