French Riviera

We weren’t planning on going to burgundy wine country or driving through the French alps, but I guess that’s the beauty of this adventure. We weren’t even planning on renting cars while we were here – originally it was going to be all train or bus travel with occasional flights thrown in when it made sense. But we found we’d much rather have the flexibility and ability to stop in smaller towns that aren’t as frequented by tourists. It really paid off in Portugal as we wouldn’t have seen some amazing spots (Vila Nova Milfontes/Odeceixe) if we hadn’t rented a car.

While we were mapping our trek along the French Riviera we decided to do the same thing. Our first stop was in the quiet little vacation town of Sète. We were visiting in July when most of the French are on holiday, but even so the town was very relaxing and sleepy. A perfect place to just be.

Cassis

After reading about the fjords/calanques found here in our guide book we decided to explore the little beach town for ourselves. The first day we rented a stand up paddle board and navigated along the cliffs below the castle.

On day two, we decided to rent an open kayak and see the calanques up close and personal. On the map, the route seemed short and easy to navigate, but once we were on the water we quickly realized just how small our little boat was, and just how hard we had to paddle to avoid capsizing when the yachts/tour boats/military boats would drive past and leave us bouncing like a cork in their wake. It was well worth it in the end, although we thought we were going to capsize each time a boat blasted past us. Seeing the cliffs jutting out of the sea definitely made up for the hand blisters and sore shoulders. Halfway through the paddle there was a little beach only accessible by hiking or boat. It was the perfect place to cool off. It was a beautiful setting, kayaking through two massive walls shooting straight out of the water on each side of us which grew narrower as we paddled. We got to the beach to see several others enjoying the hidden gem. The water was SO clear you could see much deeper than normal which provided for a great view from the kayak, fish swimming below us and large boulders as the backdrop on the sea floor.

Antibes

We were loving the authentic, less touristy feel of the small towns along the French Riviera so much that we decide to stay in Antibes versus the much larger city of Nice. We were able to experience the culture first hand, communicating solely in French with the locals, and seeing hardly any other American tourists. At least one or two topless women on every beach. It’s definitely more laid back here. Businesses take “lunch” from noon til 2 which we didn’t realize until we wanted to swap rental cars and couldn’t find an open agency. We had originally rented a Fiat 500 because we thought it would be fun to drive through the French Riviera in one. What we didn’t anticipate was the feeling of being in a go-cart surrounded by powerful German cars flying by us on the 3 lane freeway at 150 KPH. We quickly changed.

Not only do businesses close for lunch, but restaurants also close from 3 until 7. There were several times we stopped into a restaurant only to be turned away and forced to stop by one of the many street markets to pick up fruit to tide us over after missing “lunch time”. One of our favorite meals in France was at a beautiful restaurant on the beach in Antibes (Le Ruban Bleu). When I say “on the beach” I mean all of the tables were placed right in the sand. Women take their sandals/wedges off and just sink into the sand with each step to the table, and gentle waves from the Mediterranean Sea wash right up to the table. The seafood was fresh and the breeze was light and salty. It was perfectly romantic. There’s also somewhat of a Brazilian influence here and we found a place with a Brazilian dance show. This little town gets lively late-night and it was fun to watch it wake up as the night progressed.

Cannes

From Antibes, we made the 10 min drive to Cannes and parked in the center of town. It was immediately evident we were immersed in wealth. Massive multimillion dollar yachts lined the marina like it was a dealership. The casual stores lining the promenade were Cartier, Prada and Hermes. Ferraris, Gallardo’s and Rolls Royce seemed endless. We strolled through town and did a little yacht gazing. After, we stopped into a local outdoor bar and had a few drinks and soaked up the scene. This has to be one of the most interesting places to people watch. It was fun to imagine what these people’s lives are like. Most of the yachts required a full time crew to operate. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but as we drove back to our condo, we witnessed prostitutes at bus stops and street corners and multiple cars stopping to chat with them. We also witnessed a family with two small children sleeping in a little outcropping on the street as a bright red Ferrari rolled by. We found it difficult to comprehend the disparity.

Monaco/Nice

We simply drove through Monaco because we are (sort of) backpacking and this is not a place for that. It was fun to at least see the Monte Carlo Casino even if the best part is inside. It seemed like a Maserati was the equivalent to a Honda Accord here.

We had heard Èze was a sight to see so we decided to keep driving, hitting Nice along the way. Nice seemed like a larger, more metropolitan version of Antibes. The main road lined the rocky beach downtown. Everyone was laying out on holiday, sail boats dotted the skyline and para sailers were being towed by powerboats. A picture perfect scene almost as if out of a movie. This was a regular day in their summer.

~Jennifer & Josh