Four Days in the South of France

I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the sun until Jon and I were eating lunch soaking up the vitamin D in the South of France. With all these grey, rainy days in Amsterdam, I totally understand why there is such a good holiday allowance. You’ve got to jet down to somewhere South every once in a while and get some sunshine in your life. Jon and I took four days to travel down to Antibes in the South of France a week ago and enjoyed every minute of relaxing, drinking wine, eating croissants and enjoying the sun. Our last trip was an amazing one to visit friends in Scotland, but the sunshine was very welcome this time.

Do you feel that sunny vacations are totally necessary this time of year?

We stayed in the most beautiful home overlooking the water in Antibes, a small city in the South of France. Waking up to the blue of the sea every morning was so incredible, as were the delicious buttery croissants we ate every morning. It was still a little chilly since it’s November, but sitting in the sunshine felt so amazing. Most of our time was spent wandering around the town, eating bread and cheese, and drinking delicious Côtes du Rhône wine. I tend to like to pack our trips full of activities, but it was really nice to turn off our emails, ignore having a schedule, and just relax.

The one planned thing we did do was visit the market in San Remo, Italy on Saturday. We drove into San Remo with friends early in the morning to do some shopping. Our first stop was to pick up fresh Italian pasta. We grabbed some spinach and ricotta ravioli, which was to die for! The market had so many amazing things – fresh fruits and vegetables, leather handbags and gloves, cashmere sweaters, authentic local cheese. It was so easy to spend a few hours wandering around and picking up some great items. I purchased beautiful burgundy leather gloves for just 8EUR!

We enjoyed a glass of prosecco and some pasta before wandering around in search of the train. We got totally lost and missed our train, but it was so much fun to wander the tiny streets of the city and see how the people there really live. One uber ride and a few train stops later, Jon and I stopped in Monte Carlo to wander around. It’s a very beautiful and very interesting city. Although from the few hours that we spent there, we could tell that it’s way more fun if you’ve got loads of cash to blow. We lost 40EUR playing slots at the casino before calling it quits.

Sunday we spent enjoying the sunniest day yet back in Antibes, drinking rose on various patios. Our day also included a bike ride up the coast. I’ve really gotten the hang of biking around Amsterdam, and have fallen in love with it as a mode of transportation. Biking along the bright blue water was a welcome change of scenery, and now I think I want to do a bike ride on each of our trips!

Monday was our last day in France, which included a quick trip to Cannes to stroll around and grab some lunch. I’d been to Cannes as a teenager, so it was really neat to go back and see all of the places I remembered. We had a wonderful beach lunch with lots of fresh fish before heading back to Antibes and then on to the airport.

We had such a great four days and are looking forward to visiting in the spring or summer when it’s much warmer. Can’t wait to spend next time on the beach!

Xx, Kelsey

If you’re travelling to Antibes and are interested in the home we stayed in, it’s open for rental. Highly recommend it!