The Corniche d'Or

Our first full day in Théoule-sur-Mer, near Cannes, here for a friend's 70th birthday celebration on Saturday. While E went for a swim, I went for a run along the coast and - determined to keep the training program going - found a section of shaded path to do a session of hill strides before returning to find E about to go for a second swim. She's the more sensible of us! Running in the heat isn't so bad. It's only when you stop that you really feel it, and need to drink and drink and drink to rehydrate.

After lunch I rented a bike so I could explore the road cycling around here. The first expedition was along the coast road to Saint-Raphaël and back, about 50kms. The scenery was breath-taking as the road wound along between the red volcanic rocks of the Estérel Massif on the one side and the glittering turquoise of the Mediterranean on the other. It was 32 deg in the afternoon but on the bike it never felt that hot. That said, once back at our apartment I couldn't stop sweating, even after a cold shower.

We had a lot of trouble finding somewhere to eat, without a reservation, but when we did eventually find a place, the setting and the food was superb. Our table was in the sand only six feet from the gently breaking waves. Felt very privileged to be able to enjoy such a rich and mixed day.