Ski and eat on the Cote d’Azur for 26 Euros a day

A Day out in Roubion Les Buisses for 26 Euros, ski pass and lunch included

Roubion Les Buisses is a small ski station in the Alpes Maritime, about 1hour and 30 minutes from Nice on the French Riviera. It is open during the French school holidays and every weekend during the ski season.

The pleasure of going to this ski station is that it is empty! There are no queues, no hordes of skiers, and no ESF (Ecole de Ski Francais), with snaking groups of children taking up the whole slope.

A range of all piste difficulties, Roubion is ideal for a family day out. There is one long chair lift to access two button lifts which cover the main ski area. There is a further button lift near the entrance to the village, which leads to a couple of red pistes, and one blue which are hardly ever skied. On the front of the slopes near the village are a couple of small button lifts which cost nothing to use, for beginners to practice their skiing. Just below the start of the chair lift is The Baby Drag, which is very short, and ideal for any snowboarders who need to practice getting on, and then staying on, a button lift.

Once in Roubion you can buy a combined lift pass and lunch voucher for 26 Euros, which allows you to choose a 3 course lunch at any of the 4 eateries;

Le Charvet is a snack bar near the top of the chair lift, serving chips, sausages, panini's, etc. Alternatively you can have a set menu at Le Chalet de Roubion, which served home made paté, roast chicken and potatoes, and a beautiful large profiterole dessert the day we ate there, or choose from the dishes on offer at the friendly restaurant at the entrance to the village, or at Les Ecureuils restaurant, further up the (only) road.

If you do not wish to ski then you can hire snowshoes and take one of many walks either starting in Les Buisses or from the Col de Coullioure which is a 10 minute drive away. We chose to do the 4 hour return walk to Pic d'Ilonse, which heads uphill through trees beside the ski pistes, to join a track winding round the mountain far from the madding crowds before heading uphill again. The view from the top is breathtaking; snowy mountain scapes as far as the eye can see. The return walk can be broken by a cold beer at Le Charvet snack bar at the top of the chair lift.

For children there is good tobogganing to the left of all the pistes, through trees, or in the special luge area at the bottom of the slopes.

There is ample parking at the entrance to the village and all equipment can either be hired in the village or en route at Beuil. As the village lies on a road which connects the two valleys of the Var and the Tinee rivers you can take either valley road to get there.

So from Nice, follow the RN6202 either to St Saveur sur Tinee then to Roubion, or to Touet sur Var then Beuil and then follow the signs to Roubion.

The village of Roubion itself is a perched medieval village just near Les Buisses, but that's another article.

Happy skiing.

Hashing around Villeneuve Loubet

Sunday afternoon . 2pm. SOH and I have managed to leave the kids for the afternoon with a friend. We are off to our first HHH event.. HHH being Hash House Harriers. It's a cross between a run, a walk, and a drinks do.

I think I know where I'm going. Turns out when we get to VL that I don't. Mention is made of a bridge, and a green door.. I know the bridge, I cross the bridge, but I see no green door.. we return to the bridge.. 'Ah', I say ' Look a sign for the church. Let's follow it'. Turns out we've crossed the bridge from the opposite side to the directions . We roll up to the church, with me expecting to see a bunch of athletes. I am surprised when I see a bunch of rather unfit looking people congregated. Our friend, Urine, is there.. that's not his name.. he is christened this on the day by the Hash.

We are made to feel welcome and given some insider tips such as 'Don't worry about running';'You can walk and stay up with the runners pretty much'. All sounds a bit strange to me but I'm happy to go along with that as my legs are already aching following a day of telemark skiing the day before. Suddenly a very fit looking guy of around 70 rolls up the hill on a road bike.I'm told he's their athlete, going in for Ironman competitions and the like. 'Where do you live?' I ask, 'Somewhere in the Var..'. To my relief he has taken the train to Antibes and only cycled from there..

The hare for today tells us 'The trail is marked with flour. In the forest the trail is marked with red wool tied to branches, not flour, and at the red wool, you may find some Easter eggs, or you may not. So , what I mean is that all Easter eggs are hidden near the red wool, but not all red wool has Easter eggs nearby'. My ears prick up at this..chocolate on a run..fantastic!

Then we are off; the runners going one way, and the walkers the other. SOH has said let's go with the runners, so we do. I wonder if it's a good idea on our first visit but I guess I'll soon find out. He has been told the walkers are slow.

So far so good, 100ms down some steps and I can still breath. The trail is set using flour every 50metres or so, but occasionally you come to a circle of flour which means the trail can go in any direction, and some of the trails set will be false trails and you will only know this when you come across a big cross. Then you return to the circle and start looking for the correct trail again. We hit the first circle on the road, and scatter in different directions. Urine stands on the circle. After 4 failed attempts we decide the fifth and final path is the correct one, and Urine joins the runners again and we are off. Now I see why you could walk and not get too far behind with the runners as they chase the false trails.

We run round a loop and through the cemetery, gloriously decked out with many flowers, and on down the village steps and down, towards the river, past some people jousting. Across the road, and after another couple of false trails, heading uphill this time (!), we are back en route again, passing along the side of the road and towards the playing fields and the river again. We see red wool tied in bushes. We find Easter eggs. A comment is made that this must be the only run where you can actually put on weight. The chocolate is very welcome however.

We are lead towards the river, where two helpers are standing with very nice Easter eggs. 'Great!' I think, 'what a fantastic run this is'. Then I am given the news that I will have to wade across the river in my trainers. Others go ahead, and I watch, water rising above their knees easily, a few grimaces. It's my turn, and I plunge in. It is absolutely freezing and the current is strong, but we have a rope to hold on to. Out the other side to survey the damage, trousers wet up to thighs and soaking shoes and socks. Never mind it's a sunny day and the clothes will dry out.

The route runs on, towards the main road and the Hippodrome, and then turns towards the sea. Mutterings are made about beer stops, long first halves, and no end in sight. Suddenly we are on to the seafront and there waiting for us is the beer stop, and the walkers who have taken a shorter route and not had to cross the river by going through it. We have a 20 minute stop for a drink and to regroup. There is a cold wind blowing but it's nice to have a break and a chat. And then a whistle blows and we are off again. We know that it is at least 2.5kms back to VL from here.

The route takes us past the far side of the Hippodrome, and turns sharply back on itself and trails up through the woods back towards VL. Many of the slower walkers miss the runners taking this sharp turn and therefore make their own way back to the church along no trail whatsoever! The real trail is marked very frequently now, and we can see where we cross over trails we have followed previously, meaning that the hare must have set this part of the trail when we were having our beer stop. The legs are really protesting now, but the end is in sight and it's a very pleasant stroll through the trees (I gave up running a long time ago). We come out on a crest with views over the valley to Cagnes sur Mer, skirt a final corner and are back at the church where we started, around 3 hours have passed. The beer car is there and we all dig in.

Then order is called and announcements made. As this is the Hash, everyone has been given a nickname, and prizes (drinks) are awarded for celebrating being Welsh or Irish (Ireland had one the Six Nations rugby Grand Slam the previous weekend), for all mothers as it is Mother's Day in the UK, for any birthdays, for first timers (called virgins), for returners, and finally for the Shit of the week.. Urine winning this comfortably due to his policy of never following a false trail but waiting for others to do the hard work for him. The Hash was off to continue socialising in a restaurant nearby that evening, and the following weekend a weekend on the slopes in Auron was planned. As I hobbled home, I reflected on the afternoon, and decided that I enjoyed my first Hash and expect to be back for the next one.

see www.rivierahhh.com for details of the next event.

Key; SOH = significant other half

Walking a Philosopher's Path..Part 1

Today I decide to revisit one of the walks I used to do when I first moved here. The Nietzsche Path from Eze sur Mer to Eze Village. I haven't done it for several years as I've moved across to the other side of Nice.

Driving there stresses me out..it's a day of strikes across France.. there seem to be more cars on the roads than I would have expected in March, even given the strike.. buses and trains not running..France not working.

I drive to Eze sur Mer train station, having been reminded en route that I forgot Monty's summer haircut booked for that day (he's in the car with me), and that I also need to be home by midday to take over from the nanny (no chance of that as it's 10.30 when I park).Obviously had one wine too many last night when out with the girls in Juans les Pins.. no that's not true.. it's just the way my (blonde) brain works , sometimes. Monty jumps excitedly out of the car.. does he remember his old stomping ground I wonder?

So we start up the path which is opposite the train station.. the Nietzsche path is a rocky stoney one going uphill from Eze sur Mer to Eze Village, about 400m higher. I wonder what Nietzsche was doing here..

'Friedrich Nietzsche, was a German philosopher of the late 19th Century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He believed in life, creativity, health and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the idea of life-affirmation which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life's energies, however socially prevalent those views might be. He is often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers (taken from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).'

Turns out Nietzsche, like so many of us, came to the Riviera to get away from bad times and enjoy the sun! He came here to regenerate, and like so many writers he needed to walk to create. He came here (Vence, Nice, Eze) from 1883 to 1888 to initially get over his bad book sales back home, and to 'grow in the sun as plants grow', and then because he found inspiration here.

Just at the start of the path there is a small house behind a wire fence with a bed of , possibly wild, pale lemon-yellow freesias growing through the fence. The smell is wonderful, sweet and slightly cloying. It reminds me of my dear Dad, long departed...freesias were his favourite flower. My SOH, tells me that his grandmother also had them growing in her garden and that these must be the old fashioned variety because the smell is so strong. Why don't we have such flowers now? Why have we gone for flowery show, and colour, rather than the lovely scents we used to have.. and SOH says why can't we develop a camera to capture scents as well as pictures? Good idea I think to myself.

I ask him if he has called the nanny to say we will be late.. he THEN tells me that he can't call her because her phone is broken. Too late to turn the car round now.. so we head up the slope. Monty runs ahead, sniffing all over, enjoying his freedom to explore for a change. Up, and up we go, with one small flat stretch, for around 30 minutes, admiring the increasingly wonderful views over the Med from here. Monty is sweating in his winter coat now, but he doesn't stop running beside us. We see major barbed wire on the other side of the ravine and assume it is military. We hear water running somewhere down into the ravine, but we can't see it for all the trees growing.

We don't make it to the top. We meet about 5 other walkers on the way up, something that surprises me, as I never remember meeting anyone on my previous walks here.. maybe the result of the internet and more marketing. Due to time constraints we then have to turn round and walk back down to the car to head home so we will not be too late for the nanny.. that's when the views really hit you..all the way down you have the gorgeous blue of the Med glistening below you, and very little noise to disturb you. Now you understand how Nietzsche regenerated and why he returned..

(Key; SOH - significant other half)