French Riviera

It's vacation time in Switzerland again. Two weeks of school break for "Herbst Ferien". The first week we spent at home in Zürich- reading, jumping rope and hula hooping. We debated a trip to Paris, but instead decided on a trip to the south of France for beaches, swimming, and a tropical climate. It's a little late in the season for hot afternoons and sunning oneself at the beach, but kids are rarely bothered by a bit of cold. We found that to be true when we were in Italy in April and the only ones brave enough to get in were the children on holiday. Cars are more of a necessity in France so we rented one in Switzerland and drove to Antibes. According to Google maps this should have been an 8 hour drive through France or a 6 hour drive through Italy. These figures must have been calculated on driving without even a stop for a toilet! We decided to take the route through France since we hadn't seen it yet and took the highway west of Zürich towards Bern, then Geneva, into France to Annecy, Grenoble, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and around the coast to Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet. With a picnic lunch stop and two quick bathroom breaks we finally made it in 10 hours. Dark was just settling in and we had a very minimal map but somehow located the villa gates and the house. Elisabet had been patiently (well, sort of) waiting to get into the hot tub all day long so before we even fully unpacked the car, they were in their suits and in the lukewarm water for a quick pre-bedtime dip. We couldn't believe how well they took the long drive. Elisabet asked "when will we be in France?" only 30 minutes after leaving our apartment..... and was devastated when we explained that it wouldn't be until near dinner time . After an hour more of asking, she finally gave in and sat back in her car seat, eventually falling asleep at 5pm in resignation. The drive was beautiful. It was a sunny, clear day and we saw Mt. Blanc through the clouds and the other southern Alps to our east. The autoroute followed the Rhone river valley and once we entered the region of Provence, the landscape changed to scrubby trees, red, rocky soil, and yellow villas with blue and green painted shutters. Small towns are perched at the tops of hills and vineyards alternate with pine forests.

The coastal region where we are staying was first established in the 5th century BC and has changed hands between the Greeks, Romans, French and Italians. Tourism has taken over and there are monstrous condominium complexes, resorts, villa, and hotels. It's a little overwhelming to us between the traffic and the over-built seaside, but we have a nice quiet spot to stay and enjoyed touring the old city of Antibes today. The hill town of Biot is above us and has cobblestone streets and tight alleys and is famous for it's glass blowing and ceramics. We ate dinner there last night (pasta, pizza and mussels)- The town is packed so compactly on the hill that most people have to park down below and hike up the steep path into the village.  There is a boulangerie (bakery) within walking distance and we have had pain au chocolate for breakfast each morning.  In Antibes we ate crepes at a cafe for lunch, gelato for a snack and walked along the sea wall to watch the crashing waves. The wind picked up this afternoon and produced impressive surf crashing into the beach and rocks. Every day the kids have spent several hours in the hot tub. It's not very hot, but warmer than the ocean and the pool and just big enough they can swim a little. Elisabet's eyes are red and bloodshot from opening under water and they all were wrinkled like prunes by yesterday afternoon.

Tonight for dinner we had fresh cheese and sausage from a couple markets.  The kids ate some leftover pizza but then proceeded to devour a good portion of sheep and goat cheese and some of the sausage.  We are continually amazed at what they will try and eat in Europe (and never once has anyone complained about not having some particular food only found in America).

French Riviera