Day 81 – EU – France [Toulon La Garde to Le Lavandou]

24/02/20

38km

  From Toulon La Garde (France) to Le Lavandou (France)

Europe

Beautiful running day, cycling paths, pink flamingos, springtime weather… what a difference a day makes!

As I left Toulon early this morning, I was unsure about the day ahead. I took the last minute decision to forego running across Hyeres, as I did not want one more unpleasant city crossing experience if I could avoid it. I chose the coastal way and was looking forward to all the cycling paths.

I have been spoiled! Today was awesome. I remember thinking, in french: “Aujourd’hui, la route, c’est du bonheur à tartiner!”: Today, the road is like happiness spread on fresh bread 🙂 I found the “Coastal cycling path” and stuck to it nearly all the way to my destination today, Le Lavandou. It makes such a difference when running sheltered from the cars, on a safe and pleasant road.

I got surprised by some more Pink Flamingos today – I wasn’t expecting these at all. Since I am in Southern France, I have spotted them on several occasions and been equally surprised each time. I guess they evoke to me some sort of very faraway places and… well I have never considered that France may be on their migration route!

The arrival in Le Lavandou was bliss. Springtime weather, with temperatures in the upper 20’s (celsius), blue skies, calm sea, visibility on all the islands… people filling in the terasses, restaurants and cafes – and the bowling alleys (“petanque” in french) filled with players. I took it all in, got sunburnt – and my traditional lunchtime beer got to my head very quickly!

Tomorrow I’ll be heading to Ste Maxime… passing by legendary Saint Tropez… another fab day on the road ahead!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: