Babymoon in France

After years of IVF, tense weeks of tip-toeing about hoping not to upset the delicate (well, in our minds anyway) magic of implantation, and a morning sickness-filled first trimester, my wonderful wife deserved some rest, relaxation, good food, sunshine, and beauty: she deserved a vacation!

We wanted all that vacation goodness but also a place that was relatively comfortable for a second-trimester pregnant woman. Adventure vacations were out (so much for zip-lining the jungle), but Lauren dislikes an idling “bake on the beach” resort stay. Where could we combine beauty with urbanity with beachside relaxation and maybe score a great photo for use on our pregnancy announcement cards?

The Côte d’Azur!

So we made reservations to stay in Nice with plans on making day trips to many of the adorable cliff-top villages nearby. We spent eight days there.

I’m amazed that la France has been such a part of my life: I’ve been to Paris four times and we were wed in New Orleans. This time, instead of staying in the Île-de-France, we went to a different type of France. We were excited to see how culture, customs, and food change once one ventured closer to the legacy lands of the Roman Empire, the narrow Mediterranean Sea, and Northern Africa.

On Saturday, the 4^th our beloved dog walker in Brooklyn, Miss Jamie, did the personal favor to us and came and picked up Byron and took him to stay with her. Normally we drop off chez elle, but this time she gifted us this service and it helped reduce our “things to do” list considerably.

Sunday we woke up, had a leisurely breakfast, finished packing and headed to JFK midday for an early evening flight. In this time, many airports are jam-packed full of late-COVID “revenge travelers” who are creating unexpected (how?) demand, so we planned to arrive a comfortable 3 hours early and thus depart 4 hours before our depature. This turned out to be great wisdom because we got caught in a weekend traffic jam and it was darned pleasant to not be sweating and (one of us) pregnant trying to make it through customs etc.

The flight was fairly full and I was chagrinned to see that our seat upgrade had not been processed! I had explicitly bought them with an eye toward making the Mrs. as comfortable as possible. Thankfully, while the flight staff were unable to move us to what we’d purchased (and were later refunded), the section chief made sure Lauren had an entire center row to herself. There was even a stretch over Greenland where I looked over to see her asleep under blankets in full recline.

We arrived in glorious, beautiful, sunny Nice around midday and the landing let you get a big, sweeping, azure vista of the beautiful Mediterranean shore. This was going to be fun.

Day 1: Arrival and Exploring Nice

Our first day was filled with some limited trips from our hotel (near the airport, at the Crown Plaza) to the central district of old Nice. Thankfully the hotel was right by a city tram which was a comfortable way to get around. We observed our surroundings and started building a map of where services we might need were. Upon arriving near the “Nice Étoile” shopping district, we got out and wandered. Eventually we made our way southward to the shore

Since the sun doesn’t set until quite late in the day, we still had time to make it to the shore for a twilight walk. Afterward, we returned to the hotel in an attempt to get synchronized to local time.

Day 2: Antibes

On our second day, we visited Antibes, just a few miles down the coast. This is a great place to visit, and I would rank it as one of the hidden gems of our visit. So much of the Côte d’Azur life is topologically high and low: high, winding, Italianate villages rest on rocky outcroppings less than a quarter mile from water and marinas. They’re full of stone stairs with switchbacks, ramps, and roads that move you up cliffs, down cliffs, and back to the water. It creates so much breathtaking beauty as a natural side effect. In Antibes, this exaggerated delta of beauty really hits a type of perfection. From the train station, we wandered and then found ourselves climbing a road into an open-air market under a large peristyle. Then with a twist and a turn (after gelato) we found ourselves in an ancient marina surrounded by modern boatwrights and resupply houses, and then another twist and we were at a beautiful public beach.

After our beach visit was done, we walked back through Antibes’ central business district and it very much reminded me of Paris’ Rive Gauche near the Pont Royal and the Rue du Bac. Along these ways we found a nice Chinese restaurant where we ate before returning to Nice.

Day 3: Monaco

On the third day, we took the train Northeast along the coast into the principality of the Grimaldi family, Monaco. While Monaco is full of natural beauty, the time in Monte Carlo was the lowest point of the trip, in my opinion.

There were some highlights:

The gorgeous Institut Océanographique shaped by Jacques Cousteau

Other highlights:

• The beautiful old-world village of Monte Carlo in the royal district (where Princess Grace was wed)
• The people
• The wonderful transit system that moved us between high vistas and the train station
• The hospitality at the cafés where we were able to dine outside and enjoy fantastic pasta dishes (this close to Italy, it was getting pretty awesome)

But the Casino Monte Carlo and its area was my least favorite part of the trip. To cover why is not really a rant appropriate for travel reporting, but we found it a disgusting, classless display of conspicuous consumption, resource squandering, and commonness that had us turn on our heels and head back to Nice.

One particular highlight of the trip, though, was that as we were riding back from Monaco we were doing some selfie photography in the golden hour light and a makeup artist seated across the car volunteered to take some photos of us. Ultimately one of these photos became the basis of our pregnancy announcement card. That was possibly the best thing that happened that day.

Upon returning to Nice, we wandered from the Nice central rail station and found an outstanding Lebanese restaurant (“Le Socrate”) that absolutely hit the spot with shwarma and fresh side dishes.

Day 4: Rothschild Estate and Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

This morning we started from the far Eastern edge of Nice, near the harbor (“Port Lympia”).

We then traveled through the winding roads toward the exclusive districts near the village of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. The Baroness de Rothschild build an estate here (“Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild”) in the early 20^th century that is now open to the public. Notable for its gardens, we decided to explore it pre-Great War opulence and famously extravagant flamingo-colored exterior.

Afterward, we headed to a nearby sandy beach (Cro dei Pin) to relax for a while.

After we’d had our fill of sun, we walked into Saint Jean Cap Ferrat for dinner. Along the harborway, the French locals seemed all-to-ready to let some of their most frequent guests know their political stance.

After dinner, we walked around the harbor we heard live music; saw kids running around, gelati, and bar patios full with life and summer energy. As the sun set, we took a car back to Nice.

Day 5: Èze

Once upon a time there was a village called Èze. This city was often raided by pirates, so the villagers built a new Èze up the steep cliff face. That new village was/is called Èze. The old Èze, close to the water is called Èze-sur-mer.

On this day we traveled to Èze-sur-mer and then waited for the bus to take us up the winding path to Èze village. Our guide promised us jaw-dropping views and they did not disappoint. Upon arrival, we went walking through the preserved medieval city to the botanical arid plant garden atop the mountain.

Descending from the mountain top, the scents, the heat, the exertion, the pregnancy got to Lauren and she started to enter into a pre-migraine status. We grabbed an Uber in Èze and raced back to Nice for food and water, but we were too late. After some water and salad we limped home through the Saturday evening bustle.

Day 6: Cannes

After our intense night, we wanted a relaxing and peaceful day. We took this day as an opportunity to take the train to Cannes. This was one of the best days of the trip because, since it was Sunday, Cannes was largely closed and few tourists came to the shopping district (ugh, a slightly less gross form of Monte Carlo). It was a perfect, calm antidote to the hustle and stress of trying to get through migraine in foreign circumstance.

After a short train ride, we were able to get a simple, but delicious, lunch of French sandwiches in downtown. We walked the rest of the distance to the shore and found a beautiful, sun-shaded outpost on the water. After a few beachy hours we headed back into the nightlife district and found some delicious Italian food (again). I didn’t grab many pictures here because we were reading or wading.

Day 7: Old Nice

Strangely, while being based in Nice, we hadn’t yet explored the core of the old village of Nice. We started out in the central district at Jean Médécin and then headed toward the mountain that is capped by to Parc Castel de Deux Rois which overlooks the city.

Along the way, we wound ourselves through the little shopfronts that make you feel that you’re in a city that intersects the northern African, Italian, and French cultures in a sunny mix. The sun was blazing that day through the narrow, winding, stony paths. To solve this, giant awnings were stretched from both sides of the street to create colorful shade structures. The winding pathways were designed to capture and push the sea breeze up and through these shadowed paths. It was really lovely.

Onward we pushed through to the park atop the old village.

After hanging around on the park we headed back into Nice, grabbed a simple Niçois dinner and returned to the hotel in preparation for our flight home the next morning.

Day 8: Back Home

We flew back home on Day 8 with only the usual irritations and annoyances. This time our upgraded seats were present and we had tons of leg-room and water to help keep Lauren migraine-free and comfortable.

Upon arrival home, we got a car and swung past Jaimie’s Brooklyn home to pick up Byron before heading to our home. Unfortunately this happened right through rush hour so this was a 90-minute excursion. Nevertheless, our driver took it all in stride. Our driver was even excited to meet Byron and said he was missing his own dog back in his native land.

Conclusion

So that was our babymoon! I’m so thankful we were able to go and enjoy a really special time together before we begin our new normal as a quartet.

• The_kid
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• France
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