France!
The drive from Italy to France was beautiful with the final road winding along the water. The toll booths are not very efficient, though, so our 4-5 hour drive turned into 7…. At this point we had discovered audio books and Babbel, so the kids drove us crazy with ‘Magic Treehouse’ stories and we drove them crazy with French lessons. At least no one was crying.
I thought I was an Airbnb expert until we arrived at this one. More disappointing was that being in the south of France (though still 30 minutes up winding roads from the beach) it was one of the most expensive airbnbs of the summer. That said, we had a beautiful view of the Baou de Saint Jeannet and the weather was perfect to spend most of our time outdoors, which was great because this was one tiny Airbnb. We were in France a total of 3 weeks, with a long weekend in the middle in Turkey looking at a boat. While in France, both kids started the virtual school year so our days started to take on more shape.
Experiences in France:
Hiking the Baou de Saint Jeannet
A view of this gorgeous cliff in the Prealps/Provence Alps was the redeeming quality of our Airbnb. It is accessed via the tiny cliff town of Saint Jeannet, where “To Catch a Thief” was filmed. The town is unbelievably picturesque, with medieval buildings built right into the cliff and gorgeous views to the sea. The roads here are so narrow in some parts that only one lane has the right-of-way and the oncoming traffic must wait to pass (this would have been helpful at the junction mentioned above). The hike to the Baou was 3 miles straight uphill. Rosie cried and complained the whole way up. But once we made it to the top, we had a picnic and admired the view all the way to the Cote d’Azur and beyond. Everyone sang happily all the way down and from then on, when we admired it from home, we knew what it felt like to stand at the top.
Rollerblading the Promenade des Anglais
The boardwalk in Nice extends for nearly 4.5 miles along the ocean. It is wide and flat and always busy. Great people watching, fancy beach clubs and restaurants, and rocky beaches with warm azure water. The kids are such good roller-bladers! We spent a few hot summer days on the boardwalk getting in some steps (spins) and fresh air.
Oops - Another Little Fender-Bender
Unfortunately in France, we also had another side scrape on a rental car while going down a tiny mountain road. There is a sign that warns the road narrows, but another car came along at that exact moment. In our big small SUV, it just wasn’t going to fit. We hugged our side…and ended up kissing the cliff right where a boulder jutted out into the road. Luckily, it was on the rub rail and practically unnoticeable (although it didn’t sound that way). Still, considering how many miles and new countries and rental cars we’ve driven in, we think we’re actually doing pretty well!
Scuba Diving from Nice
I was surprised to see that you could learn to scuba dive in Nice and was hoping it would be like our surfing experience. While the kids didn’t really learn, they did have their first scuba experience and Rosie faced a fear (and loved it!). I got to spend a quiet morning alone wandering the port and streets of Nice (#winning).
Beach Day In Antibes
In search of sand rather than stones, we booked chairs at a beach club in Antibes for the day. It’s hard for us Americans to get used to this type of beach-going where the chairs are completely packed in, very expensive - and you have to pay extra for ‘front row’ - you can’t bring your own food…but once you accept the cost and force the kids to stay long enough to make it worth it, you can enjoy excellent service, delicious food and a fun, clubby ambiance (including the requisite European chaise neighbors who smoke…). Rosie had her hair braided and they both made friends. It was a fun change of scenery from our mountain villa.
Exploring Small Towns in the Alps-Maritimes
The airbnb was within walking distance of La Gaude, a tiny hamlet tucked in the hills. We walked to town often in the mornings visiting a friendly horse on the way to get our daily croissants. The town of Vence is a harrowing 3-4km drive away on even more narrow mountain roads. It is the largest of the nearest towns but still off the beaten track. All of these towns have many pedestrian-only areas and are hundreds and hundreds of years old. They all feel incredibly authentic with lovely cafes, small shops, and fewer English-speaking people. Vence has been a favorite among artists, counting Matisse, Chagall, DH Lawrence and many others as residents. While planning our stay in France we had hoped to be closer to the beaches, but once there we were so glad to discover all these beautiful places we wouldn’t have known about otherwise!
Coastal Exploring on a Jet Boat
There’s no better way to see a place than from the water. So we booked a tour on a jet boat that promised great scenery, fast rides and a few stops to swim. Leaving from Cannes we ventured west along the coast ogling caves and crazy celebrity homes. It was a really fun way to spend a morning.
Hiking to the Waterfall of Vescagne
I love the AllTrails app. It has been amazing everywhere we’ve traveled and includes hiking routes with distances, maps, reviews, and photos. So it was on this app that I found a 5.3km waterfall hike not far from Vence. I should mention that while the kids balk at the thought of any hike, they are strong and capable hikers and can usually be bribed with snacks. So we set off for this hike like every other, with two of four humans full of complaints, leg aches, side cramps and general anti-hiking malaise. Often there are full-on tantrums in the car. In hindsight, it seems silly that we persevere and yet when I look back the pictures, I know why. Some of our best experiences have been on foot, to places not on tourist maps and that we only have time for because we are ‘living’ in the area.
On this day, the kids almost thought they were going to get out of hiking because as we drove higher and higher we entered the clouds and it seemed rainy and gray. But alas, after cresting the Col de Vence and passing the most picturesque (and sort of funny/random) horse ranch, the Rancho El Bronco, we descended into sun on the other side. The falls were worth the effort - tucked away and freezing cold but good for a quick swim and picture perfect.
Cannes Yachting Festival
The main reason we went to France was to attend the famed Cannes boat show. It was the first time we met our broker, Catherine, who is French and works exclusively with multi-hull boats. We have had many zoom calls with her but we finally met in person! She was wonderful and great with the kids. We looked at amazing catamarans and dreamed big for a few days. The kids did well overall as it was so hot and fairly boring for them. We got many great ideas but it also confirmed that we were not going to buy a new boat.
Lunch In Monaco With Friends
Our very last day in France we met up with longtime Danish friends and their wives (Russ met the Danes in Annapolis 20+ years ago through shipping). We drove to Monaco for lunch at a beach club. We started at lunch time and stayed long enough to get photos of the kids playing on the beach at sunset. We (I) enjoyed too much rose’ and we laughed more than we had in the previous weeks combined. We were so happy to be with friends and Rosie and Jordan loved playing with their kids. It was a perfect end to our time in France.
We are grateful to France for the food, wine, charm, glamour, shopping, small towns, cafe lifestyle, boats and boardwalks, and gazpacho by the carton. Merci and au revoir!
