From Edinburgh, we beelined for the South of France, where we would lounge around for ten days waiting for our daughter and her family to return to Samois-sur-Seine from their holiday.

 We’ve been from one end to the other of Frances's southern border along the Mediterranean, from Menton on the Italian border to Perpignan on the Spanish border. This time we were looking for something different. Possibly a more “French holiday” experience - so that meant a destination that wasn’t on the radar of English-speaking tourists.

 Michael got out his sharpest pencil and made a list of our requirements; Affordable. Great reviews. Less touristic. Near the beach. A nice view. Kitchen. WiFi. Big Table. Able to walk to shops. The actual location was secondary. After moving through the Airbnb search results for “South of France," a destination came into focus. Le Lavandou came up the winner.

 We ran it by a few French friends and family members, and it got thumbs up! In fact, our son-in-law Gregoire went to high school in Hyères, the village next door. He said it was a beautiful, underappreciated destination. Of course, it was the end of August and the tail end of high season, so Airbnb choices were limited. But we got lucky and found a place that didn’t have great photos, but ticked all the boxes, so we booked it - and then turned our attention back to enjoying Edinburgh.

 Once it was time to leave Scotland and actually get ourselves to Le Lavandou, we realized there was a reason it wasn’t overrun with foreigners. It was not the easiest place to get to. We flew from Edinburgh to Marseille on Ryanair - one of the most basic and least pleasant flying experiences. We landed around 10:00 pm and took a shuttle to an IBIS hotel near the airport. Another very ‘basic’ experience but a place to lay our heads for a few hours.

 Early the following morning we boarded a bus to the Marseille train station to catch a train to Toulon. It was very crowded, and there wasn’t any space for our two big duffle bags, so we set them on the seats opposite us like they were passengers. I felt guilty the entire time - and was waiting for the ticket takers to charge us for two more seats or throw us to the curb. But we made it all the way to Toulon with nothing more than a few glares from other passengers.

Next, we would take a two-hour long bus ride for the final leg to Le Lavandou. The bus was also crowded since every last French person wanted one more week at the beach. Michael stuffed our bags into the belly of the bus, and we found two “jump seats” inside. All we had for directions was a picture of a small bus stop on the side of the road sent by our host. Michael showed it to the driver, and he vaguely indicated he knew where we wanted to be dropped off. We remained vigilant! Once we dug our bags out of the pile, we were left to our own devices. Literally. Okay, Google...

 Luckily, other passengers got off with us and headed down a hill, so we just got in line behind them. GPS kicked in, and we were at our Airbnb in five minutes.

 As we got closer to the water, we knew we’d picked a hidden gem. Billowing flower baskets were hanging from the street lamps, specialty food shops beckoned, outdoor cafes lined the streets, and stylish families leisurely walked the promenade.

It was easy to spot our building because of the dolphin mural painted on the side. We just had to contact our host Francoise to get in the front door. She was very helpful and showed us all we needed to know to enjoy our stay. We happily closed the door behind her and collapsed.

Our Airbnb was on the fourth floor and had sea views from a wrap-around balcony. And we were literally across the street from the beach - thus, the name of our Airbnb translated into English is “Flat Feet in the Water." We simply put on our bathing suits, crossed the street, and waded into the warm Mediterranean sea in less than a minute. Perfect.

 And that’s how the week went. A daily swim. Delicious meals made from ingredients fresh from the market. Lovely wine. And an evening walk that almost always ended at a glacier for ice cream that we enjoyed while watching some heated Boules matches.

And there was a lot of travel planning to get done. We leave tomorrow for a month of travel to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Tunisia. Michael will finally be able to tick two more “Stans” off his list of must-visit countries. Although there is one that will probably elude us forever, and that is Turkmenistan. A country closed tighter than even North Korea is currently not issuing visas.  

 We took a fast train from Le Lavandou via Marseille to Paris to rendezvous with our French family in Samois-sur-Seine. Next time I’ll write a recap of life on the Seine and what I love - and don’t love about French food.

 Thanks for following along,

 Debbie and Michael Campbell

The Senior Nomads

Dear Followers - Over the past nine years I have written well over 200 travel blogs, and I appreciate your support and look forward to responding to your comments! Each time I post Mailchimp sends you an e-mail with a link. Over the years the cost for this service has gone up to the point that I am going to have to rely on you to check our Facebook Page, our Facebook Group Page, and our Instagram for alerts that a new blog has been posted. I have never been interested in monetizing our blog. You will no longer be notified by e-mail starting October 1, 2022. Thank you so much for understanding.