Viva la France: Visiting Villefranche-sur-Mer and Organic Wine Tasting in Nice

We only had two days left in Nice and decided to go out of the city to a little town called Villefranche-sur-Mer. It's a sleepy, little town outside of Nice. We slept in a bit after a long day in Monaco, grabbed an Uber (because I was too hungry to wait for a bus) and headed north.  As soon as we got there we had to get lunch because I was really hangry.

We found a cute restaurant right by the marina called, "Newport."  I got a delicious pasta with a spicy marinara sauce, a glass of white wine (because it was SO HOT) and a European Coca-Cola. Rich got a really fancy dish of squid and octopus. Surprisingly, it was actually really good. 

Good thing he enjoyed the meal while we were in France because I doubt that I ever learn how to cook squid or octopus. After a full meal, we walked around the town for a bit to see all of its pretty colors, windows, and small streets. It's exactly what is in your mind when you think of a small French town. 

All of that walking for about 30-minutes made us really thirsty, so it was time for our own happy hour. I mean, we were in France after all... 

We went to a bar called, "Wine Pier" where we could watch boats, people and eat lots of chips. Again, I drank the white wine because it was just way too hot for me to drink red. We had booked a wine class that night so we just hung out for a few hours before heading back to Nice. 

We decided to take the bus from Villefranche-sur-Mer back to Nice and got lost. The only way we could get out of being below the Marina was to walk about 75 steps straight up. My booty was BURNING. It really didn't matter how much pasta or wine I consumed because all of the walking and steps just worked it all off. I actually think I lost a bit of weight once we got back and I de-puffed. 

We had booked a two-hour Organic Wine Tasting in Nice through Tag Tours. The tour was about $40 per person and included 5 wines and a glass of champagne. (There were also free extra glasses if you really liked a bottle...) The Tour de France of Organic wine said it would help you get better knowledge about French wine and it really did. 

Our sommelier was SO knowledgeable. He went through a map of France and showed us where each region of our wine we were drinking was grown and created. I LOVE sauvignon blanc so I knew I would probably love that one (spoiler alert: I did), but I also learned that I like rosè and pinot noir! Rich orders pinot noir a lot when we are having date nights, but I always stuck to a Malbec or cabs, now I'm really into pinot noirs. 

We all started out with a glass of real champagne, from the region of, you guessed it, Champagne, France. After our champagne tour in Paris down the Seine River, I felt like I was already a pro at being able to discuss how it was created with the mixture of grapes, aging and how the bottles were moved to create the fizz.

Here are our first three wines: 

Champagne Carte d'Or Brut NV 

This is a popular champagne from a small producer in France. It's a fresh, apple pie, and honey flavored Champagne that exudes class. 

Les Davantes de la Bonnelière AOC Touraine Blanc 2016 

100% Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is grown in a 3-hectare block of Clay and Limestone soils, this Touraine is macerated for 6 hours before fermentation. A great match to lighter goat cheeses and white fish dishes. 

AOC Côtes de Provence La Cuvée Camille Rosé 2016 

A blend of three types of grapes: Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah. The 'Cuvée Camille' is aged in tanks. The three grapes are fermented separately. Its color is light pink, with fin, delicate aroma of fruits. 

Next, we moved on to the reds: 

Domaine Bersan AOC Côtes d'Auxerre Pinot Noir 2013 

Another lesser known regions, Pinot Noir is the sole variety in this red. Subtle tannins, rich red berry fruits, layers of minerality and a long and complex finish. 

Clos de Caveau AOC Vacqueyras Fruit Sauvage 2015 

You can taste the passion in this fabulously earthy Rhône red. A powerful licorice-scented red. Spicy Syrah delivers abundant fruits and a weight palate that carries the flavor for what seems like an eternity. 

Château Grand Français AOC Bordeaux Superior 2010 

A rich, ruby red color with an intense spice and vanilla nose. In the mouth, we have a smooth rich flavor of red fruits and layers of complexity added by the chalky tannins and spicy vanilla notes from the oak aging. 

My favorites were hands down the champagne, rosé, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. I have never, ever liked licorice so the Syrah was awful to me, I actually gave my glass away. Bleh. 

The Organic Wine Tasting was SO MUCH FUN. It was nice to just sit for a few hours and learn about one of the best things in the world, wine!  

Once the wine tour was over, we headed to meet our other friends who had done a bike riding wine tour that day. Their wine tour seemed like a lot of fun too - minus the whole bike riding thing. I really wanted to go on that one, but my body just couldn't handle a bike ride after all of the steps and walking. 

We met them at a fun bar-district in Old Town Nice. I was hungry and needed something to soak up all of the wine, so clearly, I found the classiest thing to eat... a good ole' hot dog.

Tell me that's not the best looking hot dog you've ever seen after a day of drinking a lot of wine? Believe me, it was my favorite word, DELICIOUS! 

Missed any of my posts from Viva La France? 
Catch up here: 

Click here for Paris Day 1

Click here for Paris Day 2

Click here for Paris Day 3
Click here for Nice Day 1
Click here for our Day trip to Monaco

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VIva La France: Day Trip to Monaco

Sunday morning I woke up with a BIG pep in my step because we were going to go to Monaco for the day! I have always loved Princess Grace because of how beautiful she was and then how much good she did once she became a princess. Rich was excited because of the Monte Carlo casino. The day was beautiful, but I did not prepare for how HOT it was! 

We took the public bus right outside of Airbnb to the bus stop. Then, we got on another bus from Nice to Monaco. The bus system was pretty easy, but as I later learned, the city buses are not free and we kept riding them without paying. *Whoops!* I would feel badly, however, I spent A LOT of money in Nice so I think it's ok if I took a couple of bus rides on accident. 

I had been preparing for Monaco for weeks, and by that, I mean I had to find a good restaurant to eat lunch at while we were there and find a dress that I wanted to wear during the day. And don't worry ... I did on both counts. 

When we first arrived in Monaco, I already knew where we were going to eat lunch. At an Italian restaurant called La Salière in Monaco. The menu had so many options, but because something spoke to me when we sat down, I had to get the paccheri with meatballs, cherry tomatoes and pecorino cheese. Every. single. bite. was worth it. It's made me make homemade marinara sauce twice since we've gotten back from our trip. 

Yes, I am drinking white wine with pasta but it was too hot for me to drink red during this lunch. I was so hungry by the time that we got to La Salière that I ate it all. Then I took the bread and cleaned any sauce on my plate. I was so satisfied and full I could have just gotten back on the bus to head back to Nice at that point if it wasn't for the Prince's Palace!  

So, I wobbled along through the city until we made it to the Prince's Palace. It was a LONG way up the hill. There were a few times I had to stop to rest because there were SO many steps in Monaco. If you didn't have a good butt when you got there, you had a good butt when you left. 

The only good thing about all those steps were all the views! It was gorgeous everywhere you looked. The water was so blue and clear you could almost see through it if you looked down. It also made me feel very un-wealthy with all of the yachts everywhere you looked. 

After about a million steps, we found the Prince's Palace! We didn't take a tour inside, and I kind of regret it now, but it was so pretty out the outside. We even timed it just right and saw the changing of the guards. 

Those outfits are VERY white, and they also look very hot. It was a very proper ceremony, and one guard seemed to have a bit of a smile on his face. Wouldn't it be hard to keep a straight face when people are taking photos and videos of you just walking? We hung out at the Prince's Palace for a bit and look at all of the views and people watched. I also had to do some shopping. 

This print was only around $5 and honestly, I would have paid more. I loved it when I first saw it. It was the best souvenir to buy from Monaco that day. 

After we left the palace, we headed towards Monte Carlo. Did I mention how hot it was? I thought I was going to melt into a puddle because there were NO clouds to cover the hot sun. 

Because this was probably my one and only time in Monaco, I really wanted to be in the moment and be as present as possible with Rich. Even if I was whining because it was hot, we had a wonderful lunch, got to see so many cool things, visited the Prince's Palace, and even went inside Monte Carlo. It's SO grand! Everything about it is gorgeous! 

Rich got to play the slot machines though we couldn't go into the larger casino area because of our attire. He even won! I think we walked away with 3 more euro than we walked in with, which was fine to me because that was bus money to get back to nice! 

When I say it was grand, I mean, it was GRAND. Inside the casino you could see large crystal chandeliers, gold everything, and the fanciest bar I have ever seen. The security was very tight though, just to go inside the slot machine area I had to get my bags checked and held by coat check. Sadly and understandably, photos are a big no-no. 

It was SUCH a fun day and everything that I had hoped it to be! After Monte Carlo we headed back to Nice. The buses stop running from Monaco to Nice around 7:30/8 pm in the evening and we didn't want to leave on the last bus in case there wasn't enough room. 

When we got back to Nice we went back to the Airbnb and relaxed for a bit before going to Old Town Nice for dinner at a Portuguese restaurant. After dinner, we headed back to our favorite Le Truc bar! Monaco was one of my favorite days of our adventure and I'm so glad that I was present in the moment. 

Missed any of my posts from Viva La France? 
Catch up here: 

Click here for Paris Day 1

Click here for Paris Day 2

Click here for Paris Day 3
Click here for Nice Day 1

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Weekend in Dallas

Happy Monday! This past weekend Rich and I went to Dallas for a quick weekend trip before he starts back to law school and before I have to get back to working full-time in the office. (The holidays spoil me...)

Dallas is only 4-5 hours from Little Rock so it's a pretty quick weekend trip. It's also a really, really easy drive. So we had planned on leaving Friday at lunch, and we did. However, you make plans and God laughs? We woke up Friday morning to a backyard full of snow. Since it didn't stick to the roads we were safe to drive, and by we I mean Rich because it started snowing on us while driving and I have ZERO idea on how to drive in any condition besides sunny, happy weather.

Once we got to Dallas and went to the hotel, we relaxed a bit. Over five hours in the car under stressful conditions with snow, re-routes, traffic and tiredness we just took a little time to relax. As soon as I realized how close we were to a Trader Joe's I got a BOLT of energy and couldn't get out of the hotel quickly enough. After buying two cases of wine, a ton of marinara sauce and some cookie butter I felt I had done enough damage. $200 worth of damage to be exact but who is counting... 

After my Trader Joe's personal spending challenge event, we found this restaurant called, "Kenny's Italian Kitchen." It had great reviews, was close by, but I was skeptical because it was in a strip mall.  

It. was. delicious. 

And I'm sorry for judging a book by its strip mall cover because the inside of this restaurant was cozy, charming and I would go back in a heartbeat. 

After dinner we went back to the hotel to relax so we could do a lot of things on Saturday and boy, did we... 

We got up and headed downtown to eat brunch at a restaurant called, 'The Rustic.' 

It was also ... delicious. 

The Rustic in Dallas, TX, has a brunch menu called, "Jam and Toast" because you get all of this food and then there is a band playing. 

Bloody Mary ... Bloody Mary ... BLOODY MARY. 

Also, delicious bloody mary. 

After brunch, we headed to Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was shot. Rich had never been there before so we parked and walked around the area. We didn't take the 6th Floor Tour, but I did make a Penny out of Kennedy's head with one of those machines you turn until it flattens and imprints it. 

Next on the list was the Perrot Science Museum! 

I had always wanted to go and Rich didn't complain even though I could tell it was not his thing. That's part of relationships, though ... give and take. 

They had around 9-11 exhibits and my favorite was the one about gems and crystals because I like pretty things. 

And the one about dinosaurs because I think they are strange. 

After we did those two things it was on to the next ... Top Golf. 

Here's what I will say about Top Golf: 

1. I did not suck... surprisingly. 
2. Rich did very well... not surprisingly because he's an actual golfer. 
3. It was a lot of fun. 
4. I would do it again. 
5. I am not going to become a golfer. 

After a full day of fun, it was back to the hotel to change for dinner. Because we liked Kenny's Italian Kitchen we decided to try Kenny's Steakhouse. I'll give it to Kenny that he really knows what he is doing. 

We slept in a bit on Sunday and ate at In-and-Out Burger before heading back to Little Rock. 

How about I use my favorite word again to describe the weekend ... delicious! 

What did you do this weekend? 

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Looking Back On 2016!

There's something about a new year that makes me very ... cheesy. It actually feels like a new start and a new beginning. Now, I know that 2016 is getting a REALLY bad rap from a lot of people, but life is what you make it ... and I believe I made my 2016 a really good year.

Here are just a few highlights of my favorite parts...

JANUARY

In January we went to New Orleans for a few days and had a GREAT time. It's one of my favorite trips that we've been on. I'm actually really ready to go back soon!

You can check out our trip and all the DELICIOUS FOOD details here.

FEBRUARY 

I thoroughly enjoyed a simple dinner of cocoa puffs. It's really the simplest things in life that I really appreciate the most. 

MARCH

In March I was able to mark something off my bucket list of legends... Billy Joel! It was an incredible show and we had great tickets. It was perfect! 

APRIL

In April we went to the Arkansas Derby and it was a blast. It was cold, and I wore the wrong dress to be warm, but it was worth it because I WON THE DERBY RACE! Read about it here. 

MAY

In May we had an impromptu date night that started out with wine on a patio on a gorgeous May night. Again, sometimes it's the smallest things that can lead to the best memories. 

JUNE

We went to St. Martin! You can read about the trip here.

I also turned 30 on the beach in St. Martin! It could't have been a more gorgeous day!

JULY

In July I got to see one of my FAVORITE bands again... Alabama Shakes! It was an incredible show. 

AUGUST

In August I got to see another legend that I have been obsessed with... DOLLY PARTON. It was really the year of music for me and seeing some incredible singers and performers. 

I mean. She wears a dress full of sequins. Goals. 

SEPTEMBER 

August and September were a bit stressful after bidding on houses, losing them, and the emotions that I felt with the ups and downs. I went to happy hour one afternoon and the bartender felt for my sorrows and gave me the HAPPIEST glass (the one on the right!!).  

Just a few days later I got the house I wanted back!! 

OCTOBER 

In October I bought my very first house! Of course, it was dramatic ... because I'm either simple or dramatic about things. There's not really a middle ground with me. And yes, there have been some dramatic issues since moving into the house ... the AC going out the weekend we moved in. The water heater going out RIGHT when it was freezing outside. But overall it's been great to live here! 

You can read about the related house drama here. 

NOVEMBER 

November was the month of settling into the new house, and hosting Thanksgiving with my family. It was probably one of my most favorite Thanksgivings. 

DECEMBER

December was a fun and busy month! With decorating for Christmas in the new house, hanging with friends, being incredibly stressed at work, it was nice to have a fun and easy Christmas with my family and with Rich's family. 

Cheers to 2016! You were exactly what I made it - easy, fun, difficult, dramatic, and memorable! 

Looking forward to 2017! 

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