Cabasse

Left our campsite, which was a bit overpriced we thought, with on arrival only 3 (mixed) showers for 39 pitches, a cold pool, which again on arrival we were told wasn't open till Christmas Day, poor signage and VERY tight maneuvering to drive in and out and to use the emptying facilities. €220 for 7 nights. But it's the only one in the whole area open all year, and was full. Also it was convenient to get a bus to Nice and to the sea, shops, cafes etc. The staff were friendly enough till on paying, they asked me if everything was alright, my answer was that we were disappointed that the pool wasn't open all the time as we'd chosen the site due to the pool. I had actually mentioned it to two staff members and was told it would be open on 25th. Today I got a defensive response from them, saying it had opened on 23rd and a denial that they'd said 25th. They dismissed my suggestion that there should be signage showing open and closing times and how to raise theshuttered door. Told me there was a sign just inside the door. I said I couldn't see it as the door was locked!
They huffed and puffed. I decided not to comment further on other potential improvements. They clearly didn't want to hear a customer's viewpoint.

So, we left for Grasse to visit the International Museum of Perfume. Grasse was THE perfume centre of the world. The translations left a bit to be desired, and at first I didn't learn much, but further on, the displays and videos told us a lot of social aspects of perfume and make-up. I discovered that in the middle ages (?) it was believed that washing in water was a way for disease to get into the body through pores in the skin. Dry washing was the thing, with phials of perfume secreted in corsets or boots. It was Marie Antoinette who was a forerunner of bathing in actual water. Also that make-up wasn't just for cosmetic effect but was used to protect facial orifices from evil and to protect the soul. E.g. dark lines around the eyes were for protection.
Lots of gorgeous bottles on display, plus Marie Antoinette's 'escape' case and lots of other interesting stuff.
A nice traffic warden had reassured us that we had 3 hours free parking so we grabbed a sandwich to consume back at the van and stopped for a coffee on route to this free spot again by the dried up lake.Read more