The French Riviera

For Valentine’s Day weekend we headed to France with Tiemen’s family. Ron was able to practice his Italian driving taking turns up and through the many mountains at top speeds of 170 km an hour. We decided to stop in Monoco to take a look around at the castle/old city and walk around the sea front. It is quite the high end city with the casino. Ron and Tiemen both picked out the luxurious yachts they wanted and we never did settle on which property would meet our needs.  I would have to say the old city/castle was my favorite part. The kids loved the playground that was nestled perfectly on the edge of the hill, which had to be some of the best real estate ever overlooking the boat slips.

Then, it was on to Antipe, France. It was chilly so there was no swimming but the girls can definitely explain the difference between freshwater lakes versus saltwater seas and oceans. They each got to take a small handful to taste the difference. We sat down for a fabulous French meal there after walking around the small town. The adults enjoyed a 3 course menu while the girls split salmon. I had foie groe, duck confit, and a cheese platter for dessert. Ron went with escargot, lamb chops, and a medley of sweet desserts. It was getting late and so we headed out to find our hotel for the night in Cannes, best known for the Cannes Film Fest.

It was a wonderful hotel and they even had a complementary bottle of champagne (not that fake stuff either) since it was Valentine’s Day. The girls had their own room and Brie slept in her pea pod in the bathroom. Now we can just hope it will go that smoothly for our weeklong journey to Turkey. After waiting out a little bit of rain the mission for the day was to find a place with crepes and to enjoy a leisure tour of Cannes and Nice, France. It is nice to explore and see how each of these seaside cities has something that makes each one unique. Even though it was a little chilly many people were still out enjoying the outside cafes with heaters. The girls loved watching the little dogs in the restaurants and stores. We walked up to the old city in Cannes and enjoyed some awesome views. The girls tried Nutella crepes and I had a 3 Cheese Crepe.

Last stop of the weekend was Nice. Unknowingly they were having a carnavele there earlier that morning. We got there in time for the crowds to die down, but still was able to enjoy some of the festivities. Ron and Tiemen took the big kids on the ferris wheel and for the view while Susanne and I hung out with the little kids. We grabbed a bit to eat after walking along the water and then headed on our way.

No complaints with our Valentine’s weekend in the French Riviera.