France Meets Italy

When I first devised my scheme to go to Madrid and all the little pieces fell into place, it was a big discussion between Brian and I on how to have a nice European vacation at the end of the summer. Brian was in London all summer working for a firm.  I've been incredibly happy and proud of him working at one of his dream jobs. He had been to Europe before, but there are still many missing pins on his map, just as there are on mine. I wanted to go somewhere I had never been, and this limited our options just a bit. For unknown reasons, we wanted to go to the beach. You are thinking to yourself, "who doesn't want to go to the beach?!" But you are probably forgetting, if I actually "live" anywhere, I "live" in California, on the beach. I drive just over thirty minutes everyday to school ON THE BEACH. So in June when we started planning this, it seemed a little ridiculous to plan a trip centered around beach time. It's actually pathetic how little I make it to the beach in California, and knowing that Madrid would be sweltering in July, we forged ahead with our plans to have a beach vacation. We decided on the French Riviera and booked our flight roundtrip out of Nice. 

Day 1: Get into Antibes, France (between Nice and Cannes) and go to its little sandy beach. We had a nice lunch, explored the old town, and then ate a delicious meal in this little bitty restaurant where we understood about 10 words on the menu and ordered at complete random. It was Brian's favorite meal of the entire trip. 


Day 2: We went to Cannes, had a luxurious beach day at a little beachside resort. Although public transportation in the area is extensive, we didn't really have the best experience. Without fail, every time we needed a bus, we walked up as it was driving away ensuring that we waited the full time and really rocking our nerves. We also had great difficulty finding bus stations as the lines were under construction and bus stops would randomly get moved. We were also never in the same place long enough to really figure it out. Cannes was our first taste of the multiple nightmares the Cote d'Azur buses provided, and the video of us running frantically down the street after a bus in our bathing suits is probably already on the Internet somewhere. We had dinner in Antibes. 

Day 3: After a morning stroll around Antibes, we went into the Picasso Museum where Picasso spent four months of his life cranking out a ton of sketches and art. A whole new taste of Picasso, and extra special to see it almost like a private showing without any one else in the exhibit while we were there. We left Antibes and moved to a new hotel in Villefranche Sur Mer, which is between Nice and Monaco. We took a very scenic bus route from Villefranche Sur Mer to Monaco, where we explored our way to the Monte Carlo. I was really mesmerized by the yachts. I just do not understand owning a yacht. I don't get it. But they are nice to look at! Monaco was beautiful and it was a lovely afternoon, followed by a spectacular dinner on the water in the harbor in Villefranche Sur Mer. 

Day 4: Grand tour of Nice, we gawked at the Chagall museum, explored Nice, roamed around the Negresco Hotel like we were paying$1500 for a bed that night, and spent the entire afternoon at a little beachside resort. We were really horrified at the huge rocks on the beach, and couldnt imagine how anyone managed to grow up thinking such a rocky beach was "the beach." I had never been parasailing, so Brian and I went "flying" as they called it so we could see the awesome views of the entire Riviera from the sky. So much fun! We finished the day with another great dinner along the water in the harbor in Villefranche Sur Mer. 

Day 5: I had one last beach day in Villefranche, with its small little pebble beach. We had a big lunch and shopped around the little town before making our way to Nice to fly back to Madrid. 

Having just been to Cinque Terre in October, I loved experiencing the French side of the Riviera. Its really just a bigger, more commercial, and grander scale Italian Riviera. The food is a dream- French meets Italian... all the best of each. YUM. I cant imagine a better cuisine than authentic crepes, gelato, tiramisu and creme brulee on every desert menu. All my favorites! I still prefer Cinque Terre, but the French Riviera was an absolute delight. I'm pleased to say it was the perfect combination of traveling and exploring, cheesy tourism and pure relaxation beachside. Also, not lacking in romance! I'm a lucky, lucky girl! Enjoy the photos.