Part 2. Will try to keep it shorter than part 1 although photos were uploaded weeks ago so those are staying. Perhaps the more interesting part of the blog anyway :)
The weather forecast for the week was showing Tuesday as the best bet for beach weather, so we all decided to head to Cannes. I really wanted to go - to see what it was all about so why not combine it with the beach day as I'm not sure there is much else to do in Cannes with kids in tow. We packed a picnic and the scooters and headed South. No surprise, it took us much longer to get there than anticipated, not because of the twisty roads (we had factored that in) but because of the terrible traffic the closer you get to the Med...even at 10 a.m.!
We finally parked the cars, then parked ourselves at one of the private beaches - with a baby and young kids in tow we figured it was best to have umbrellas - and having someone bringing us refreshments was also appealing. I forgot to bring sunscreen and asked the staff where the nearest pharmacy was. They very kindly offered me some sunscreen for free - great - until they handed it over...15 spf? Missing about 35 spf there. Julie came to the rescue.
"Umm... you're standing in my sun. Move along? Super."
Glam? Oh, we got glam.
As expected, Rhys wasn't too keen to simply lounge on the beach chairs for long, and so he and I headed up to the boardwalk for a long walk with the hopes that he would fall asleep. Was also an opportunity to check out the sights. I must say, Cannes would be kind of cheap looking if it weren't for all the designer shops and massive yachts.
"Wake me when we get to Tom Ford."
Sophia Loren works on the tan.
Last week?! Noooooooooooooooooooooo..............!!!!!
Aaron and I joked about the fact that Rhys's first beach was Cannes, the Cote d'Azur, the French Riviera. We decided to dip his toes into the Mediterranean, despite the fairly frigid temperatures. He did not like it.
Rhys, Highly Skeptical About This Plan
"I Say, Unhand Me Sir!"
Darren, Definitely Not Noticing Our Topless Neighbour at 12 o'Clock
Sam, Cedric and Nadia had a great day running in and out of the water, building sandcastles and generally doing beachy things. I encouraged Sam to jump over the waves and of course he wiped out, then couldn't get up. Instinctively I grabbed him - camera in hand. Lucky for us Julie had an extra camera with her (is this woman EVER unprepared?) and so she gave it to us as a loaner for the rest of the week.
"Hey Mom, You Might Want to Lose That Camera We're Going in the Water!"
In Cannes, the Sandcastles are Actual Castles
Rhys Recovered from the Swim
Around 3 p.m. the clouds started rolling in, so we packed up and headed to the boardwalk in search of some pizza.
Chillin' with Cedric and Julie
Bye Bye Beach
En route, we stopped so the kids could drive some remote control boats in a fountain. We found a place serving dinner at the apparently very uncivilized hour of 5 p.m., hit up an ice cream parlour, then headed home. Great day. Don't need to go back to Cannes. Unless of course I become a movie star and need to hit the red carpet come festival time.
Daddy... err... SAM Drives the Boat
No photos from Wednesday. That's because I spent the day at home in the hopes of getting Sam and Rhys to nap (they were both badly in need at this point). Also, Aaron and Darren had gone for the day to a vinoteque to get some wine. I wasn't overly impressed with this plan until I tasted the wine. I am now very thankful. And the kids napped - so it was a day well spent. Besides, Aaron and I had reservations at a local Michelin star restaurant that night. Got the kids in bed, got dressed up, and drove through the rain to...a closed restaurant. After double checking, we realized our reservations were for Thursday, but Darren and Julie were going to go out that night. We tried to force them to take our reservations, but they insisted we keep it and that they would go out on Friday instead. Once again, saved by the Smiths.
Thursday we all decided to head to Antibes to do the walk around the cape. After once again braving the traffic, we made it to the cape and headed out - along with many, many other people. It meant that you couldn't really linger along the trail, which was narrow and bordered by a cliff. I kept imagining Sam tripping and falling under one of the wires. So there was much hand holding.
Departure: Still Smiling
Family Outing to Antibes
Tourists: Nothing They Can't Deface
Antibes Coast Walk: Safe
But it was a beautiful walk and we really enjoyed ourselves. We stopped half way to picnic, throw rocks in the Med, and let Rhys out of the carrier.
Midway Point: Still...Not Crying
Look What the Tide Washed In...
Antibes Wildflowers
Three hours later we were back at our starting point, la plage de la Garoupe. We scored some great couches on the beach, the sun broke through the clouds, and we spent another hour just lounging, watching the kids play in the water, and enjoying refreshments. This was perhaps the moment when I felt most like I was on the French Riviera...lazing about surrounded by very rich people. Cap d'Antibes has my vote over Cannes for sure. It was all the same to Rhys, who still didn't want to dip his toes in the water.
The End: Hey, Still Smiling!
Well, Mostly...
Enjoying a Well-Deserved Break
Mmmmm...mmmm...milkshake!
High UV Count = Three Hats
Post-hike Wading
Skipping Stones
Happy Family, End of a Great Day
That night Aaron and I got all dolled up, again, and went for dinner at Les Bacchanales in Vence. We went whole hog and had the 8 course taster menu, with wine pairing to boot. But as we had to drive and Rhys is still nursing, we stuck to 2 glasses of wine. The menu was very interesting - some weird, lots of local flowers involved. The chef himself came out to greet us and to serve some of his dishes which was a nice touch. And all that for a very affordable 80 Euros each (not including the wine). My favourite was the asparagus, Aaron liked the St Jacques. We ate for 2 hours.
au menu, cette semaine :
ouget de roches et artichaut épineux,,
bouillon de poivron grilléAsperges violettes et morilles de Provence
à la pistacheSaint-Pierre de Méditerranée
navet blanc, sureau et fenouil de merBoeuf du Piémont à l'ortie,
févettes étuvéesFromage de chèvre du Pics des Courmettes enfumé
confiture de noisette et huile d'olive figéeFraises du Pays et fleurs d'accacia
crème glacée à la briocheComposition de rhubarbe, romarin
et chocolat blanc
Last day in Provence, Julie and I left the kids with the husbands (minus Rhys, who comes with me pretty much everywhere) and headed to St Paul de Vence. I was more than happy to go back because there were lots of shops I didn't go in, and I also wanted to get to the Maeght Foundation, a local gallery specializing in contemporary and modern art. We were denied access to the famous Colombe d'Or, where we hoped to get a coffee and see the art (it was a polite 'are you guests of the hotel?') - which according to my guidebook is "one of the finest 20th century art collections, built up over the years in lieu of payment of bills (Miro, Picasso, Braque)." Regardless, the day was a success with much shopping, and we got to see plenty of Miro at the art gallery. We got home to find that the Dads had taken the kids to a candy factory where the candies are made from flowers. Sounds, mmm, interesting but really you'd never know if you didn't know. In fact, I'm working through a lollypop right now! Delicious (I got Sam's permission first. He said I could have a greed one).
Boules, anyone?
Miro with Bugaboo
Saturday was travel day. We decided to caravan back via Italy, not only to see something new but also to hit up some Italian wineries on our way back. I'm not a huge Italian wine fan but I'm sure by the end of our posting all that will change (who knew I would love Provencal rose?). The drive along the coast was gorgeous, although became markedly industrial the moment we crossed into Italy. I was a little sad driving past Monte Carlo without stopping. We'll just have to come back! Darren and Aaron picked out our destination, Barbaresco, and we got there without much fuss. When we arrived, a wedding was just wrapping up at the vinoteque so we grabbed some lunch in the cute little hilltop town. A very civilized way to travel indeed.
Sam, Dancing in the Streets
Mission accomplished, we were back in the car for the final four hours of the drive. It was a very beautiful through the Savoy valley in France - absolutely gorgeous (another destination for future trips). Unfortunately, it appears as though Rhys's maximum is about 5 hours in the car, so there was some crying and quite a few stops near the end. Luckily Sam came prepared to weather the storm in the backseat.
Keeping his cool while Rhys melts down
All in all, it was an absolutely fabulous vacation for all and our family will be very sad when the Smiths go home to Canada this summer.
