FLANEURING IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

After a stressful period in my life, I decided to take a trip.  I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, yet I knew I wanted to be near the ocean, I wanted to be in Europe, I wanted to be in a warm climate, and I wanted to have to travel for at least eight hours to get there.  After pondering over many places, I decided to go to the South of France.

I flew into Nice and took a car to Cannes, France.  While riding over to Cannes, I remember thinking, "This is unbelievable.  I can't believe that I'm actually in the South of France!"  

I arrived at my hotel, the Intercontinental Carlton Cannes (which was absolutely stunning), checked in and honestly I still was in awe of just being in such a beautiful place.

After dropping my bags, I decided to explore for a bit, and went for a walk on the beach.  The beach was located across the street from the hotel.  PSA- If you're not a guest of a hotel, you must pay to use the beach.  I've seen water so blue and felt wind as balmy as I did in the South of France. 

I traveled in September and the weather was perfect! I’d suggest packing the following:

After my walk, I knew I had to get dinner because I could feel the jet lag beginning to set in. I decided to have dinner at the restaurant carlton-cannes.com in the hotel.  I had seared cod with a bearnaise butter sauce and fresh vegetables.  The meal was really light, yet very fulfilling.  

The next morning, I signed up to go on a tour which consisted of seeing Monaco, Monte Carlo, and galimard.com.  The first stop was Grasse Perfumery where you can make your own perfume. Grasse France is known as the perfume capital of the world, and is home to dozens of world renowned fragrance companies.  The tour lasts about and hour and it is really neat to see how perfume is made.  Next, we continued on to Monaco and Monte Carlo.  The drive to Monaco and Monte Carlo is so beautiful.  It consists of narrow winding roads, on top of steep cliffs overlooking the sea and the towns below. It's approximately an hour drive from Grasse to Monaco, and the driver made several stops along the route, so everyone in the tour could take photos. 

After arriving in Monaco, I walked around the old city (Monaco-Ville) and the harbor, and I definitely had to see the Hotel de Paris in person.

Monaco's Old Town is where the current Prince of Monaco resides.  The building is open to visitors and tickets can be bought at the box office in front of the palace.  This part of Monaco is very picturesque and is located on a hill that is surrounded by the Mediterranean on three sides.  The harbor houses all the yachts and there are also some nice restaurants to choose from. The Hotel de Paris was high on my list to see.  I'd seen the hotel in movies and read so much about it, and it did not disappoint. It was beautiful and grand as I'd imagined, and I had the opportunity to have lunch at Le Grill Restaurant on the 8th floor. The view from the restaurant allowed the view of the Monte Carlo harbor and the Mediterranean.  I've never witnessed another view so breath taking.  Lunch was delicious and the staff was superb. I'll definitely go back. It was now time to head back and meet up with the tour and head back to Cannes.

After arriving back in Cannes, I decided to have a late dinner and opted to dine at vesuvio-cannes.com.  This restaurant has the most delicious pasta and pizza that I've ever eaten outside of Italy.  

The next morning before getting my day started, I ate breakfast at Warner Cafe.  It's an American style brasserie with a mixture a US food and some French inspiration thrown it.  Food was delicious, staff was friendly, and it was the perfect place to people watch.  It's located in the shopping district, not too far from the Croisette.  One other great breakfast place is Noisette Cafe Et Cuisine.  The restaurant serves Italian breakfast and brunch items.

After breakfast, I headed out on a tour to the Musee de la Mer where the infamous Man In The Iron Mask was held.  I was able to visit the prison cell of the famous occupant as well as a ancient Roman shipwreck collection.  After visiting the museum, I walked around the fort and island before heading back to Cannes. This museum is only a 15 minute ferry ride from Cannes. I decided to have lunch at vegaluna.fr

It's a beautiful French restaurant that sits on the Mediterranean, and offers fresh seafood, vegetables, meats prepared with a french flare. The restaurant offered a very relaxing atmosphere and it's a great place for lunch.

After lunch, I went for a stroll on the famous La Croisette, a shoppers dream.  On this street the shops included Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Moncler, Burberry, Ermanno Scervino, to name a few.  Whatever a person is desiring to purchase can be found on this famous street.  Now, on Rue Meynadier, there more local shops that offers clothes, shoes and other items that can only be found in Cannes.  I went into a lovely lingerie boutique that sold all handmade french lingerie that was beautiful, and was priced much less that what I would have paid in the states.

On my last two days in Cannes, I decided to stay in bed, enjoy the hotel and order room service. I must say, that I had as much fun doing that, as I did sight seeing.  Cannes will always be a trip that is near and dear to my heart, because it was the first time that I traveled outside the states alone.  I had the time of my life and I would eagerly d o it again. I met some wonderful people while traveling in Cannes, and they confirmed what I feel in my heart, that most people are intrinsically good.  It's a trip that I would recommend that everyone takes at some point in their life.

I hope this post inspires/motivates you to travel and explore this amazing world that God has given us.  I wish you safe travels and much love to you.

* Photo Credit/ Zandra Dockery

For Booking:

https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/cannes/ceqha/hoteldetail

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