French Riviera, 2024

Springtime on the Med

Changing our surroundings from slushy, gray, sleety, muddy spring weather to clear, colorful, sunny spring weather was the point of this trip and you know that Nice delivered!

This was one of the longer gallivants: we spent 10 lovely days touring Nice and many of its surrounding little villages. We tram-ed, train-ed, walked, Uber-ed, drove, and bused our way along the southern coast, relaxing on the beach, discovering new foods, resting in bars, walking to Italy, and taking multitudes of photos.

We browsed a French bookstore for souvenirs. We popped into a museum for a few hours because we had time and it was free and we felt like it. We bought fresh ravioli, tomatoes, and a bottle of wine and cooked ourselves dinner. I considered purchasing an enormous terracotta pot in the antiques market but then thought better of it. We took a leisurely boat ride. We ate croissants and we drank teeny tiny espressos. We happened upon a lively street parade/protest calling for world peace. We went out for ice cream at 10 PM. Twice. We fell asleep to the sound of the ocean.

Cooking

Learning how to make regional specialties is a great way to better understand the climate and the history of the area. We took an all-morning class from one of the most charming gentlemen and came away with three recipes. The best part was that all our fellow classmates were French! We made a bunch of new friends with the help of a lot of gesturing and a lot of laughing.

Doors

On Wednesday of our tour, we visited one of the quaintest villages I've ever seen. I took over 100 photos on this day (I counted!) and 32 of them were of DOORS! I used to think I was pretty weird for my love of doors but I've come to learn there are plenty of other kindred door-o-philes out there. I find them a-door-able! (Pun absolutely intended. Not sorry.)

Markets

Outdoor daily markets are still extremely important in France and I love strolling up and down the aisles, taking photos, getting samples, and making purchases. You can get just about anything you want: fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, bread, nuts, olives, spices, herbs, flowers, plants, antiques, books, clothes, etc. I even saw a guy selling mattresses!