How did I end up in Greolieres? Just plain old divine intervention, I guess.
Although Greolieres is only 40 minutes from the Nice Cote D'Azur airport and an hour From Cannes, Antibes and the Mediterranean Sea , it is a very different setting, indeed.
Greolieres, with an altitude of 800 meters (2821.52 feet), is situated in the
Alpes-Maritimes mountains which seem to shoot right up from the radiant cities of Nice, Cannes , Antibes , and Grasse .
The not so wide roads leading up to this paradise and then continuing to the ski resort Greolieres Les Neiges, are often used for Italian, German and French auto manufactures, to show their wares in in television commercials.
In fact, Greolieres is usually a pit stop for the annual Monaco Rally, as well as other Rallys.
During my first drive to Greolieres, I went through Cagnes Sur Mer, up through Vence, and continued climbing a much steeper path up to The Col de Vence, and passing the lovely village of Coursegoules . Finally decending a bit, I came to the cute little village of St. Pons , and then, not five minutes later, I arrived at my new temporary dwelling, Greolieres.
I stayed at a wonderful place, the Regain bed and breakfast. Monsieur Del Grange is an excellent chef and his wife is a wonderful host. My French was very rusty and I needed to do something about it right away.
This is when I first came across the now very popular buzz phrase,
Educational travel. I signed up for French Immersion courses with greolingua (greolingua.com), a small but very efficient, friendly language institute, right there in my magnificent vacation spot. My teacher, Valerie Saltray, is a superb master of the French language, and completely fluent in English and Dutch, who truly wants to help people improve their French. But that wasnt all. Living in such a beautiful place, Valerie believed that French could be studied while enjoying the area. I had French lessons while hiking up the Cheiron, canyoning down the Loup (Wolf) River, swimming in the Meditreanian, shopping for paintings in St. Paul de Vence, playing slot machines at the casino in Cannes , or just watching the Paragliders hover overhead next to the school in Greolieres. Incredible, and my French skills improved rapidly.
As The Regain Bed and Breakfast was fully booked, and I had decided to lengthen my vacation, I found a new bed and breakfast across the road, The Gite de Cheiron (giteinthesun.com)
Gite de Cheiron
Telephone (from outside France ) : 0033 493 599 384
E-mail : ben.moss@wanadoo.fr ).
A lovely new villa with magnificent apartments for a very reasonable price well within my budget (which was quite tight at the time).
My lovely hosts, Karen and Ben Moss are two very courageous Brits, had been coming to Greolieres for vacation and to quell Bens passion for paragliding. Briefly, they decided to pack up their belongings in England , move to Greolieres and build this magnificent house with such a fantastic view and start their bed and breakfast. They now entertain paraglider enthusiasts from all over the world.
I was very happy there, and Valerie Saltray was happy to bring greolingua to me, to continue my French instruction, there. I became good friends with Valerie, Ben and Karen, and often we would have dinner together in one of the four restaurants in Greolieres. We often started with the Aperitif at the Café and then either went for the wonderful pizzas at La Barricade, cooked in an old fashioned wood burning oven, or in the center of the village to savour the exquisite masterpieces of my favourite chef, ever, Thierry, at the Piere au feu. Thierry and his wife Lynne know how to serve up one of the finest dining experiences in the area and have a fine reputation throughout the region. Just thinking about it now, makes my mouth water.
If your looking for a vacation, or educational vacation in an authentic traditional French village in a stunning surrounding, with friendly people all around you, then Greolieres just might be the place for you. I may see you there.
Contact Details:
Greolingua
Valérie Saltray
admin@greolingua.com
greolingua.com
63 Chemin de La Faïsse
06620 GREOLIERES
FRANCE
Telephone: +33 493 599 235
Within France 04 93 59 92 35
Gite de Cheiron
Telephone (from outside France ) : 0033 493 599 384
E-mail : ben.moss@wanadoo.fr
Villa Regain
440 Route de Gentelly
06620 Gréolières
Tel : +33 4.93.59.91.12 delgrange.pierre@wanadoo.fr
Restaurant « La Pierre A Feu »
130 Grande Rue
06620 Gréolières
Tel : +33 4.93.59.98.89
Restaurant Pizzeria « La Barricade »
14 Place de la Barricade
06620 Gréolières
Tel : +33 4.93.59.98.68
Restaurant « La Vielle Auberge »
7 Place Pierre Merle
06620 Gréolières
Tel : +33 04.93.59.95.07
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