Viva La France: Nice

Viva La France: Nice

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Part of our France trip was to visit Paris for a few days, then headed off to Nice for a few days as well! Since I had never been to the South of France, I was excited that we had booked the train from Paris to Nice.

 

I think I am a train person. I'm not much into flying because it gives me anxiety (even though I almost quit college at 19 to become a flight attendant). On a train, you can pack as much as you want, you can get up and walk around, you can carry on your own food, and there are no scary landings. 

AND... 


AND... you can even have a picnic on the train! What I have shown you here is what I am calling a French hot dog. It's a baguette, salami, and cheese. 


We all really enjoyed our train ride! Amy and I sat on one side of the train (heading towards Nice) and Rich and Bobby sat on the other side. I get major car/train/plane sick if I'm sitting on the wrong side and going backward. Though, I did pick up those motion sickness wrist bands from Walgreens and wore them a few times on the trip and never felt queazy! 


It's about 5 1/2 hours from Paris to Nice on the train. There are beautiful country sides to look at, beautiful ocean views, and a bar cart to get wine or snacks. It's really where I excel the best in terms of travel. 

After we arrived in Nice, we got an Uber to our Airbnb and had an AMAZING view! 


We had a balcony overlooking the water which was perfect! I really love a good balcony and a good view. Living in Arkansas, I can have terrible allergies and my allergies never bothered me once in France... maybe I should just live in France a few months of the year?

By this time it was dinner time and we were all a bit hungry. Don't worry though, I had already looked up several restaurants and found one in close walking distance to our Airbnb. 


We went to Auberge Saint Antoine where we had delicious pizza, salad, and gelato. It was such an easy dinner after an easy afternoon train ride. After our dinner, we walked by a market store to pick up some wine before some of us headed back to the Airbnb. 

Rich, Amy and I decided to go put our feet in the water to say we had been on the beach of the South of France. 


This is what being happy, full and tired all looks like at once. We only hung out for a bit before going back to our balcony to enjoy a little bit more of the evening. 

Saturday morning when we got up everyone split up a bit. Some went to go have a beach day, while Rich and I decided to go explore Old Town in Nice. 


Of course, before you can go explore anything in France I believe it's important to be well hydrated. We found a really delicious restaurant called, 'Le Cocodile'. It was on our way from our Airbnb to Old Town. 


Now, I ordered the steak tartare which is basically raw meat. Yes, to some this might be disgusting, but personally, I like it. When I ordered it, our waiter asked me, "Do you know what this is? This is raw meat." To which I replied, "Yes, I do. I like it." So he told me that he would make it special for me. 

I wasn't sure what special was until he brought it out... he meant he was going to shape it into a heart for me. So I had a big slab of raw meat shaped into a heart for me in France. It's really the little things in life that I appreciate the most, you know? 


Because it was Saturday in Old Town, it was the market day. There were tons and tons of booths with people selling lots of fun and interesting things. Rich really isn't the shopper type, but both of us enjoyed walking and seeing what the town had to offer.


I will say that the weather in Paris in August was really nice, but the weather in Nice was HOT. I mean, sweating from all of my body parts HOT. At one point we had to stop at a cafe so we could both get a little more hydrated. I remember I had a Coca-Cola at the cafe and it was the BEST tasting soda I have ever had in my entire life at that moment. 


Once we had a mini-break, we walked through the little streets of Old Town some more. Every street is full of shops, restaurants and so many cool things. We walked by one store that was just full of jelly beans but the store was Pirate themed. Another store was a cell phone case store but had animal statues in it. There was plenty to see and plenty to eat. 


After a few hours, we decided to head back to our Airbnb. Our plan was to go pick up cheese, meats, and wine and go have a picnic on the balcony of the Airbnb and just relax. It had been a long few days, and there were still a few days in front of us, we were just going to take it easy the rest of the evening. 

We were walking back when we passed by this fun man with a crown of horses. I have no idea what this man represents or what he is for (If I was that worried I could just Google it) but a family was taking a photo in front of it, so I offered to take it for them so that everyone could be in the picture. The nice family then offered to take our photo, which I appreciated because how many photos in life will you have in front of a naked man with a horse crown?


We had talked about finding some sort of cheese tour in Nice, but honestly, none of them were worth the money. So instead, I did my research and found a delicious cheese store where we could get a TON of cheese for around $20. 


So we went to Fromagerie du Carre d'Or where they do speak enough English to help you find the right cheeses. And they helped us pick out some of the most delicious cheese I have ever tried. What were they? No idea anymore, and I didn't take any photos of them, but I have the memories.

We had the cheese, we went and grabbed some prosciutto and salami from a local market and were headed to the Airbnb when we stumbled upon a bar called Le Truc


We were hot, we were tired and we were thirsty. We had just spent 30 minutes finding cheese and meats and were still a half mile away from the Airbnb. It just seemed like the right thing to do to stop at this bar for a glass of wine or several and cool off. 

Again. It was very hot outside. I already knew that I had some sort of sunburn so I was really protecting myself from more sun damage by having a glass of rosé. 


We also ordered a charcuterie board because why not? Yes, we had spent 30 minutes to make our own, but this one was already made and I needed a snack. Also, we were in France, why was I going to worry about a few calories? 

There was a peppery salami, a truffle cheese, some sort of black pepper cheese, and chorizo. There was also some fresh bread. We liked this place so much that we returned twice more during our trip. We hung out here for a long time actually. So long that the rest of the group came to meet up with us. Now, at this point, I was sunburned, exhausted and had had enough wine for me. So Rich and I left to go back to the Airbnb and the rest of the group went to get dinner. 


After a little rest and a shower, Rich and I did have our own picnic with the cheese and meats that we bought. So on this day, I ate raw meat, French fries, and a lot, a lot, a lot of cheese. 

Isn't vacation where you live your best life?? After we ate our own, let's call it dinner, it was time for bed for me. We were getting up the next day to go to Monaco so I wanted to feel 100%! 


Stay tuned - our day trip to Monaco is next on the blog! 

Missed any of our posts from Paris? Catch up here: 
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15 comments

  1. Other than the sunburn and exhaustion, this sounds like an amazing trip! Your balcony looks perfect!

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  2. Nice is the best! Nothing like the South of France. If I could ride the train between Paris and Avignon everyday for the rest of my life, I would be a happy girl!

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  3. I studied abroad there for a few weeks in Summer 2015! I didn't have the best experience studying abroad unfortunately- but isn't it the prettiest city! I would love to visit again someday.

    xoxo A
    www.southernbelleintraining.com

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  4. Lucky!!! I am going to France next week.

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  5. That pizza looks so good!! I want to go to Nice sometime.

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  6. This looks like such an amazing trip! I'd love to visit that cheese shop!

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  7. Nice seems amazing! I'm not really a cheese fan, but I know my boyfriend would love it!

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  8. Would love to see Nice someday! I'm dying over the view from your Airbnb!

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  9. What a beautiful place! I would love to visit someday. That pizza and wine look amazing!

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  10. Such a lovely post!! I love France, were thinking about going for our honeymoon next year!

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  11. Ugh all this food looks amazing and makes me SO hungry.

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  12. This is so fun! Can't wait to see your Monaco pics.

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  13. When in France, you must eat cheese! Sounds like you had a great time!

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  14. I love the view from your Air B&B! It looks pretty much perfect!

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  15. Any kind of vacation that calls for lots of wine, meat, bread, and cheese is my favorite kind of vacation!

    xoxo, SS


    Southern and Style

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