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Riviera Trip Report, Part I: Travel there, orientation, and adjusting to the high costs
Okay folks. We just got back from our trip to the South of France.
Days 1 - 2: Travel from Austin, TX to Nice, France We started off early morning on July 8th in Austin, TX, on a mild humid morning (but with temps expected to soar later on as normal for July in Texas). Before I left, I had checked the forecasts for the travel cities, and all looked good. New York was forecasted to be sunny and mild 85F (30C) and Nice was also sunny and mild 82F (28C). So I didn't anticipate any weather related delays. The flight from Austin to NYC JFK was a little late and I was worried that we would not catch the connection, but when we landed at JFK we found that the departure gate for Nice was one gate over from the Austin arrival. We literally got off one plane and got onto the other with no wait. The trip was starting out nicely. The international flight went better than last year with our son. Since he is 3.5 now, it was a little easier to entertain him with various games, stories, etc... until he eventually went to sleep. When he finally went to sleep, we watched one of the later movies instead of going to bed. We would later regret that decision. We arrived in Nice, cleared security, and then exchanged a nominal amount of money at a very poor exchange rate. We then took the free shuttle to Terminal 2 where the buses depart. I had been told to take a shuttle for 4 Euros to the Gare Nice Centre-ville, where I could board a train to Juan-les-Pins. However, my wife found out there was a 1 Euro bus that went to Juan-les-Pins, so we decided to take that as it was much more simple. The only problem is that the bus takes about an hour to get to Juan-les-Pins, and it was jam packed and hot (it had A/C but in the usual Europeah way, they really didn't crank it at all so it was uncomfortably hot, over 80). When we finally got to Juan-les-Pins, I was glad to be out in the fresh air. Our hotel was only a 5 minute walk from the train station, but we didn't know how far the bus stop was from the train station. My wife (who is fluent in French) ended up asking several people where the hotel was, but many people didn't know. I just wanted to get to a cross street to figure our where we were. When we saw Ave. Louis Gallet, I finally was able to figure out where we were on the map and things were smooth from there on. We finally showed up at the hotel after being lost for a half hour. Since I plan to be writing a review for the hotel on the tripadvisor web site, I won't be including details on the hotel here, unless it is specifically asked or related to the trip report. The hotel was literally one block from the beach, and our room had a view of the Mediterranean Sea. It was early afternoon to we decided to go out and eat lunch. We walked to the beach and saw the various seaside cafes. They were extremely pricey, considering the exchange rate. We decided to eat at Juanita's. My wife had a salad nicoise at 13E and I had a pizza that I shared with my son at 11E for a total of 24E. We drank plain water. That's a $38 lunch. In the US, a personal pizza is rarely above $10 and a salad rarely above $8, so this is really double the price of things in the states. I will be reviewing Juanita on tripadvisor, but it's a very good restaurant. My pizza was delicious, with ham, cheese, and olives. The only thing was the ham was quite tough to chew but other than that it was good. My wife's salad was very good as well. We decided at that point that we would not be eating out for any lunches anymore on our trip. We decided that we'd just shop at the local grocery store and buy some bread, cheese, fruits, etc... for a far cheaper price. This decision probably saved us around $500 over the course of the trip. After dinner, we decided to lay on the beach for a while, but our son was way too cranky, so we headed back to the hotel for a 3 hour nap to recharge. Jetlag had set in. When we awoke, we found that my wife's inlaws had arrived. They had driven in from Geneva. That night we ate at Ruban Bleu with her parents. They treated so that was nice. My wife ordered a fixed price menu and I just ate off her plate, as we both weren't too hungry. My son had mules mariniere with pomme frites (mussels cooked in wine and onions and french fries) which he enjoyed. Since he can be finicky, it was good to know that he liked mussels! We then went to bed early as we were all exhausted (us from international travel, her folks from an all day of traveling). Next stop: Cannes Please let me know what you think so far! |
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Okay, onto Cannes, July 10th.
We left in the morning, after the classic French breakfast our hotel serves (freshly baked croissants and french bread, with butter and assorted jams, hot chocolate, and orange juice) in the picturesque courtyard. It cost 6E per person but our son was free. We would have that breakfast everyday until we left. The croissants were so fresh that we could smell the dough being cooked in our room before breakfast. Talk about good! For Americans reading this, you may be asking why we would have hot chocolate in the summer, as hot chocolate is *only* served in the winter in the states, but you have to think of hot chocolate as France's coffee. UK has tea for breakfast, France has hot chocolate for breakfast, US has coffee. Also, the hot chocolate in France is *far* better than any hot chocolate served in the US. First of all, they use hot milk which is mixed with cocoa powder, whereas water is used with premixed packets in the US. However, I do like the marshmellows in the US! Maybe I should start selling the French style of hot chocolate, but add marshmellows to it? That would be the best of both worlds! Inlaws had parked their car in the underground parking garage, so we retrieved it, and headed to Cannes along the coastal road. It was nice to see the beautiful coast, with the long stretches of sandy beaches and hillsides in the background. When we got to Cannes, I liked the giant billboards with photos of models. The promenade along the water was quite nice as well. However, we had difficulty finding parking. After around 30 minutes of trying to park in various places, we finally found a street parking spot near the promenade. We walked to the area where the Cannes film festival takes place and took photos on the red carpet. Then, we took our son on the carousel ride and then let him ride the various firetrucks, motorcycles, etc... in the carnival area. He had a blast. There didn't seem to be a whole lot more to see, so we only spent a half day there, and then headed back. We were really itching to get back and spend some time on the beach, and we were still jetlagged a bit, so perhaps that had something to do with it. So, we bought some postcards and drove on back to Juan-les-Pins. One thing I'd like to note is that Cannes was one of the few cities that we actually noticed a large amount of American tourists. Nice was the other. Juan-les-Pins had virtually no American tourists, although there were plenty of British and Germans, and of course French. That night, we again ate at Reuban Bleu. This time, I was starving, so I had the full fixed priced menu as my wife did. Unfortunately the inlaws didn't treat this time. I had saumon marine (marinated salmon salad, delicious) and sole for the main dish. Our son had a 6E jambon frite meal. The bill was 40E ($64) and that did not include wine. Instead, we went back to the hotel and had fine wine and chocolate that our inlaws had brought in from Switzerland. Because the fixed price menu there was 16.50E (which included starter and main dish or main dish and dessert but not all three), we ended up eating there quite a bit, as it was one of the best values on the beach. Next day: Sous-marine boat tours. |
Hi BN,
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more. > Since I plan to be writing a review for the hotel on the tripadvisor web site, I won't be including details on the hotel here, unless it is specifically asked or related to the trip report....I will be reviewing Juanita on tripadvisor,... < It would be very helpful to us if you were to provide details on hotels, restos, etc here. You can always paste your review to another website later. They don't do reviews of restos outside the US. >My son had mules mariniere with pomme frites ...< I know that the French eat horse meat, but I wasn't aware that they also at mule. :) ((I)) |
ira, sorry I meant moules mariniere. My French is bad, sorry :)
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ira,
We stayed at Hotel Eden for 100E a night (90E for 2 people + 10E surcharge for the little one). It was a great value in a great location overall. I'll post the details here. |
<i>and then exchanged a nominal amount of money at a very poor exchange rate.</i>
No ATMs available? |
Michael,
No, there weren't in the airport that we could find. I also found (after the fact) that most ATMs in Europe charge several Euros fees plus my bank charges $5 on top of that if I don't go to a partner bank (which I couldn't find the whole time I was there). Thus, credit is the best way to go, as there is no fee for that, just the negotiated exchange rate. So, we just exchanged enough cash to "get by" until we could find an ATM in town. |
Thanks for the report, I am looking forward to more and also some info on the hotel please.
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See
Riviera Trip Report, Part II: the little yellow submarine and other marine adventures for Part II. |
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I had a comment to consolidate my trip report into a single thread, so here goes:
It was now July 11th, and we had been in France for a few days so the jetlag had worn off. We were refreshed, recharged, and ready to take on some adventures in the South of France. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to visit the Riviera, and here I was. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, what we call "chamber of commerce" weather here in the states. The days were between 26 C and 30 C the whole time we stayed there (or between 79 and 86) and it only rained one day. The rest of the days were either sunny, mostly sunny, or partly cloudy. The nights were between 18 and 22 (64 and 72) every night we stayed there. Now, I know many Europeans (and most British) call that hot weather, but for someone that lives in Texas, where it is forecast to be 101 today (38C), temps in the upper 70s and low 80s are to me very mild. We get that type of weather March and April. The sea temperature hovered around 23C (73F) but got up to 25C (77F) one day (that was a day that was very dry and windy, oddly enough and the day was the only 32C/90F day we had). We are used to 28-30C water, so we actually found the Mediterranean to be a bit chilly for us (but we still enjoyed swimming in it). July 11th was my inlaws 50th wedding anniversary, so it was a day dedicated to them. My mother-in-law wanted to take a trip on the "Sous Marine" voyage tour, which was a yellow boat that had an underground viewing area that had an expansive plexiglass viewing area to the sea below. They treated us to the tour, so I don't even know how much it cost, but it was quite enjoyable. We started leaving from the pier in Juan-les-Pins. This is the pier that we would later (on subsequent days) board boats for Marguerite island and St. Tropez. But for today, we would be taking a tour that would go out into the bay, out to Cap D'Antibes where all the mansions are and where the marine life is interesting. The boat pretty much directly headed out to Cap D'Antibe on a sunny glorious day. On the way, they pointed out a few beaches that I had been unaware of. The Plage Des Ondes looked relatively uncrowded and had many rocky features, so I made a mental note that I should plan to go snorkeling there on a future day. After that, they pointed out mansions of Middle East sultans and American celebs, among others. Finally we got to the area where they allowed you to go into underwater viewing area. You could see some different fish and jellyfish, and various seagrass and seaweed along the rocky shore. It was a good view and my son loved it, but nothing compared to the views you get when looking into, say the Caribbean. I sat down there with my son until they left the bay around Cap D'antibes and were in deeper water, where all you could see was the emerald sea water. Then we went back up on deck and they showed other parts of the sea, like the aqua farms and other facets of the area around Juan-les-Pins. Overall, I rate this tour as very good and definitely suitable for children. That night was the 50th wedding anniversary for the inlaws, so we had to head back to the hotel and figure out where we would be taking them and get ready for the big night. |
After talking to the hotel owner's and discussing a bit, we decided on Le Capitole, 26 Av Amiral Courbet.
They had a three course fixed price menu at 21E, but there were additional surcharges of 10E for various dishes. Three of the four menus had "suppl" charges on the bill because of that. They also charged for water here, so we got sparkling water since they charged anyway. We also got a bottle of Laurent Perrier at 37E. We had to, it was a 50th anniversary dinner. The food was delicious. I had a salad with a citrus dressing, which is something you can't find in the states. It was delicious. I also tried sole meuniere. I wanted to try the meunier sauce there because I've had it in New Orleans and I wanted to compare. It was delicious, buttery and a nice complement to the fish. I polished off the meal and had creme brulee for dessert. I was very happy. My mother-in-law had Loup and my wife also had the sole meuniere. I can't remember what my father-in-law had. Our son had a side order of fries and ate various portions of our food. The bill was 157.50E so that was pretty expensive. For the same price in America ($252), we could eat at a 5 star restaurant and get far more food, but this was a good restaurant nonetheless. Since I am quite frugal, I'm always doing calculations in my head to try to figure out how expensive things are and I was very disappointed at how expensive things are in France. |
BK -
Nice trip report, love the detail.. Just curious... where in America can 4 people eat at a 5 star restaurant for $250 with tip and tax and champagne included ? I'll be wanting to visit on our next trip ! -Kevin |
Kevin, Go to New Orleans: Emeril's, K-Pauls, Commander's Palace are 5 star restaurants that fit the bill. Commander's Palace was rated the best restaurant in the US many times. If you go in the summer there are many fixed priced specials that make eating out very affordable, and this is at some of the world's best restaurants.
Go to Austin and eat at Gumbos. We ate there for Father's Day and our bill was less than $100 for two adults. We were both having drinks and cocktails. Living is large in the US, for cheap prices. |
The next day we decide to take the ferry to Isle de Marguerite from the pier in Juan des Pins. This day is a bit warmer, getting up to 30C. This was the first time I noticed myself sweating a bit waiting in line for tickets as there was no breeze and the line was in the sun for over 30 minutes. We finally got on the boat and it was nice when it finally started up and the breeze started going. We got to Marguerite Island and walked up the hill to the Castle. There was a great view up there and we walked around a bit. We then went to the museum up there and paid the entrance fee. I think it was 3.5E per person, but it may have been 7E per person. In any case, you got to tour a few cells and there was an interesting exhibit on undersea explorations in the Mediterranean. There was an example of pots recovered from an old ship and how they were being recovered. My son liked the scale model recreations of the ships and the pots. However, I really can't see how the price is justified for that museum.
When we got out, we saw a sign for "La guerite". I asked my father-in-law what that meant, since I'm not that good in French, and he said that he did not know. Neither did my wife or mother-in-law. So, we decided to follow the trail to La guerite and see where it went. We hiked 1 km or so and weren't really getting anywhere. Along the way, there were multiple branches off the main trail, but they were all unmarked. There was a steady stream of people hiking to "La guerite" but we still couldn't figure out what it was. Could someone please fill me in on what "La guerite" means? There were return boats leaving every so often, but there was not much more to see on the island, so we took the next ferry back. |
A guérite is a lookout cabin.
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BK -
Thanks for the NO tips. It's actually on our list as recent guests have told us it's a good time to visit these days. -Kevin |
Kevin,
Here's some info that may interest you. You can get 3 course lunches for $20 and 3 course dinners for $30 at some of the best restaurants in the US: COOLinary Summer in New Orleans With the beginning of the summer season in New Orleans, once again more than two dozen of the city’s famous restaurants are running their money-saving specials for lunch and dinner. It is known as A COOLinary Summer, and participating restaurants will offer three-course lunches at $20 or less and three-course dinners at $30 or less between July 1 and September 30. This special event highlights the city's unparalleled lineup of restaurants and introduces foodies from all over to New Orleans unique Creole and Cajun cuisines, as well as to world-famous steakhouses and seafood bistros. The participating restaurants, 28 in all, are as follows: 7 on Fulton Bacco Bayona Bombay Club Bourbon House Seafood Brennan's Restaurant Broussard's Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cafe' Adelaide Commander's Palace Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse Dominique's at the Maison Dupuy Hotel Grand Isle La Cote Brasserie Le Cafe Martinique Bistro Maximo's Italian Grill Melánge Michaul's Live Music Restaurant Mr. B's Bistro Palace Cafe Pascal's Manale Red Fish Grill Restaurant Cuvee The Pelican Club Tomatillos Tujague's Restaurant Wolfe's in the Warehouse Nearly all of the restaurants taking part in this promotion are conveniently located in the French Quarter or downtown New Orleans, walking distance from most major hotels. . . . URL: http://www.neworleansonline.com/news...arysummer.html |
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