The loveliest trip I have ever taken has to be when I traveled to the French Riviera, the South of France. Every corner of Nice, France was breath-taking yet quaint. I stayed in Nice, but traveled around a bit for the few days that I was there on fall break in October.
The buildings were colorful and the people authentic. It felt like an off-season seaside resort filled with locals- not tourists – since we visited in October. And the weather was perfect for exploring.
Our first evening in Nice we climbed to the top of this tower for some spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea. The water was bright blue with white foam waves crashing onto a gray pebble beach set against a colorful and hilly coastline.
We ate a three hour dinner in Old Town Nice that evening outside on a breezy night. It was a perfect French dinner experience filled with crepes, wine, seafood and laughter.
Each day we spent there my friends and I walked through gorgeous plazas, flower markets, and art shows. Every street you turned on was picture-worthy. I felt transported to another time and place. I had never been that relaxed in a foreign place before!
One morning my friends and I woke up and spontaneously decided we wanted to try and hop on a train to Italy for the day. That is the beauty of Europe, it is so easy to get from one country to the next. Within 45 minutes, we were in Ventimiglia, Italy!
Our first order of business was to eat lunch at an Italian restaurant. The woman serving us couldn’t even speak English, which made it that much more special. That was something I noticed throughout the entire trip in the French Riviera, English wasn’t spoke anywhere near as frequently as I had heard in Paris.
Villefranche
We visited two other cute areas of the Rivera: Villefranche and Beaulieu sur Mer. We traveled by bus to get to these places and they were only about 20 minutes from the center of Nice. Lots of cute restaurants and coffeeshops (although I did try ordering iced coffee and I implore you not to do so. The French don’t have iced coffee and it was a very confusing conversation resulting in a mug of hot espresso with ice cubes in it.)
I highly recommend visiting the French Riviera. I remember feeling so sad on my last day, because I knew it would be a long time before I could return to this place. But it was the most memorable and vivid trip I have taken so far.
I can travel vicariously through your beautiful pictures. I’m grateful you’re back to blogging and sharing your experiences, wisdom, and curiosity.
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