France

This was our favorite day in France yet! A long post for a long, fun day.  Woke up this morning to rain outside the windows on one side of the apartment and a big rainbow on the other side. Vence (pronounced “vance”) is adorable and we love it already. It’s like Aix-en-Provence and Nice had…

Rob and I decided to go on a little adventure today. We woke up very early, bundled up against the frosty day and took the L140 Bouches-du-Rhone bus to Vauvenargues. Which all sounds complex, but is only 5 miles to the east of Aix-en-Provence. Our goal, to hike to the top of Mt. Sainte-Victorie (the…

Whew…this was a good day. No wonder I’m feeling so tired this evening.  Rob and I started out after breakfast to find Cezanne’s old stomping grounds in the hills behind our apartment. First stop, the “Painter’s Grounds” where he liked to sketch and paint Mt. Sainte Victorie. With the rosemary, lavender and oleander – this felt…

We are officially halfway through our trip – and I finally feel like I’m kind of getting the hang of it here in France. We started off with a different kind of adventure this bright and sunny Wednesday morning. Rob and I woke up early to walk across the old town and take the bus…

A pretty, bright day in Provence! Rob and I had breakfast of espresso and lemon yogurt at the apartment and headed out to the old city for morning errands.  It’s easy to get lost in the winding medieval streets – somehow the path always works out.  We managed to find the museum we were looking…

As our “travel day” this was supposed to be a pretty boring one – didn’t turn out that way! We set the alarm for the first time and woke up at 8:00 am. Nice is an absolute ghost town at that hour. As someone who prefers to not leave the house until 10, I heartily…

The original plan was to go explore Eze today – but my legs were wrecked from walking all those terraces in Monaco on Saturday. So we stuck closer to home.  First stop, the Museum of Modern Art, just a few blocks from the apartment. The plaza is decorated with this massive wood installation. I love…

Jet lag caught up with me and I did a lot of reading in the middle of the night. We had a lazy morning as a result – more delicious yogurt and figs for breakfast before walking down to the Nice train station. (note: It was great but I would recommend taking the bus, it’s…

We woke up to an overcast day in Nice. After a leisurely breakfast of vanilla yogurt in glass jars, figs, tea and jam tarts, we set out to explore the city. Our apartment is near the museum of modern art…which isn’t kidding about being modern. This odd building was about six stories tall: Even with…

With the impulsive planning of this trip, I still can’t quite believe that I’m in France right now. It doesn’t help that it is so, so french, almost seems over the top! Rob and I left San Francisco Tuesday night, flew to London, spent a few hours waiting for our delayed flight at chaotic Heathrow and…