France
#sampsonsdofrance
A road trip through France...it was the perfect mix of Parisian culture, interesting Lyonnaise cuisine (can't say we're sold on tripe sausage), wineries, villages, coast lines, beach towns, lakes, glamour and relaxation. The French know how to summer. The French holiday in August. Many take the whole month off (America...get a clue). Many things were either closed or had odd hours. But what was neat was summering along with the locals. We rented a car (actually drove the crazy beautiful streets of Paris) and headed south to The French Riviera - making a few stops along the way. The roads south were busy! You could tell everyone in France was heading to the beach. Towns along our itinerary:
Paris | Lyon | Lake Annecy | Aix en Provence | Cassis | St. Tropez | Nice | Monaco
Call us crazy, but renting the smallest car on the planet to drive around Paris was So. Much. Fun!!! Anywhere you go....just rent the car. :) We headed south to Lyon, France. Basically a smaller Paris, but much more rustic, cozy, warm, almost country like. Home to Historic Site of Lyon - UNESCO World Heritage Centre and gastronomy. Had our first run in with Tripe Sausage. Not a fan. But, apparently a popular dish in the area. Our # 1 thing to do in Lyon -
1.) Visit the Les Halles Paul Bocuse Market in Lyon - This famed chef has a market unlike any market we've ever perused. It's not the biggest nor the smallest. But definitely the best. Selling only the highest quality of products, produce, meats, cheeses, fruits, pates, seafood, etc. You haven't tasted fruit until you've eaten it here. We visited every stall oohing and aahing, taste testing, and buying a hand-selected picnic style lunch. One last tip: Iberico ham.
Next stop - Lake Annecy. - Make a point to stop in the small town of Annecy. Its lake is the 3rd largest in France and known as the cleanest in Europe. The French and Swiss Alps are the backdrop to these deep turquoise waters. We strolled the town of Annecy for only a day. It was quick but most adorable. Annecy is known as the Venice of the Alps with it's cobblestone streets, pastel buildings, and whimsical canals. Anywhere we turned it was like a scene out of a storybook. We rented a boat and cruised around for a few hours being in complete awe of the postcard like scenery. We also couldn't be near the Swiss Alps without consuming as much cheese as we could. We had a fun fondue dinner at Le Freti. So much cheese and so worth it!
Another favorite thing we did was rent a boat to cruise around Lake Annecy. You don't need to make reservation or have a special boating license. (I mean...you don't even need to speak French to rent a car in France....so why not?). The water colors are unreal!!
Our next stop was Aix-En-Provence. What was supposed to be a a short 3 hour drive turned into a 6 hour drive. We ran into the summer traffic of the French summering in August and all heading south to the beach. We were hoping to get into town to catch the over the top farmer's markets that apparently take over the town. That didn't happen. We missed it. I was bummed, but the town is still adorable. Will have to return someday to catch the markets.
Instead this stop turned into a quick overnight where in the morning we woke early and drove 30 minutes south to enter the beautiful region of The French Riviera!!!! We started with Cassis. Home to beautiful Mediterranean beaches, wineries all around, sizable cliffs, the famous Calanques and yummy seafood. Another must stop! We took a boat tour that drove us to admire 3 different Calanques where people lounged, cliff jumped and sun bathed.
The rest of our road trip was stop after stop filled with jaw dropping beach towns. Ones like we've never seen. St. Tropez, Nice, Monaco....all of them were filled with beautiful and tan people sun bathing, drinking, yachting, and living life. Everything seemed grandiose and so incredibly picturesque it was hard to put our cameras down.
The best thing to do here is to rent an umbrella + beach chair along The French Riviera - The Mediterranean is top notch. Pebble beaches (hence the - rent a beach chair and umbrella), turquoise waters, perfectly hot days, Pina coladas, and creme brulee. We spent a few hours each day doing nothing but sunning ourselves beach side and cooling off in the waves. We spent most of our time in Nice, but any French Riviera stop will take your breath away. The glamour, glitz and fame is real. Spectacular coastlines, yachts on yachts on yachts and the freshest of seafood! It was heaven.
And just like that, it was time to head back to Paris to prepare for our flight home to South Dakota. :) We spent 1 more day/night in the city of Love. Had more desserts, a tasty dinner, and spent our last afternoon perusing Montmartre area. So quaint and adorable! This area of town is a must see.
Until next time, France. Au revoir!
