well, that lasted about 24 hours.
ww does not do 'relax' in europe.
after granting me one magnificent day on the beach, accomplishing nothing but a good tan, the next morning he had us back in a rental car at 8 am navigating our way up & down the french coast.
i should preface this with some information:
1. all reasonably priced rental cars in europe are manual.
2. ww had not driven a stick shift since high school.
3. the french riviera is full of hills.
needless to say, a few stall-outs and a lot of curse words accompanied us on our drive. however, ww did a fabulous job outside of his comfort zone, and we ended up with a lot of laughs, many squeezing-my-eyes-closed moments, and some new french friends who graciously steered our car out of a few jams.
the kindness of strangers through a language barrier always amazes me.
the kindness of strangers through a language barrier always amazes me.
starting in cannes, we drove through antibes to cap d'antibes, through the city of nice, and up to villefranche-sur-mer, where we got out to walk around.
all villefranche photos taken with the sardina lomography camera
villefranche was by far our favorite town on the french coast.
we also think it's cool to have a "favorite town on the french coast."
we also think it's cool to have a "favorite town on the french coast."
oh, and i want to live in that house with the mint green door. number 34, villefranche.
we ended villefranche with a picnic by the beach.
our sandwiches may or may not be swiped from the hotel's breakfast buffet...nothing like a free lunch.
our sandwiches may or may not be swiped from the hotel's breakfast buffet...nothing like a free lunch.
we continued up the coast to la turbie.
this tiny, quiet town reminded me so much of perugia, italy, where i studied abroad for a semester in college.
it is so interesting to see everything around you become less french & more italian the further east you get. it really made me nostalgic for my time in italia.
it is so interesting to see everything around you become less french & more italian the further east you get. it really made me nostalgic for my time in italia.
from la turbie, we drove on to our end destination, the principality of monaco. i always associated monaco with grace kelly, rich people, and that car-race-thing.
turns out, i wasn't far off.
monaco is beautiful, but it seems that everyone goes there to see the casino in monte carlo or to ohh-and-ahh over some bentleys & lamburginis.
it is definitely opulent, but the fancy cars & over-the-top casino were totally lost on me.
it is definitely opulent, but the fancy cars & over-the-top casino were totally lost on me.
we got back on the road in a mad dash to make it to the part of the day i was most excited about:
visiting the matisse chapel, chapelle du rosaire, in vence.
visiting the matisse chapel, chapelle du rosaire, in vence.
matisse is my very favorite artist, and making the pilgrimage to see this chapel has been on my list for years. when we decided to visit the south of france, this was the first thing i asked to do. the story behind this chapel's conception is incredibly sweet, and you can learn all about it by watching the lovely documentary, a model for matisse, on netflix. it will make you smile.
the chapel is only open to the public a few hours a day, and we arrived right as it was closing. as i was preparing to pout, hang my head & give up, ww raced inside and cornered a french priest, exclaiming
'my girlfriend works at the national gallery! she loves matisse! she needs to go inside!'
the confused priest probably thought i was in need of some sort of healing power which could only be invoked within the chapel, but either way, he let us in, and gave me a good 10 minutes to spend with mr. matisse.
it was beautiful. and thanks to ww for making it happen for me.
'my girlfriend works at the national gallery! she loves matisse! she needs to go inside!'
the confused priest probably thought i was in need of some sort of healing power which could only be invoked within the chapel, but either way, he let us in, and gave me a good 10 minutes to spend with mr. matisse.
it was beautiful. and thanks to ww for making it happen for me.
we continued on to st. paul de vence, one of the oldest medieval towns on the french coast, and a completely walled-in city full of shops & art galleries where no cars are allowed.
after strolling around here, we were hot, tired & hungry. obviously we needed some pizza. (at this point, we hadn't pizza... in like... a week.)
luckily we had read some reviews of an italian restaurant underground in antibes, and decided to drive there for dinner on our way back to cannes.
luckily we had read some reviews of an italian restaurant underground in antibes, and decided to drive there for dinner on our way back to cannes.
antibes is so cute! and has a great little market that turns into a seating area for different restaurants in the evening. we found our pizza spot: le brulot pasta, an offshoot of the nicer le brulot, also in antibes.
you enter the restaurant on a tiny side street and then immediately go downstairs into a little cave - so cozy!
the pizza & bandol hit the spot & gave us the energy we needed to make it back to cannes... and directly into bed.
the pizza & bandol hit the spot & gave us the energy we needed to make it back to cannes... and directly into bed.
awesome job ww,
on driving the entire length of the cote d'azur
with a stick shift
and a nervous girlfriend.
on driving the entire length of the cote d'azur
with a stick shift
and a nervous girlfriend.
and thank you for forcing me off of my beach chair to enjoy such an incredible experience.
i love traveling with you. even if it stresses me out sometimes.
xo.