South of France Travel Diary Pt. 2

This post is part 2 of my trip to the south of France. Read part one here

The next morning we wake up in St. Tropez to the sound of waves crashing on the shore and fresh ocean breezes. Up until this point, the days leading up to this one didn’t feel real and I had to pinch myself knowing that I was in the south of France.

We grabbed a few croissants and a shot of espresso at a local cafe with the friendliest service. I didn’t take down the name of this place, but I’ll look for it and include it when I find it.

We drove to our next destination, Cannes and I had nothing but high expectations. When I travel, I typically like to keep my expectations low to reduce the likelihood of being underwhelmed, but I couldn’t help myself – the south of France is so beautiful.

One of my main goals for the trip was to relax and recharge, and Cannes (and the rest of the south of France for that matter) was the perfect place to do this. The beautiful beaches, delicious food, and stunning views makee it easy to spend an entire day laying out, working on your tan, and that’s exactly what we did. Going on probably my 15^th Aperol spritz of the trip (and my favorite) we spent the day at O’key beach, soaking up sunrays and relaxing. We had dinner at La Table du Chef, which has a phenomenal selection of market fresh dishes like cod brandade and wild arugula salad, and an excellent wine selection.

On our last day, we took a train into Monaco from Nice and spent the day there. But before, we stopped over in Antibes, a Mediterranean resort town, to explore the town and grab breakfast. Being there Monday morning, many of the cafés were closed, but we stumbled upon an adorable coffee shop called Lucky Break that had a menu full of healthy options and avocado toast! After eating pastries and drinking spritz for four days, it was nice to have something healthy. I had an avocado toast obviously and a green smoothie and was ready for the day!

We spent a few hours in Antibes, walking around the small streets and alleyways. It’s a cute town with beautiful harbor views and one place I wish we had a few more hours to explore!

After dropping our bags off at our hotel in Nice, we took a short train ride (20 minutes) into Monaco where we were immediately greeted by the most picturesque view of the harbor and surrounding mountains (see photo below). We walked around Monaco, visiting Jardin Exotique, the harbor, Fort Antoine and Moneghetti District. Later, we stopped for espresso and croissants at Café de Paris (a must visit in Monaco!)