Last riding day already! On our way down to the Côte d'Azur again and to Cannes we were passing by a field of cork trees.

The lower and darker part of the trunk tells you the amount of bark that was cut off.

Down at Frejus/St. Raphael we planned a stop for a swim in the sea. I, however, learned that this was nothing worth to write home about for the the Brazilian guys... guess what they were saying...

"This is winter for us!!!"

So I've sent the lonesome cowboy instead to try the temperature of the water

Don and Marcela were as brave and put at least their toes into the water

Next stop was Cannes. It was only the week before our tour that the famous film festival has taken place.

We have finished our Scooter Tour of the French Riviera with a loop over the ancient city of Antibes back into Grasse.

One of the "multi-purpose scooters" before it was returned. Stephen and Tim have provided for the "farewell boot beer"...

Thank you guys for buzzing around together here in Southern France! Hope to see you again somewhere on the road! It was great fun!

The Grand Canyon of Europe... the Gorge du Verdon had many fantastic views to offer! Yesterday we discovered the george from all sides ...

But first we happened to arrive just in time for the farmer's market in Castellane! A nice opportunity to experience typical French lifestyle!

Stunning views and fantastic roads in the Gorge du Verdon and the weather was just right, too!

Marcela and Don buzzing around with their Vespas in the Gorge du Verdun.

Hey guys, don't take too close a look!!

The Brazilians on their way back from the point de Sublime - a fantastic view point.

The Lac de Sainte Croix.

Hey guys, thank you for an outstanding riding day yesterday!!!

Following a longer riding day yesterday, we took it easy today with a halfday ride around the suburbs of Grasse.

Claudia and Marcela at the Gorge du Siagne where some of us took a bath in the icy water...

Tim and Stephen: Look at the brave guys... and guess what they will be doing next...

No worries... they've found what they've had lost before...

At the beatiful and typical French village of Mons. Not many tourists find their way to this place in the mountains.

Some more impressions for you:

The mom-and-pop store - "supermarket" and bakery at the same time

Potable water everywhere

On the way back to grasse again

No rooms in this "hotel", though...

Some impressions from our tour of the city of Grasse...

Hey Tim, have you been here before???

Right after the city tour we went into the parfume museum to find out more about the history of parfume and how this captivating stuff is produced.

The steaming process...

The filtering...

the botteling...

... and, of course, the gift shop

Not to mention the testing

Wow! So many impressions yesterday - Monaco was calling !

It was calling so loud that the Brazilians wanted to go there without any detour   Of course this is easy to understand given the fact that you can still feel the spirits of last week's Formula 1 race in Europe's second smallest city state.

The rest of the group took the scenic route along the worldfamous coastal road of the Côte d'Azur.

Something's wrong here?? You're sure this is Miami Beach, Don??

Marcela and Stephen enjoying French traffic...

Fantastic 360° views over Nice and its harbour...

Finally, we were arriving in Monaco. On top of the rock "La Rocher" where Prince Albert II and his family live there is also the famous Oceographic museum of Jaques Cousteau.

See our well-prepared traveler... Tim, in front of the famous yellow submarine, has even brought his typical French hat - the béret

The cathedral with the tombs of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier.

The change of the guards in front of the palace.

Beautiful houses up there on "Le Rocher"

And of course, the number one on the 'to-do-list' of most of us: The Formula 1 circuit in down town Monaco!

Not to mention the realistic Formula 1 road conditions that sudden rainfall gave us...

Fabiola & Francisco, Claudia & Marcos, Ligia & Sergio from Brazil, Marcela & Don and Stepen and Tim from America were having a fabulous first day zipping around with the 300 cc Vespas  in the deserted mountain area of the Côte d'Azur

Marcela, Claudia and Ligia in the middle of the French nowhere

Same as Stephen, Francisco, Don, Marcos, Tim and Sergio.

Stephen and the rest of the group...

...on top of the Col de Castelleras.

Do you know where we are...?

Well, the Brazilians say at a nice place to have a Café au lait

At this place in Gréolières the coffee even came along with some delicious pastries for those who can't resist...

Don, Marcos, Sergio, Ligia and Claudia in front of the Gréollière castle. This one is actually on sale if you can spare 4000 Euros... including aircondition

In Vence we tried one of the typical local specialities - the Socca. This is a  salty pancake-like French tarte, a "must-have".

It was so delicious that Tim had to kiss Stephen for scouting it out

Bienvenue à la Côte d'Azur - nous somme de retour!

Welcome back at the French Riviera - home of the rich and famous ... and the sun worshippers ...

Already yesterday the Scooters and also part of the group have arrived here in Grasse.

While some of us went to see the city of Nice, others even took their scooters to figure out the road network in Grasse.

We'll see if the weather will play along tomorrow when we do our first ride into the mountain area around Grasse.