The photo somehow doesn't do the view justice!

And what a discovery it was! Every turn in the road brought forth another awe-inspiring panorama of forests, breath-taking rock formations, white-water rivers and incredible mountain peaks and gorges; I was like a child on Christmas morning delighting in the fact that Father Christmas had indeed brought me everything on my wish-list. 

From Chateauneuf-de-Grasse we drove into Nice where we picked up a friend, and then took “the scenic route” through Villefranche-sur-Mer, Eze and La Turbie before joining the A8 motorway to Italy. Exiting at Vintimille we hooked onto the SS20, which brought us back into France, and headed to Breil-sur-Roya which was to be our first stop.  After a tour of this surprising town with its inter-connecting “ruelles” and wide river with crystal clear water, we then drove up to Saorge where we stopped for lunch after exploring its narrow streets tightly packed with tall, slender houses covered with raggedly shaped dark-red slate roofs.

Our third and final stop, before Menton, was Sospel, a delightful village that had us both charmed and captivated; with reluctance we left behind a land of green forests, terraced olive groves and steep rocky hillsides.

From Mountains to Sea - a gift