La Vie Est Belle: The French Riviera

La Vie Est Belle means “Life is Beautiful”, and you can’t help but live this saying in the French Riviera.

I met my friend Claire in Nice after flying from Switzerland. I’ll be honest, all I knew about Nice and the surrounding towns was that celebrities often visit the Côte D’Azur on holidays. Other than that, I was going off what Claire had told me. I’m always up for visiting a new place and Claire was set on Nice and some of the surrounding towns.

I was nervous about visiting Nice following the terrorist attacks on July 14. Claire quickly reminded me that you can’t live in fear that something is going to happen. You might as well never leave your house, and if you’re worried about terrorist attacks, Europe isn’t the place to be traveling right now. Her exact words were “We can’t let them win.” She coulnd’t have been more right.

Claire and I decided to have Nice as our home base for 5 days, and rented a car for the first 2. We wanted to visit Cannes, Grasse, St. Tropez, Eze, & Monaco, so we decided to do these while we had he car, and it was such a good idea! Claire did an incredible job maneuvering the French roads, and not to mention the French drivers.

After Claire picked me up at the airport and we settled into our AirBnB, we headed out for dinner at La Merenda. It was recommended in Claire’s Lonely Planet book and it didn’t disappoint. I still dream about the fruit salad I had for dessert.

The next day we drove to Grasse, Cannes & St. Tropez. Grasse is famous for it’s perfumeries, Cannes is of course known for the Cannes International Film Festival, and St. Tropez is the travel destination for Hollywood’s most famous. I have never seen so many massive yachts in my entire life! This also meant we were on the lookout for Claire’s future husband. 🙂

Day 2 was spent visiting Eze & Monaco. Tuts and hunt continued at the Monte Carlo Casino and the Monaco Yacht Club. We also made a pit stop to take some pictures of the stunning view on the way there.

While strolling the Promenade des Anglais, we came across the memorial for all those who lost their lives on July 14. It truly was a heartbreaking and sobering moment. It’s so hard to believe that something actually happened. Besides the memorial and the obvious presence of the French Military, there was really no evidence that a terrible attack took place just 2 short months ago.

What I learned was this: hug your loved ones, and tell them EVERY SINGLE DAY how much you love and care for them. Life is this precious and short thing, so fill your life with happiness and laughter. It’s too short to waste.

We spent the remainder of our days being lazy on the beach, stuffing our faces with French pastries and enjoying the beautiful city that Nice is. We also came across an impromptu street drag show and ended up dancing in the street to “It’s Raining Men!”