Salon de Provence – Camping de la Laune (Peillon)

6th day

This morning we were eager to continue our journey, and we found ourselves short on the road to leave. Our destination was a small campsite in the village of Peillon, fifteen kilometers from Nice and twenty from Monaco. Our intention is to visit both.

The routes to both places were calm, and at several moments, the Alps appeared before us in all their splendor with their snow-capped peaks. They are impressive and far away, thank goodness… I crossed them once when we went to North Cape, and I don’t want to do it again ⛰️. Thorsten and Beast, if I’m not careful, keep going straight and appear like Messner on one of those peaks, very happy 🙃.
Since the last part of the route was a bit heavy for Thorsten, we opted to park both vehicles and do a bit of hiking after settling in.

Peillon is one of the most notable hanging villages on the Côte d'Azur. It has medieval origins and was designed as a mountain fortress to watch over and hinder conquest, and being so close to Italy, it shows a clear influence from Savoy.

Leaving the campsite, we met a neighbor who told us there was a path through the mountain that was a bit shorter than the road, but much steeper 😶‍🌫️.

Being the optimists we are, we charged up the mountain like goats 🐐. Oh my, we almost had a heart attack, especially me, as climbing slopes is not my thing at all. I can swim for hours and walk on flat ground without problems, but going uphill is just not for me 😥.

T handled it better and occasionally turned back to laugh at me (he really loves me a lot 🥰). If I didn’t turn back, it was because the descent didn’t look good at all due to the steepness of the path.

The views while we were climbing were spectacular, as expected, but between stopping to catch my breath or sitting on a stone in the shade (which wasn’t much), I hardly got to enjoy them 😰.

The village itself begins in a square that seems to be the parking lot; from that point on, vehicles cannot pass. The mailboxes are in the square… 👩‍✈️.

Entering it hasn’t changed at all; we followed its winding medieval streets, its stone stairs, or its vaulted passages without stopping to go up and were truly surprised by the peculiarity of the construction.
The inevitable “memorial” of the war, as I told you, there is no village without one.

According to the signs, the village has twenty inhabitants, but we didn’t see any. It seemed completely abandoned despite how well-kept the streets and houses were. The school closed in 1959, according to the plaque that presents it.
At the end of the walk, when we were heading back home, we did cross paths with some people, but they seemed more like tourists.
We returned by the road, which, it is true, was a bit longer, but certainly doesn’t compare to the other path, or maybe it helped that we were going downhill 😉. The excursion was definitely worth it, and these walks help us stretch our muscles after so much travel, but I might have preferred to start with something gentler.
On the way back, we stopped by the supermarket to buy a couple of lettuces to make a salad, as after so many oysters, we both craved it, and the fresh produce from Provence is super good.
A quiet night on the porch. The campsite is small and very quiet; we are really enjoying it 😍.
Good night… I’ll keep you updated 😘