Bonjour, friends,
I am very excited to be making my first trip to the South of France in 2 weeks. Due to some unforeseen circumstances with some fellow travelers, we don%26#39;t have accommodations, yet. (Someone was supposed to take care of this and did not).
We have been to Paris several times, but we felt that we%26#39;d like to see your beautiful area of France. We will have 3 nights at the beginning of our trip, and 3 nights at the end of our trip. (We%26#39;ll be spending a bit of time in the middle in the Emilia Romagna area of Italy, invited by friends to stay with them at their expense!)
I have a few questions. We will be flying into Nice on June 5 and back out of Nice on June 17. We would love to find somewhere to stay that is a bit unique. A cottage perhaps, or in a family home (like a farmhouse, maybe). There are only 2 of us (adults) and we live very close to the beach at our home, so we don%26#39;t anticipate wanting to spend any time at the beaches. We enjoy shopping, museums, churches and great food! Quaint and charming villages are very appealing to us.
Can anyone suggest an area up to maybe 2 hours from the Nice airport that we may enjoy and also any suggestions on accommodations? Our budget is rather low since our other plans did not come through. Ideally, we%26#39;d like to spend only about 120 Euro per night. We enjoy bed and breakfasts, too.
Any suggestions will be much appreciated, and we are so looking forward to visiting you!
Vicki
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Bump...anyone there in the French Riviera who can help with some suggestions?
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I%26#39;ve been watching your post, vickisfloyd, and hoping that someone will have suggestions. Unfortunately, I don%26#39;t really; we stay in the same apartment in Cannes every year (which we just adore!) but you%26#39;re obviously looking for something different to that. We do take several trips in the region but I%26#39;ve never actually been on the look-out for places to stay.
Last year we went to a quaint and charming village (with lots of serious history) not far from Nice, is %26quot;Valbonne%26quot;. Not too touristy yet, and lots of little interesting shops and a few very good restos . In fact your criteria, shopping, museums, churches (the Abbey dates back to 1199!) and great food ~ it%26#39;s all there. You might want to have a little look and search.
www.tourisme-valbonne.com
P.S. We tried Foie Gras %26quot;Mi-Quit%26quot; there for the first time (only had the regular fresh seared, or terrines, in all the years before)and I%26#39;m now a total convert to mi-quit.
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Thanks so much! This is why I love the forum. I%26#39;m constantly chiming in with advice for people on Rome and Paris and I live in FLORIDA! And here you are giving me advice on the French Riviera and we%26#39;re practically neighbors!
Maybe I should just change my plans altogether and just grab a bathing suit and head to the Bahamas. We love that.
I%26#39;ll check out Valbonne. I always have everything planned 6 months in advance, but I relied on someone else this time and unfortunately, she totally dropped the ball (and I%26#39;m left holding the bag!) So we%26#39;re scrambling for accommodations.
Here%26#39;s another question for you, Soames, or anyone who may be able to answer it. We will be in Parma, Italy after our time in France, and we will have three days to get from Parma back to catch our flight in Nice. Does anyone have any suggestions on somewhere that may be interesting to stay on the way from Parma to Nice? Our flight leaves at 10:20am, so we don%26#39;t want to be too far away - I was thinking somewhere around the Italy/France border, but I%26#39;m a moron when it comes to geography (sad since I love to travel so much) and so that may not be an option in any way shape or form! We%26#39;d love to find a nice village where we can hang out, maybe take a day trip somewhere, and be close enough to Nice to get to the airport by about 7:30am or so.
Any suggestions, welcome! Thanks for Valbonne, Soames!
Vicki
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Hi Soames,
I have looked into Valbonne and it looks wonderful!!! I%26#39;ve requested availability on 3 apartments whose calendars show that they%26#39;re available (fingers crossed). Friday is market day, and that%26#39;s one of the days that we would be there. I absolutely adore markets in France! Thanks so much for the suggestion! I%26#39;ll let you know if we get one of the apartments.
Valbonne looks absolutely charming!
Vicki
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Hello Vicki!
I%26#39;m so glad you like the looks of Valbonne. We spent a wonderful day there, (lots of comfortable %26amp; sleepy Hemmingway type cats around, lol).
We%26#39;re actually off to Cannes next week (always arrive after the FF) and might well pop back to Valbonne, it%26#39;s so near Cannes. It would be lucky if you get to be there on Market day (it is far more quaint! than the one in Cannes or Antibes). If you%26#39;re anything like me, living in a hot%26amp; humid climate, lol, you might like chic cotton and linen clothing. There%26#39;s a fabulous young guy who sets up there on Fridays (he%26#39;s in Cannes on Sat and in Antibes on Thurs) I go every week; there%26#39;s always something I like. His stall is quite small, usually has a helper or two, and he also has lots of real designer clothing (labels cut out). His stuff is not dirt-cheap but real bargains to me.
There are one or two serious wine boutiques, and if you like wine, also have a look-out for some Provençal %26quot;Reds%26quot; (rosés are easily come by, but it%26#39;s a real treat when you find a good red!).
I%26#39;m almost envious of you, lol, if you actually stay there. So peaceful and so pretty. Good luck with apartments!
(Sorry I can%26#39;t help with your trip back from Parma ~ when we%26#39;re on our way to crossing over to Italy we tend to keep on going, lol. Hopefully someone will have info on that, and post!)
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Thanks for the advice! We%26#39;re due to arrive June 5 and will stay (hopefully in Valbonne for 3 nights) then Parma for 8 nights then maybe even back to Valbonne for the remainder of the time (June 14 - 17). If we stay in Valbonne and you%26#39;re still in Cannes, come for dinner! We%26#39;ll have a glass of the Provencal wine! It%26#39;s just myself and hubby this time. Sometimes we travel with friends or family, but this time, just us!
I%26#39;ll definitely visit the linen stall at the market regardless of where we end up staying. If we can%26#39;t get Valbonne, we may have to stay in Nice, but we could certainly drive to Valbonne on market day.
Let me know if we%26#39;ll be in the vicinity at the same time.
What is Cannes like? I wonder if it would be something we would enjoy for a day trip? Is it mostly just for beach and sun? Or are there other things going on? I%26#39;d love to visit just because of the film festival (I know it%26#39;s not going on at the time, but it would be interesting to see where all of that takes place).
Thanks again, friend! And have a great trip!
Vicki
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vicki - as another %26quot;almost neighbor%26quot; I%26#39;ve been watching too, and hoping you%26#39;d get some good advice. I stayed in a modern hotel on my last visit to Nice, and have rented an apartment for our trip this July, so didn%26#39;t have any info to offer on cottage or b%26amp;b type places. Valbonne does look charming, so I hope that works out!
It%26#39;s too bad we%26#39;ll miss each other in Nice, but pm me if you%26#39;re ever heading down the Fla. coast! I%26#39;ve read so many of your posts, I feel I know you already. :)
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Hey Key Lime!
You never know when we%26#39;ll be down your way. My hubby grew up in Lake Worth and until we moved his mom to Jacksonville about 5 years ago, we were in West Palm five or six times a year. The Gardens Mall...bliss!
He still has a brother and several friends there, plus there are high school reunions...(Uggghhh)
We%26#39;ll definitely let you know if we head your way, and you do the same.
If we stay in Valbonne, I%26#39;ll be sure to post back and let you all know what we thought about it....
Vicki
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Did you know they have a Paul restaurant/bakery (just like in France!)right next to the Gardens Mall in Downtown at the Gardens? It%26#39;s awesome! Okay, we%26#39;re way off topic here... :)
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No...I didn%26#39;t know! We%26#39;re not off topic because we are theoretically talking about a French restaurant, right? And no one from the French Riviera seems to be chiming in anyway!!! Hubby graduated from Lake Worth High.
But to really get off topic, (then I%26#39;ll bring it back so we%26#39;re not shut down) we really enjoy City Place, too. We went to a cool place (The Blue Martini?) or something like that and had a really wonderful afternoon just having some wine and food. And of course shopping! We enjoy Clematis Street, and the antique shops on Lake and Lucerne. Plus I%26#39;ve found that the Palm Beach Goodwill store is awesome! You can get all the designer stuff at a mere fraction of a cost.
And to get us back on topic, travelers, make sure you don%26#39;t buy fake designer goods when you%26#39;re overseas. You can be fined (large amounts) by their government and your own!)
I%26#39;m hoping to hear an answer about a Valbonne apartment tomorrow. Out of all of the places that I checked, it just seems like the right place for us!
So thanks to Soames...now Soames, you know how close me and Key Lime are to you in the Bahamas! Never know when we might drop in! And if you ever need a place to stay in North Florida to go to the theme parks or Daytona, we have plenty of room!
I%26#39;ll keep you all posted. Say a little prayer we get a Valbonne apt!!!
Vicki
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