We've just been on a whirlwind trip to the South of France,
spending 3 nights and 4 days in Cannes & Aix-en-Provence, so it’s only
right we write a little travel review for anyone tempted by the beautiful South
of France…
We flew into Nice with
Monarch Airlines, made our way to the
car rental part of the airport, and before we knew it we were driving on our
way to Cannes in the new automatic
Renault Clio enjoying some Va Va Voom – well
when in France!
We wanted to visit an island while in France so we researched beforehand and booked into lunch at
La Tonnelle; the only restaurant
positioned on the small island of
Saint Honorat off the coast of Cannes. We parked the Clio, hopped
onto a boat and enjoyed a breezy, sunny 30 minute boat ride across the sea to
the island, taking in the amazing yachts and helicopters as we went.
Lunch at
La Tonnelle was perfect, we sat at a table
overlooking the rustic rocks and calm sea and, as we wondered about a life lived
on little (or large!) yachts that surrounded this picturesque island, we enjoyed delicious
seafood and soy baked tuna, before stretching our legs as we walked the whole
way around the interesting island which is inhabited only by Monks.
After a short boat trip back, while I had a power nap – we then
began our drive to Aix-en-Provence which we imagined would be beautiful and
breath-taking with the wind in our hair... but there was a huge storm,
which meant for an hour of our journey we joined the French in driving very
slow with our hazards on because of very poor visibility! It did make us feel better about not going for the soft-top car though!
The rain did not dampen our spirits as we arrived at our perfectly French hotel
Le Mas d’Entremont. We were greeted by such friendly and helpful staff and shown to
our garden room at the back of the hotel which despite the huge array of very
tall trees, looked out onto Aix-en-Provence.
We didn’t arrive until about 9pm
so we decided to eat & drink at the hotel restaurant, and the food was
amazing! This was the first time we could practice our French too, and we
joined others in the restaurant by having a long, drawn out meal with delicious
fish, cheese, wine and lots of laughs!
We decided to get up early on Saturday so as not to miss the
early markets in Aix. Jane has been going to Aix-en-Provence since she was a little girl and it was so great to be shown around by someone who has so
many wonderful memories there.
Everywhere we go in the world we like to pick up
a 'Katie & Jane keepsake', and we found a lovely little independent home-made
jewellery stall where both our eyes went to a simple necklace with just a solid
cloud in the centre – something about the ‘the sky’s the limit’ sprung to mind!
We then made our way through the cobbled streets looking at all the amazing
shops – even a shop dedicated to just jam looked so inviting we couldn’t help
ourselves but peer in for inspiration! The outstanding things about Aix are the
smells, either from the amazing chic French women, to the freshly baked bread,
every corner you turn powered up the senses!
We sat in one of Jane’s favourite spots;
Les Deux Garcons for
a refreshing drink and a bit of people watching while we listened to a Jazz trio outside, they even played a
song I used to do a tap dance to when I was little, so we decided we had to buy
the CD to remind us of the moment at home. We picked up a freshly baked baguette and some brie for
lunch and made our way back to enjoy an afternoon soaking up the sun by the pool.
Saturday night is party night in Aix and we kicked it off
with a light bite to eat at the fashionable
Restaurant La Rotonde, before being welcomed by locals
into Le Champ’s bar and partying with them in
Le Mistral till the early hours! We
also bumped into the owner too and asked very nicely if he could swap the regular deep house tracks for some Beyonce tunes for just 15 minutes…and he did, if you don’t ask
you don’t get!
Sunday was another party night to celebrate Jane's Auntie Lynda's 60th so the day was spent enjoying a lovely breakfast at the hotel with Jane's newly arrived parents – the
highlight here are definitely the homemade yogurts and fig bread, before another relax by the pool. The night was spent at Lynda’s surprise party in pretty Puyricard, just a 10 minute car journey from Aix. We spoke to lots of lovely people, practicing our French and learning that to describe a really decent,
great person, you call them a ‘pêche’ – Peach!
Despite being tired (in a great way!) we made ourselves get
up early on Monday for a game of tennis in the hotel's very picturesque court before packing and saying goodbye to Aix before embarking on our last French road-trip to Marseilles airport to fly home. Although it was a short stay, it felt like we'd been there a while and saw lots of the area, of course, we're planning our next trip with the aim to learn French very soon!
Highlights...
- The beautiful smells of Aix, whether chic French perfume or
freshly baked bread
- The fish soup at Le Mas d’Entremont
Must Dos...
- A boat trip to the gorgeous ‘secret island’ of Saint Honorat
- Wondering around the morning markets in Aix
Katie x
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