my favorite travels of the last few months. My Mom arrived in Aix and after a nights rest we picked up our rental car and ventured down to the Cote d'Azur. (Props to my Mom for driving through the impossibly small and winding streets in some of the port towns we were in; she did a great job.) Our first stop was Antibes where we stayed for three nights and used it as our home base for day trips. It was a very cute little town, reminiscent of Aix but situated right on the water. Picasso lived there for a summer and we visited a cute little museum in his old house that looked right out on the water.
We went to outdoor markets, enjoyed beautiful hikes along the ocean and ate delicious food- it was bliss. We stayed in a residential area outside of
town and we enjoyed peeking in at some incredibly large estates with amazing views. It's a law in France that houses must be passed on through the generations once theprimary owner dies so most of the chateaus have been under one families ownership since existence (and most are hundreds of years old!)
For our first day trip we went to Cannes where we picnic lunched and touched the Mediterranean for the first time! It was a beautiful day and the sunbathers were out in numbers. Cannes was different from other Riviera villages in that it has tons of palm trees (probably for tourist purposes) making the beachside areas feel a bit like Miami. There are lots of high-rise apartments and high class shopping- you can only imagine what it would be like when the film festival is up and running although it was nice to see it pretty void of tourists. After Cannes we drove down the coast for a few hours and just enjoyed the sheer beauty of the area that we wouldn't have been able to access if it weren't for our car. There are stunning cliffs and Calanques (red rock cliffs) and villages tucked away between winding sea ridge roads- the views were breath taking.
Another day trip we took was to Monaco- home of the Grand Prix and world famous Monte Carlo Casino. Monaco is actually it's own separate country but it's all clustered in such a small area that you would think it's just one big city. It's really majestic and certain spots you have great views of the mountains, port, ocean and palace all at once. It's a great combination of old European historic buildings, HUGE yachts, and the beautiful blue ocean all at once- I was quite enchanted. We went up and saw the palace and walked through the gardens, which despite all the tourists were very serene. When driving in, we also accidentally drove on the course for the Grand Prix that was being set up, it was exciting...There was a big tennis tournament going on so we couldn't get up to the casino but I have a feeling we would've been underdressed...
Our next stop for the final leg of the trip was Villefranche sur mer where we spent the night at a cute little family run bed and breakfast. We had a delicious dinner in town that night looking out over the sun setting on the little bay which was so nice and relaxing after a somewhat long day of driving...traffic can be horrendous in these small villages with one way streets- my Mom was a trooper...The next morning I woke up early and went on the greatest run up to a point that looks over the whole town- there's nothing like the morning sun over the Mediterranean Ocean...We then had a delicious French breakfast, chatted with the owners a bit (all of the French who we met on the trip were so nice and I feel like my French improved tenfolds) and then we were off on the road again back to Aix...
My Mom found this great apartment that she stayed in for a few nights where we cooked together and enjoyed the recently beautiful springtime weather out on the terrace. Our next stop was Paris of which I just returned from yesterday. Unfortunately I have to go study for finals right now but within the next few days I'll update on the Parisian adventures.
By the way...a big thank you to all who voted for my video- we were awarded SECOND PLACE!! The winnings are in the form of travel vouchers so now I just have more trips to plan for when I get home...wooo!! Thank you all for the support :)
More soon...!
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