Voulez-vous aller à Provence avec moi ?

hey guys, so I know I've been kinda absent since the beginning of uni, but its been a crazy few weeks. But I am here to speak about my latest adventure to the South of France. This gorgeous gem was hiding from me, and even though many had a romantic view of it I was still quite skeptical till I visited myself - and was proven utterly wrong. Here is my experience of 2 countries, 7 cities, 3 days and 400km of train travel.


Arriving in Marseilles on our cheap flight one is greeted by the grand staircase featuring statues representing France's old colonies in Asia and Africa, with a stunning view over the city and Notre-Dame Church highlighting the skyline. That first night we met our host and she walked us along the city streets of Marseilles with the street lights all lit up and the Christmas market bustling with all sorts of christmassy things! That night our very generous host backed some Quiche  for us and this was rinsed down with a gorgeous dry red wine from the region and some smelly but amazingly tasty cheeses. The next day was a very early start with a train ride across the French Riviera to Nice. This gorgeous beach side town has impeccably blue sea and stunning views stretching to the mountains behind. What I loved, is that you could buy fresh Christmas trees, Holly branches and Mistletoe right on the promenade of the Mediterranean sea! Nice has a very old world feel of Arabic trade in France and just a little stroll through the local market place boggles your mind with the amazing array of infused salts and exotic peppers and spices, gorgeous French cheeses with names only the locals can pronounce and any mushroom your risotto would ever need. 

Nice

After Nice we had a short train ride to the opulent Country of Monaco! This place is like a dream, one cannot really grasp the true luxury of this country by imagining it but I'll attempt to describe it to you. Upon arriving at the train station the marble encased halls lead you to a maze of roads that spiral up and down the mountain side with free elevators shooting up 14-20 stories between the street levels [for those not driving Maserati, Porche or Ferrari]. Upon getting down to the harbor a cute Christmas Market bustling with the crème de la crème all impeccably dressed with their Vuitton's and Chanel's. We got up to the prince's palace and strolled around the old town where Princess Grace got married and the Musèe Ocèanographique with its gorgeous imposing facade. Round the harbor bend to the other part of town one passes two hospitals which can rival any 5star hotel. Past Princess Grace's theater overlooking some amazing yachts with 14seating dining tables and deck top pools one arrives at Monaco's version of Via Condotti. This small stretch of road is filled with the who is who of designers, [Gucci, Valentino, Chanel, Hermes, Armani]. I nearly died when I saw a lady packing the back of her Mercedes to the brim with her Christians shopping mostly from Hermes. Just around the corner one arrives at the infamous Casino square surrounded by the Hotel de Paris, the Monaco Casino, Cafe Paris,  and world class shopping the likes of Harrod's in London. 

Monaco

Leaving Monaco en route to Cannes, the glitz and glamor never stopped. The Boulevard La Croisette has a gorgeous promenade over this famous beach studded with exquisite boutiques leading up to the infamous Grand Auditorium where the Cannes Film Festival is held amongst other major award ceremonies. With a short stroll through their own Christmas Village we walked up the old city of Cannes with a beautiful night scene over the city bustling below. Running back to the train station for fear of missing our train we learnt that apparently some animal had died on the tracks so a bunch of train were delayed and cancelled, luckily we got home after an hour's wait but I felt for those travelers to Strasbourg and Luxembourg. That night i felt like my feet were going to explode so we just crashed into bed and slept like a rock!

Cannes

The following day we decided to head westwards and visit Aix-en-Provance and Avignon. Aix is  a really cute little town with loads of tiny things to see throughout the entire city center. with beautiful palatial buildings and pretty little shops. We were lucky enough to stumble onto a parade where people dressed as different folk  groups from around Aix paraded through the blustery streets firing their hunting guns into the air and dancing around while playing flutes, drums and trumpets. This cute town with its own thermal baths dating way back from the roman times had loads of character and one could see the locals buzzing about doing their Christmas shopping, and yes half of them have baguettes in their hand! After this we went to Avignon which is a fortified city with all the charm one would expect from such a town. Being a Sunday evening it was slower paced than it would be during the rest of the week but there was still loads of people going around and all the shop windows gleaming with gorgeous pastries that I couldn't resist a bite into a tarte de chocolat and buying a handful of Macaroons. The semi destroyed bridge crossing the Rhone river has a typical French song but I couldn't remember the lyrics at the time. And the imposing Papal castle in the center of the town creates a very "ooh!" factor. That night we returned early to our host who was ever so kind to cook us a delicacy from her region in the Alps - Fondue! This dish was so amazing I actually forgot to take photos!

Aix-en-Provence

Avignon

The last day of our adventure we though of taking it slow and easy considering that the past two days were basically a non-stop marathon. So we went to Cassis, a little not too well known town nestled amongst the cliffs and gorges of the south of France. After an hours walk to the city centre from the train station due to a gross under-estimation we arrived in the quaint picturesque fishing village of Cassis. Which lead to a half hour stroll amongst beautiful seafront villas [causing me to peer over the fences and drool a little further] till we got to the actual hiking paths, where we chose the shortest one (1hr) which wrapped around one of the main gorges/yacht ports. We were really blessed with gorgeous sunshine that made all the colours saturate and the highest cliffs in Europe glow with a warm orange contrasting beautifully against the deep blue sea. After this beautiful but tiring hike we got back to Marseilles just in time for a little cheese shopping and canapés with our host.

Cassis

Marseilles

So what was my experience of Provence; amazing and beautiful. My advice is taste as many cheeses as you can, chill out in the sun with some gorgeous wine and just take in la vie française!


Till next time - Bisous!