Our honeymoon-Nice and the French Riveria

We love Nice. Our trip started off beautifully with the news that we’ve been upgraded to the huge, top floor, 433 Euro per night junior suite. On our first evening in Nice, we ventured off to find a delicious French cuisine restaurant that our concierge recommended. Our first dinner out was a bit awkward due to the language barrier however that didn’t dampen the bubbles in the champagne or freshness of the sensuous food (& the orgasmic coffee).

Our first full day in Nice started slow with a croissant in my nightgown sitting on our balcony brought to me by my husband. We fell back asleep then got up and made our way down to the touristy Rue Massena for lunch. We decided to explore the “old town” and found many European squares complete with performance artists, boutiques, cathedrals, baroque outcroppings and famous French houses with colored shutters (that I grew to love in Vietnam, however more decrepit). I (Lee-Anne) was drawn to a little designer French boutique with unique clothes; I ended up a new Italian style outfit. The smell of fresh food called us to dinner and wine. We enjoyed a salad and the traditional Moules aux Frites (fresh mussels in a cream sauce) while sitting outside next to a church in a little square. We walked off some of our dinner by exploring a little deeper. I finally had my first real taste of gelato (ginger and mint), Russ had vanilla meragine. Yum! Walking back to our hotel I realized the reggae artist Lee “Scratch” Perry was playing in the beautiful gardens outside our hotel, but alas we were too tired to try and get a closer listen. Instead I just danced outside our balcony to a couple of tunes and called it a night.



Our second full day in Nice we took a scenic tour bus that took us around the sights of Nice. We exited the bus at the Chagall museum. It was amazing to see so many beautiful pieces of his work in one place. Each brush stroke, the color used, the symbology and every ounce of canvas are laden with meaning. Later, we hiked up to the top of this fort that looks out over the Mediterranean Sea and Promenade des Anglais. It was a warm day and we were quite tired after that, to recuperate we hung out in our junior suite and order room service (I know life is rough). That night we had reservations for a restaurant named Luna Rossa. Honestly, the best food I think I’ve ever had. I had fish with egg noodles, artichokes, and truffles. The food was accompanied with fabulous bottle of 2005 Saint Emillion grand cru—delicious.



The third day started with an early morning walking tour of Nice, which we regret due to lack of sleep and redundancy from the bus tour. The next phase of our honeymoon started when we picked up a rental car to drive along the scenic corniches and to explore more of the French Riviera. We stopped in a medieval hilltop town called Eze that had a botanical garden filled with succulents and cactus. It seemed like we photographed every inch of the town. We got back in our little euro-car and drove to Monaco and Monte Carlo. MONEY MONEY MONEY. Old rich money, oozes from the marble pours of this city and country. We had a look around and took photos of the old casino, the waterfront, as we walked past luxury cars (Porsche & Rolls Royce) and stores (Gucci and Prada). In Monaco we went to an amazing cactus and succulent garden that was owned by the famous Princess Grace Kelly, and Mr. Rainier. I was in succulent heaven. There were so many species that I had never seen, and most were a size I could only dream of. We drove and admired the sea all the way to Antibes (about hour and 1/ 2 drive). Finally we arrived at our quaint little hotel room in the beachside town.