Instead we chose Antibes for the best combination of beaches, nice hotels, restaurants and St Malo like old walled town next to the harbor. Antibes gives off this "we have nothing to prove" vibe and seems happy to let all the glitz and glam head elsewhere. Yes, it's still the French Riviera and we had to dodge our fair share of Ferrari's, but we felt comfortable in our Ford Focus, Gap clothing and EMS hiking/beach bag. View Larger Map
Our hotel was located not in the old town of Antibes, but on Cap d'Antibes or the tip of the peninsula that juts out into the ocean. It's a little more quiet, still close to some good beaches and had a great pool and patio to hang out on.
As we pulled into town early afternoon and saw the sandy beaches and the turquoise waters of the Med we couldn't wait to get out of the car and jump in. In just an hour from check-in at our hotel, we had arrived at our final destination for the day!
Decency has largely taken hold in the Riviera these days - most women no longer go topless and most men aren't sporting tight speedos. Sacre bleu! There were some occasional exceptions to the rule, but neither group was photo-worthy if you catch our drift. We spent the afternoon sipping drinks, reading our books, cooling off in the ocean and generally reflecting more sunlight than we were absorbing. With Jen at a higher risk of sun damage since she's pregnant and my notoriously pale self, we took no chances and were fully protected with the heavy duty stuff. For some reason, the equally pale Brits seemed to not rub in the suntan lotion on their faces. They walked around with white blotches all over the place. That certainly helped the rest of us beach-goers avoid them since we constantly hear on the French news about all the swine flu cases in Britain.
We rinsed a few layers of sunscreen off at the hotel that night before returning to the beach for a great sunset and dinner.
I decided to give the Bouillabaisse (aka fish soup) a try which is supposed to be a regional specialty. It was a fairly traditional dish with prawns, several types of fish simmered in a broth with potatoes and leeks. They served toast and rouille on the side which is a type of mayonnaise with olive oil, garlic and saffron in it. It was good, but I couldn't help stealing more than a few bites of Jen's tasty scallop risotto.
After a slow start the next morning, we decided to take a drive along the coastline from Antibes to Monte Carlo. There are three corniches (roads along the cliffs) that extend from Nice to Monte Carlo. We skipped the sprawling city Nice and started on the middle Corniche in Villefrance sur Mer.
Villefrance was another contender for our home base, but after walking through its sleepy streets and checking out the rocky beaches, we were happy we ended up in Antibes instead. Still the port and town were beautiful so we spent a little while exploring before hopping back into the car. You have the option of taking the low, middle or high corniche along the entire journey. The highest corniche is 1600 feet above the ocean and offers some pretty amazing views. Since it doesn't make any stops through the towns though, we opted to take the middle corniche - still about 800 feet up - with views and towns to check out.
We pulled over in Eze for a lunch break and then continued along to one of my favorite Riviera towns - Cap D'Ail. It's a tiny town and with a beautiful beach far below and made for a memorable few days when I first visited it 12 years ago. I've been back one other time, but neither of the trips included Jen. I thought it would be cool to show her the beach that I so vividly remember so we made a stop in the town, packed our EMS beach bag and headed for the beach. Maybe it was my fading memory or the fact that I was in really good shape the last time I was there, but it was a long, fairly steep descent to the beach. Of course, that didn't go over too well with Jen who was thinking the whole time about how she was going to get back up the hill. However, as we got within sight of the beach, she acknowledged how cool the area was.
It was just the same as I remember; a protected cove with a cave in the cliffs, a couple boats parked outside, a swimming platform offshore and a few cafes right on the beach. It's really a peaceful little beach area just a few kilometers from the craziness of Monte Carlo.
I jumped in and swam out to the platform to take a few photos before heading back to shore. The water was crystal clear and refreshing on a hot day. Jen took in the view from the beach and after a bit we decided to hike back up the hill. About a third of the way up though I left her sitting on a bench, grabbed the car and picked her up. With the AC all the way up, we decided to skip the last stop, Monte Carlo, and head back to Antibes. Both of us have been to Monte Carlo before and decided the summer traffic wasn't worth it.
On our remaining day in Antibes, Jen hung out by the pool reading her book and I rented a road bike and pedaled around the peninsula and over towards Cannes. I joined Jen by the pool in the afternoon and we alternated reading chapters of our books and taking dips in the pool. I even put the camera away for the day and forgot about it all.
The French Riviera never disappoints and we could have spent the rest of the trip underneath those umbrellas at the beach. I'm sure we'll be back down there someday so it wasn't too disappointing to leave though. We ended the day with a nice dinner in the old town in Antibes and called it a night. The next day we had a long drive and wanted to get an early start. I don't think that's what the real jet-setters say or do but, then again, we are living lives of international intrigue and leisure in Paris and in the midst of a two week vacation to the south of France. Maybe we should have asked for something a bit more flashy than that Ford Focus...
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