Côte d'Azure

There’s truly nothing like summer in the Côte d'Azur. It’s magical in a way that is difficult to explain. Oliver and I wanted to have a weekend away with some of our dear friends and Nice, France is only a one-and-a-half-hour plane ride away from Vienna.

I’ll start by saying that I am in the middle of training for a half marathon and running on the Promenade des Anglais was 1) one of the most beautiful streets I’ve ever run on and 2) where I saw the highest concentration of runners I’ve ever seen in Europe.

We had no concrete plans for this trip other than going to the beach, eating great food, and wandering around Monte Carlo (specifically to see the F1 track *swoon*). And we succeeded!

Our first day was spent in Nice on the beach. Absolute perfection. The second half of the day was spent in a little town called Menton. It’s only 35 minutes from Nice by train. Known for lemons and their quintessential French/Italian architecture. The highlight was a refreshing strawberry lemon granita.

I have wanted to visit Monte Carlo since the movie came out with Selena Gomez and Leighton Meester but that desire has only increased since the birth of my Formula 1 obsession. So naturally, we hit the track (which isn’t hard to do) and saw Hotel de Paris. To say I was fangirling would be an understatement. The only bummer was that the Hungarian GP was that weekend so we had no chance of seeing any drivers.

Oliver was like a kid in a candy store with all of the luxury cars and yachts. He could have gone car spotting for the entire day! But we spent most of our car spotting time in front of the Casino de Monte Carlo. Fun fact about the casino: they only park the most expensive cars out front and will rotate in a nicer car if one shows up. Only the best and flashiest in Monaco.

Monaco is not a large country. There’s only one train station and it’s only 25 minutes from Nice. And while it’s known for its yachts, it’s not known for its beaches. We went one train stop away to Cap d’Ail for our swimming adventures. While it was a little crowded, it was the clearest warm water and a happy little cove perfect for spending the afternoon in the water.

Obviously, Oliver and I are foodies. We plan all of our trips around food. This trip was no exception. Patisserie LAC (for amazing patisseries), Fenocchio’s (gelato…need I say more?), and Le Rocher Chez Mina (moules-frites or mussels and fries) were highlights. But honestly, the pain au chocolat I ate on the beach on our final morning was just the cherry on top of a perfect weekend.