Oh, monsieur!

Many of times we have said the French do it right...the whole dinner thing, wine, etc. Well, now we can officially say they got the beach and relaxation part covered as well. We can say this because we went to the French Riviera the first weekend in August. I took Friday and Monday off, and we made the experience one to remember! Our friends, John and Helen, joined us in the adventure, which all started around 4am on Friday, August 1st....


We left our place at 4:02am and drove over to pick up Helen and John. We were on road and making great time until about 2 hours into the drive, we needed to stop. We (I) needed a bathroom break in more ways than one. Unfortunately, most European gas stations and stops don't operate on a 24hr system, rather on a 7am-7pm time frame. I won't go into many details but lets just say, I found the back wall to a gas station and grabbed the TP I had packed in the car for emergency stops like this...I am so happy I packed smart!! Long story short, that definitely brought lots of laughter to the group and once again, we were on the road.

Traffic was quite a nightmare once we crossed over into Italy and tried to pass Milan. That added an extra hour or so into our drive. Finally, we reached the sea and followed the costal road toward France.


Monaco was the first place on our list to see. Interestingly enough, Monaco is not a city, but rather an independent state and principality within France. It's a beautiful place, pretty much nesseled between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. When we arrived, our plan was to grab a bite to eat and check out the town. We drove into the city and down an awesome palm-tree lined street with cafes and restaurants. The sun was shining and we were all in good spirits. We ended up finding a parking spot out of luck on a side street and headed down toward the Monte Carlo casino. The setting was really awesome and the landscaping was beautiful, like something out of a James Bond movie. We've never seen so many Ferrari's, Lambroghini's, Aston Martin's, Bentley's, etc. Unfortunately, the hot sun and crowds of people started to dampen our moods, so we opted to get out of town and head toward the small town of Antibes where our accomodations were.

We got to Antibes about 20-30 minutes later and did a drive-by of where we were staying so we knew the proximity to the beach, restaurants, etc. Then, we drove down and parked the car in a gravel lot near the sea. We found a restaurant, got some food and drinks and relaxed. It was perfect! Then, we grabbed our suits and headed to the beach. We lounged around amonst the speedos and topless women bathing everywhere. Life was good....


John suggested we grab some grub and take it back to the house with us since we didn't know if we were going to be energized to go out for dinner that evening. This was a great move as we found a market/shop and a bakery. After grabbing some fresh fruit and bread, cheese, olive pate, and wine, we were good to go.

We drove back to our house and called our hostess to let them know we had arrived and to let us through the gate. We were welcomed by a older couple who were the nicest people ever! Long story short, since August is a huge holiday month for many people, lots of hotels in the major cities were booked up. Aggie randomly found this place and it was awesome! We basically stayed at these people's home. They rented out 3 rooms total, and we stayed in the side part that had two seperate double rooms, with a joint bathroom. We had no idea really as to what to expect, but luckily for us we were pleasantly surprised!

The couple made us feel very welcomed and showed us to our rooms. Then, they took us to the pool and outdoor patio kitchen/bar area where we had lunch every morning. The setting was beautiful! We had a welcome drink with our host and then basically relaxed the rest of the evening sitting by the pool. We hooked up the Ipod, munched on our snacks and drank some wine. It was a perfect day!


Saturday we ate breakfast at the patio and then drove to the town of Biot (about 10-15 mins) where there was a glass blowing factory and shop. It was pretty cool watching them make the vase, pitchers, cups, etc.


Afterwards we headed to the town of Antibes, grabbed lunch, then hit the beach. The people watching was even better than the day before!!

After the beach, we were all a little hungery and knew we would not eat for a while as our plan was to go to Cannes for a late dinner. So, our mission became to find a rotisserie chicken. The French LOVE to have rotisserie chicken stands all over (they were in Lux too). Of course, the stands we had seen the day before were all closed, so we got one from the grocery store. The chicken was very tasty and we munch on it and the left over cheese, fruit, etc from the night before at the patio back at our house.

Around 8pm or so we headed to Cannes. Much to our surprise and delight it only took us about 10 minutes to get there! We found a parking spot and volia! We were good to go. John and Helen had been to Cannes before, so they knew their way around and an awesome area to go for dinner. First we walked through the town and down to the sea. We checked out where the stars have the film festival every year and then drooled over the yachts....Extremely impressive to say the least.



We then headed to dinner and Helen picked out a restaurant. The wine was flowing, the food was delicious and the people watching was great! Afterwards, we headed up to the castle, that during the day (and evening) offers amazing views of the town and sea.

Outside the castle, there was a special Flamango dancing festival. There was a band and dancers movin' and shakin'! Helen LOVES salsa, so this was pretty much right up her alley. She rallied Ag to dance with her while John and I looked on, enjoying our seats and the view of the sea.


Sunday we all met for breakfast, tired after the previous day's fun. We enjoyed our crossiants, breads, jellies, coffee, etc then headed out for the day. Helen went to the Fernand Leger museum while the rest of us went to the town of Mougins. We were going there based on Aggie's plea, "It's supposed to be a cool village town, and it's close by." Well, her homework was right!

Mougins was about 15-20 mins away, inland. Mougins is an enchanting medieval village and is considered a chic place to visit and since it's close to Cannes. Apparently many celebraties rent out homes in this tiny town because of its location and ideal weather. If you are an artist or photographer, this might be the best place to open a shop...the artwork exposure is great, as many painters have their own shop and work on display, ready to buy. The work is very impressive. (Picasso used to live here as well.)

We picked up Helen at the museum afterwards and headed down to the beach. We chilled for a while then went to this cool outdoor lounge sort of place on the beach. The scene was great and the food was tasty! Later that evening we went back to chill by the pool and then got ready for dinner. We were heading back to Cannes for a feast.

Again, we found a parking spot easily in the city and walked down by the shore line. Aggie and Helen posed like celebraties on the red carpet which was quite entertaining.



Then, we headed back into the "cool" area for dinner. The place we went to for dinner was right across from the place we went to the night before....the waitress was awesome, the food was amazing and we all ate and drank till we were about to explode!

On the walk back to the car, we encountered a dude with a huge python around his neck. Then, we watched as the rich and famous, and or shall I say, "the want-to-be rich and famous" teens and young adults strutted their stuff as they went to the night club at the film festival venue. It was quite entertaining to say the least. A bit further down the boardwalk, John took a late night swim and Aggie grabbed an ice cream cone. Once again we all went to bed tired and extremely happy from the day's events.

Monday came, we had breakfast and then headed out. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and at the glass factory again...then we were on the road. Unfortunately, we ran into traffic again, but this time in Switzerland. In order to get through the Alps and down into Italy, they have a tunnel that is about 15 miles long. They take a 2-3 lane highway and combine it into one lane through this tunnel. Apparently, everyone in Switzerland was traveling on that road that day. We got home later than planned, but at least we got home safe and sound.

That's about it for now! Check back again in a week or so for more updates on what's goin' down in Switzerland. We should have some pics and good stories from Street Parade '08!