Our first destination was Marseille. Since I have two small children (2 and 4 years old), we left home at night, around 2 AM. The plan was for the kids to sleep for a while and for us to arrive in Marseille in the afternoon. It took us about 13 hours to reach the Camping de la Verdiere: https://www.campinglaverdiere.fr/, including breaks. I recommend the campsite; it has a good location, accessible public transport, friendly staff, and everything one needs while traveling. After settling in, we took a bus that stops near the campsite into the city of Marseille, all the way to the sea. It’s a beautiful, large city, but yes, everything seems big to us Slovenians😊.

The next day, we drove to the capital of Andorra, Andorra la Vella. We stayed at Camping Valira: https://campingvalira.com/. It’s a great campsite, and we easily got a spot without a reservation. The following day, we explored the city of Andorra la Vella. We walked from the campsite since the center was only about a 5-minute walk away. It’s a very touristy place, where everything happens on the street with shops and restaurants. We spiced up our stroll through the city by also visiting the old part of town, which had almost no visitors. It’s a pity because the old part is much more beautiful than the shops and restaurants.

The fourth day was dedicated to watching Stage 15 of the Tour de France 2024. Unfortunately, we learned the evening before that Primož Roglič will not continue the race due to injuries from the race. I admit we had planned to watch the race mainly to see Primož in action. Despite Primož’s withdrawal, we didn’t want to miss the atmosphere at the biggest cycling race. Well, hehe, I don’t want anyone to think we’re not cheering for Tadej 😊 Of course, we are also rooting for Tadej Pogačar.

We left Andorra and headed back to France, specifically to the small town of Les Cabannes. A huge number of people came; everything was centered around the race. We arrived at the venue about 5 hours before the cyclists arrived. while waiting we explore the town, enjoying drinks and food. In the main square, there was also a large screen where we could follow the race’s progress a bit. The action began with the arrival of the caravan, which provided a party with music and merchandise thrown into the crowd. I can’t describe my son’s excitement as we caught hats, chocolate bars, etc. After several hours of waiting, the cyclists finally delighted us as they  pasted us in about a minute, and then it was all over. Tadej Pogačar won the stage; we Slovenians felt important 😊 After the race, our journey continued to Barcelona.

I booked Camping Mas Nou in advance. When we arrived at the campsite, we realized that I had actually reserved Camping Mas Nou in Girona and not in Barcelona: https://www.facebook.com/campingmasnoubarcelona/. This has never happened to me before, but okay, even the best sometimes make mistakes. Anyway, we decided to stay for two nights. The campsite is old and needs some renovations, but it is well-maintained and clean. This year, Spain was also a finalist and then the winner of the 2024 European Football Championship. We watched the match on the computer at the campsite, but the atmosphere due to the surrounding blocks was incredible. Loud cheering was heard all around. The next day, we followed up with a tour of the city of Barcelona. As always, we used public transportation, and this time it was the train. Upon arrival, we walked to Camp Nou stadium. Although we couldn’t tour it due to renovations, we strolled to the shop and treated ourselves to something other than sangria (for the kids, of course, juice!!). If anyone hasn’t tried sangria in Spain yet – I highly recommend it. I thought Barcelona was wonderful. We definitely would need more days to explore, but that will have to wait for one of our next trips.

On the sixth day, we continued our journey to the campsite I had booked instead of the one in Barcelona, namely Camping Mas Nou in Girona: https://www.campingmasnou.com/en/. A great campsite, beautiful, large, modern, with pool, only the sea was a bit far from the camp site. But everything is accessible by public transport. And it was worth it, such stunning beaches on the Costa Brava. Wow. We stayed for a few days  swimming, sunbathing, sangria, and so on…

On the ninth day, we set off back to France, to the town of Roquebilliere, where we watched the 20th stage of the Tour de France the following day. We stayed at Camping Les Templiers: https://campinglestempliers.fr/. It was a beautiful area, very close to the center of the town of Roquebilliere, through which the Tour de France passed.

After the race, we continued our journey to Villeneuve-Loubet, where we stayed at the Camping Parc Des Maurettes: https://www.parcdesmaurettes.com/en/. The campsite is located very close to the train station, from which you can take a train to Nice.

The last stage of the Tour de France followed – the time trial. We set off for the train early in the morning, but we weren’t the only ones. I’ve never experienced such a crowd on a train, and I certainly didn’t expect it. It was a bit overwhelming for our little kids, but we managed well. The train we were waiting for was significantly delayed, and when it finally arrived, it was so full that we definitely didn’t want to push ourselves in. Luckily, the next one came shortly after, and we were able to board it fairly normally.

In Nice itself, there were indeed a lot of visitors, but there was enough space for everyone. If you’re interested in cycling races, I always recommend watching the time trial, as it allows spectators to see each cyclist individually and cheer for them all day long. We didn’t take a tour of Nice; instead, we spent our walk looking for the ideal spot to watch the best cyclists. Based on the pictures and footage I managed to capture, I’d say we succeeded.

I must emphasize that when Tadej Pogačar arrived, the entire gathered crowd started shouting “Pogi, Pogi…” What a noise, what cheering! He truly is the best cyclist in the world and so popular. Great athlete, great race, great atmosphere, great finish! It’s hard to describe in words; you would have to be there!

In the following days, we took advantage of the French Riviera for swimming, sunbathing, enjoying, and resting. In one of the days, we also visited Monaco. We traveled to Monaco by train as well. Of course, the train wasn’t as crowded as on the day of the last stage of the Tour de France 2024, but I can still say that it was very full. How was our time in Monaco, which is bursting with shiny and expensive things? It was great, of course, we splurged a bit and treated ourselves to some shopping. Since we easily blend into any environment, we met a local who gave us a little tour of the city and revealed some “hidden corners” to us. On top of everything, we enjoyed lunch with Mr. Golob—nothing political, just a chat about ordinary things over food. The food was phenomenal.

Translation: While wandering around the city, we stopped by Decathlon and bought some more towels to reduce the laundry challenges during our vacation. The local we “spontaneously” connected with, sold us tickets for the “train” that took us around the city. A similar one operates in Umag. The pigeon (Mr. Golob) kept us company throughout lunch—a city pigeon. At the neighboring table, it waited for us to toss him a bite. Hunger is the best chef, so the pizza and pasta were phenomenal.

It was time for us to head to our last vacation destination, which is Genova Pegli. We settled in at the Campeggio Villa Doria campsite: https://www.campingvilladoria.it/?lang=en. The campsite is located above the city and is very close to the beautiful Giardino di Villa Centurione Doria park. I recommend visiting if you ever pass by. The beach was a 15-minute walk away, but we were on vacation after all. The beach can’t compare to the Côte d’Azur or Costa Brava, but it was much better for small children to swim. Large open beaches have waves that are too big for little kids, while the beach in Genoa is ideal for little splashers

We spent 20 days on our journey, and we are already looking forward to the next one.