Free Camping Five Best Spots - French and Italian Riviera

Bandol, France is one of my favorites.  Our parking is right beside a park where the senior citizens of Bandol play the popular sport called Petanque and where the flea market is set up once a week, which is right beside the marina and is just on the right of the main street's restaurants and shops.    We stayed 3 nights.  GPS 43.13334 5.75185

Outside of the town of Saint-Maxime is a restaurant called Mario Plage.  We think the parking lot beside the sea is for the customers of the restaurants but when we arrived at around 9pm the restaurant is already closed so we thought we can park for the night and leave in the morning.  We stayed one night.  GPS 43.31783 6.66591

After leaving our parking spot in Mario Plage early morning, we drove a short distance and found this huge parking at a commune of Saint-Maxime called Les Issambres.  We stayed here all day and found the place to be very relaxing and we felt we can stay there a long time and nobody would bother us.  We saw two men who set up a tent and hammock in a not very well hidden spot in the bushes/woods.  GPS 43.36172 6.71593

  
Next is a commune of Saint-Raphael called Agay.  We left a McDonalds location around 1130pm because we did not felt safe there so we drove and found this very well lighted street parking across from a hotel with no sign of business (doesn't look like a haunted place though).  We stayed one night GPS 43.42683 6.87630

Our last favorite came unexpectedly.  We have given up on the Italian Riviera because every towns and cities have NO PARKING sign for campers - then came this parking right beside the sea, our closest to the sea parking ever.  On the entrance of the parking grassy lot is a machine meant to collect parking payments but when we came it was not functional.  My husband talked to people from another camper and they informed him they have not paid any amount of money for their 5 nights stay mainly due to the machine being out of order.  The town is called Noli. We stayed one night here.  GPS 44.21582 8.41602


We have an idea of staying "forever" in France in these free camping spots, moving from one spot to the other, enjoying the beauty of nature and living happily ever after.

Saint-Tropez - Where the Fabulously Rich Party

My husband and I can officially say that we drove through the length of the French and Italian Rivieras.  We have seen the beautiful communes, towns and cities of Cote d' Azur in France and the towns and cities of Italy starting from Ventimiglia and finally exiting to the highway in Livorno.

I have some favorite spots where it is free to park and spend the night and where the view is fabulous and the sea is in all shades of blue.  I even have gps locations but I will blog about it later.

The night we were in Saint-Tropez, all seemingly brand new, beautiful, shiny, huge yachts are there parked right in the main street where people walk and the famous bars and restaurants are located.  There were about a dozen of them and I know from what I already saw the past weeks that these are the superstars of all yachts.

A week or so later, after seeing the yachts in Cannes, France and Monaco, it was confirmed, what we saw in Saint-Tropez were the finest babies of all yachts.

One yacht even has a mean-looking, Russian-looking, unsmiling big hunk of a guard.  Some yacht owners and guests were dining, drinking and partying right there on their decks in front of the common people watching them.  Some uniformed yachts crew were visible while tending to the yachts requirements and some were serving dinner and wine to their rich and famous bosses.

Saint-Tropez is a fun place to walk late at night and people watch.  It was alive with a lot of people at 10pm, restaurants were full and when we left at 1130pm, it was still busy and parties was definitely just beginning.

Dumpster Diving in France

Dumpster diving refers to the practice of getting/diving for food and non food items from dumpsters.  Dumpsters, in my opinion is an American term for the huge metal garbage container strategically located in supermarkets and some parts of the cities.

We stayed two nights free camping in a mall parking lot in La Garde, France.  Our parking spot was beside a supermarket and across from McDonalds for its free wifi.  On our second morning, my husband noticed a man checking out the garbage bins obviously looking for something.  So we thought he was looking for food scraps from McDonalds customers.  About an hour later, another man came and did the same.  A half hour later, two women came and also inspected the garbage bins.  All of them left empty handed.

Around noon, a supermarket staff moved the bin closer to the back door of the building and filled it with all kinds of stuff/goodies which they are throwing away.  We did not actually saw this but what we saw was a man and a woman team, probably husband and wife, hauling off about 10 bag full of stuff from the garbage bin which earlier in the morning was empty of goodies.  This couple came at the perfect time and came out of dumpster diving that day with food good for at least a week for a family of 5.

I have heard and read about dumpster diving in the USA and UK in the internet from some bloggers.  It was interesting for me because in the land of my birth, the Philippines, a lot of poor people goes hungry for lack of food and huge amount of food going to garbage is unthinkable and unimaginable.

So we watched and we thought that even some French people are so poor that they had to dumpster dive.

What's Life On the Road Like in a Camper

 What is this lifestyle like?  What does rving means?  What's life on the road like?  
 You must have a ton of money to be able to tour Europe? 

What is this lifestyle called?  Some call it motorhoming (British), RVing (Americans) and possibly campering (my word) since Italians call this vehicle camper.  So basically, the vehicle is called
a.  motorhonme
b. RV - Recreational Vehicle
c. camper
d. etc.

First, let me discuss money matters.  We bought our camper in Italy.  Actually, my niece, who is Italian bought the camper for us, registered under her name.  Based on research, we Canadians, can not buy a vehicle in Italy or anywhere in Europe.  In 2007, we bought a 1990 Fiat Ducato camper for Euros 7200 which we used for 5 months and which we later sold for Euros 4000.  This year we bought a 2002 Fiat Ducato camper worth Euros14700 which we hope to sell for Euros 15000 when were done touring Europe.  The point is, save enough money to buy yourself a camper which cost from Euros 7000 - really, really old model - to Euros 45,000 and up brand new one.

Once done with the matter of buying your home on wheels, everything else regarding expenses becomes as normal or predictable as you want it to be.  This means if at home (Canada or USA or anywhere else in the world)  you are spending $2000 (Euros1400) a month to live "your normal life", in this lifestyle here in Europe you can budget the same, control your expenses, live your life as it was before while touring Europe in your now very small home, your camper.

This lifestyle includes doing normal activities like cooking, doing the dishes, cleaning, food shopping and laundry.
Your budget dictates how often you eat in restaurants.  When you are not eating in restaurants, you are preparing and cooking your own meals.  You can do your laundry or you can use Laverie (French coin-operated laundry shops).  You can free-camp or you can go to a municipal or private campsite and pay an average of Euros20 a night. You can live as frugally as needed or you can spend as much as you want.  A couple can live on Euros800 per month frugally in our experience.

Water can be had from municipal or private campsites and is used sparingly.

Light and computer is powered by car battery while the battery is powered by solar panel.

C'est la vie.  Bonjour.

Bandol, France

Bandol, France is one of many beach towns in Cote d' Azur along the Mediterranean Sea.  Our idea is to drive through these communes and enjoy a slow life, savouring the pollution free, salty, fresh air in these parts of France.  We also thought we would finally be rid of the pollen allergy we had since arriving in Italy on April 16, 2011.

Coming from Avignon, France we have since visited the coastal towns of Sausset les Pins, Marseille, La Ciotat, Saint Cyr Sur Mer and now Bandol.

It was difficult to go to the centerville so we waited for when we know by experience that streets and parking spots are not so busy, that is around 8pm.

On our second try to navigate the narrow streets of Bandol, we got lucky, we found a parking spot right along the beach and got luckier, there's free wifi.   We later drove to where we thought we want to spend the night but found a better one - free parking outside of the centerville, still along the beach.

This was our first time to score a parking spot along the beach with a full, unobstructed view of the yatchs and the sea.

The following morning, we woke to find it was flea market day and it is right there, set up right in front of us.  It was a pleasant surprise, as I am a flea market enthusiast.

As usual there were fruits and vegetables, fresh meat and cured meats, seafood, garments and footwear.  Most interesting were the really huge flat cooking pans where paella, chicken and beef stews, escargots and potatoes were cooked.  There were also roasted chicken and pork. 

I like this flea market better probably because it is right on the sea walk.  Market day is Tuesday.

Got Locked up Twice in France

We were so happy when we finally arrived in the small town of Sausset Les Pins, Marseille Provence. We have been waiting for this moment when we are finally done with the interior of Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
We have seen the beautiful and most important lakes and rivers of the six countries. What we were so looking forward to is to see the deep blue seas again.

So on June 2, 2011, when we saw the sea, the beach, the walkway along the beach and the seemingly tranquil and friendly surroundings of this little town, we were ecstatic. We walked, took pics and had dinner in our camper. We began to take notice of the traffic signs which when translated via google translate means, No Motorhomes/Campers are allowed to park.

We left the parking lot, not so in a hurry though, intending to find a market to buy bottled water. We found a supermarche which was fully lighted still, we drove right in, found the store closed, we were about to exit when the gates closed automatically.

We were locked up, first time, without our consent. There was no one there to open the gate for us and allow us to leave. No one. My husband, used a pedestrian gate and chatted up with people across the street who were eating pizza at the pizza shop. They didn't know how to help us. So we parked and slept in their parking lot.

The second time we were locked up was with our consent. We were in E.Leclerc outside of Marseille and it was closing time. We had dinner and we were taking our time even if we knew the supermarket is already closed. We were approached and was told by the security officer that we could stay overnight but they need to locked up the gates. We agreed and it became our second time being locked up in France.

Palais des Papes and Ramparts of Avignon

The ramparts of Avignon is the first thing visitors would see when they approach the center of Avignon. They are massive and obviously ancient. My research indicated the ramparts were built in the 13th century and some more were added in the 14th century, with a total length of 4.3 kms.We drove around the city and we found the ramparts with a thickness of 6.5 to 8.5 feet and a height in my estimate of 20 to 24 feet to be totally encircling the city core. Without reading the history of Avignon, one would easily conclude that the reason for the construction of these massive ramparts or walling is for protection against the enemy or fear or paranoia or all of the above.

Knowing that Palais les Papes is located inside the ramparts and reading a little bit on the history of Avignon, we confirmed our theory. The Popes in the 13th century left Rome because of fear of the enemies of the Catholic Church and lived in Avignon. They built Palais des Papes.

We visited the city centerville of Avignon, France on June 2, 2011 on a rainy afternoon.

Palais des Papes is huge and beautiful, with a total floor area of 15,000 square meters according to Wikipedia and is the largest palace in all of Europe. We can't help but be overwhelmed and be disgusted with this display of wealth, power, arrogance and grandiosity by the Catholic Church with a heavy dose of eccentricity and paranoia. It is totally and completely incomprehensible.

The Popes needed to live in Avignon and therefore the Popes needed to build this monstrous palace because the Popes cannot live in simple, smaller Palace?

Wind Storm in Avignon, France

The wind was howling, was fierce, strong and relentless for two days while we were in Mistral 7, a shopping mall outside of Avignon, France city center on May 31 and June 1, 2011.

We decided to wait it out and let the strong winds pass but we did not expect it to last for two days.  The consolation in our being stranded is that we have free wifi from the mall, Auchan Supermarche for anything we want to cook and eat, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Lidl, my favorite market.

On the third day, June 2, the wind storm is somewhere else, but the rain came.  We visited Palais des Papes and the city center of Avignon while still raining.  We got wet but it was ok, small price to pay for being a tourist in France.