Côte d'Azur Day 4: Antibes

Our fourth day on the Côte d'Azur was sadly our last (for now, at least)! So we knew we had to make the most of it. 

To start, we went for a swim after breakfast in the beautiful swimming pool at the hotel. Then it was time for us to pack up our things and check out, which is always a bittersweet moment when you've had such a nice holiday, as we had.

However, our trip wasn't completely over just yet! We decided to take the bus over to the nearby town of Antibes for a last bit of sightseeing. I was quite excited about this, as I'd never been there before, despite having visited the French Riviera several times in the past. 

This town is famous for inspiring various well-known artists; in fact, many years ago (maybe 2014), I visited the Courtauld Gallery in London, and bought a postcard of Antibes by Claude Monet as a souvenir. It has been on my bedroom wall at home ever since then, and I always had the intention of visiting the place that inspired it at some point in the future!

After all these years of anticipation, Antibes did not disappoint. The first thing we did there was take a walk along the coast, taking in beautiful views of châteaux, beaches and gorgeous houses.

We visited Le Nomade, a famous sculpture overlooking the sea. You can actually go inside it, but we didn't because there were two boys climbing up inside it (which isn't allowed!).

Our next stop was Phare port d'Antibes, a little lighthouse overlooking the harbour. Next to it, there was a little table with chairs, where you can sit and take in the view of the Mediterranean and the star-shaped Fort Carré.

We then went for lunch at a place called The Brooklyn. On one side of the street, they have a more general menu with things like burgers and pizzas, and on the other side they have a sushi restaurant, which we opted for, as sushi is one of our favourites. The food was pretty good, and the portions were nice and big!

Afterwards, we went to get gelato (another of our favourite foods!) and spent a while wandering around the picturesque town and buying souvenirs.

We finished off our day in Antibes in the best way, with a paddle in the sea.

Sadly, it was now time for us to return to the hotel for the last time to pick up our luggage, and head for the airport.

The journey back home definitely felt like coming back to reality with a bump! Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours, meaning that we missed the last train home from Gatwick and had to get a hotel at the last minute for a few hours sleep before returning to Reading the next day. We arrived in our flat at around 8:45, and I didn't have much of a turnaround before I had to go into the office in London for a meeting.

Despite the travel chaos, the holiday was a much-needed break, and we returned to our normal lives feeling more rested and motivated. It had been 8 months since we'd last left the UK, and we really needed the change of scenery, especially after having to cancel our April holiday. We've realised that, going forward, we want to try to go abroad at least every few months, even if it's just a couple of days in Europe.

Overall, our time in the south of France and Monaco was really special. We spent loads of time swimming in the sea and the pool, ate lots of delicious food, and of course, explored some beautiful towns and cities. It's easy to see why this part of the world is as popular as it is, and I'm sure that we'll be back at some point in the future!

Côte d'Azur Day 3: Nice

Our third day on the Côte d'Azur saw us visiting the area's unofficial capital, Nice. This city is full of history, culture and architecture, and definitely can't be missed.

Even the train station, the first place most visitors see after arriving, is a really beautiful building.

I had been to Nice a few times before, but there was one particular sight I hadn't seen yet, specifically because I hadn't heard of it until the last day of my previous trip, when there wasn't time to visit it!

So this time, we made sure to visit Saint-Nicolas Russian Orthodox Cathedral straight after emerging from the train station. This is considered to be the most important orthodox cathedral outside Russia, and given that travel to Russia is currently advised against, it's probably the closest most of us can get to visiting somewhere like Saint Basil's Cathedral right now.

The building is absolutely beautiful and almost made us feel like we were in Moscow or Saint Petersburg - if it wasn't for the 30-degree heat and palm trees!

The inside of the church was also pretty interesting, as it was completely different to an Anglican or Catholic church, without the usual pews we'd expected to see.

I also absolutely loved the fact that there were little pet rabbits hopping around the grounds of the cathedral!

Next we decided to visit what is probably the most famous attraction in Nice: la Promenade des Anglais, which extends for 7 kilometres along the coastline.

One of the most famous sites of the Promenade is Le Negresco hotel, one of the most iconic hotels of the Côte d'Azur, along with the Carlton in Cannes.

However, what excited Claudio the most about being there was the fact that a car chase scene in the Transporter was filmed there!

At the end of the promenade, you can find Nice's château, a little castle perched on a hill. From this corner of the city, there are some amazing views to enjoy. 

For lunch, we both really fancied some pasta, and Nice is a great place for it, given that it used to be part of Italy. So we went to Carpe Diem, an Italian restaurant tucked away in an alleyway in Old Nice. Claudio had tagliatelle bolognese, I had a vegetarian pasta dish called Carpe Diem, and we both had a glass of wine. The food and wine were both delicious and very good value, and the portions were huge! I'd say it was the best meal we had during the holiday.

After lunch, we went for a stroll through Old Nice, which is a really picturesque area full of beautiful buildings, including the city's cathedral.

We then went to visit la Fontaine du Soleil in Place Masséna, Nice's most famous square.

We finished off our day in Nice in the best way: relaxing on the beach and paddling in the sea. The beach is beautiful, but because it's made from pebbles rather than sand, it does really hurt your feet to walk barefoot on it!

After we got back to Vallauris, where we were staying, we went to the cute bakery we'd seen on our first day, Maison des Merveilles, and bought a strawberry trompe l'œil cake, as we hadn't had time for cake on Claudio's birthday the previous day. After going for a long swim in the sea, we shared the cake back at the hotel, and I'm pleased to say that it tasted as good as it looked!

It had been another great day on the Côte d'Azur! Nice is such a vibrant city, and we really enjoyed our time exploring its sights and soaking in its atmosphere.

Sadly, the following day was the last day of our trip! It was a slightly more relaxed day, but we still saw plenty of interesting sights. I'll be writing all about it very soon!

Côte d'Azur Day 1: Vallauris and Cannes

After eight months without leaving the UK, we finally went abroad again, spending four days in the south of France and Monaco. 

This is a trip that we were considering doing in April, after our holiday to Australia was cancelled, but we felt that we couldn't face planning another trip so soon after having to cancel one. In the end, we decided to go for Claudio's birthday in June, when the weather would be better.

This was a dream bucket list trip for Claudio, as he really wanted to visit Monaco to see the supercars! As for me, I had actually been to the area several times before, because my granddad lived in Cannes, but the last time I went was over 10 years ago, so I was keen to go back, revisit places I'd been to previously and explore new ones.

We chose to stay at Blanc Sable Hôtel, a hotel with very beachy décor, located in Vallauris, between Cannes and Antibes. We arrived from the airport quite late at night, so went straight to our room to go to bed. The room had a great view of the pool, overlooked by what appears to be a former church, and the bathroom came equipped with a full set of Fragonard toiletries.

We started off our first morning with a delicious breakfast by the pool (highlights being the coffee, pains au chocolat and fruit salad), followed by a swim and a bit of sunbathing. We definitely felt very much on holiday after that!

We then went for a walk by the beach near the hotel and ended up coming across a classic car exhibition. Claudio was super happy!

In the town, we came across this really cute bakery called Maison des Merveilles. It had some incredible looking trompe l'œil cakes!

We then took the train over to the glamorous city of Cannes in order to take in its sights, starting with Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage de Cannes church.

Next we headed over to the best-known place in the city, Palais des Festivals, where the famous film festival is held. The red carpet was out (though it was actually green!). There's a photo somewhere of me standing on the same carpet (red, on that occasion!) from around 15 years ago, but this time there was a big queue, so we just took a selfie from a distance!

We went for a wander round the area, taking in the views of the port, the hilltop neighbourhood of Le Suquet, the Hôtel de Ville, and the bus station (which is surprisingly pretty!).

We then went to get an ice cream from Nivà Gelato Italiano, which actually turned out to be some of the best gelato we've ever had.

However, since arriving in Cannes, I'd been struggling with some sort of allergy in my eyes; they were really stinging and I could hardly keep them open. Luckily, although it was Sunday, there was a pharmacy open near the gelateria, where we were able to buy some very expensive but effective eye drops. Once they'd started working, I was able to start enjoying the day a lot more.

Our next stop was Le Suquet, part of the city I'd never visited before. This is definitely the most historic area of Cannes, with an old church and the ruins of a castle. It reminded me a bit of the Citadella in Gozo.

After exploring Le Suquet, we went for a walk along the city's beaches.

We took a look at the Carlton Hotel, which is the most glamorous and iconic hotel in the city. Of course, there were plenty of supercars around, which Claudio was very happy about!

After enjoying a poke bowl and some iced tea, we took the train back to Golfe-Juan-Vallauris, went back to the hotel to get changed, and headed out to the local beach, where we spent a very happy hour or so swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.

It had been a great start to our trip, but Claudio's birthday was the following day, and some even more exciting adventures were coming our way!