Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azur - you can't imagine more ideal!
Paris is the only city in the world where you don't have to be happy. But once in his arms, you involuntarily feel a moment of happiness, as you touch the beauty of eternity! Yes, we urgently need to go to Paris, and to Disneyland, and to Provence and the Cote d'Azur! Is it possible? If you try hard and carefully plan everything, then it is possible, especially since we already have experience of independent travel to Milan, Venice and the lakes of Como and Garda. Yes, I agree, this route will be a little more difficult, from Paris to the Cote d'Azur almost 1000 km, but that's okay, we'll overcome this.
So, we decided to go for 10 days (from my own experience now I know - I need more, two weeks), flight there - UIA Kyiv-Paris, back Nice-Riga-Kyiv, Air Baltik airline, two and a half days in Paris, a flight from Orly to Nice, we rent a wonderful Fiat at Nice airport and run to Provence (200 km along a beautiful highway),
3 days in Provence and back from Provence to Nice and 5 days in Nice. Initially, they wanted to overcome the path from Paris to Provence by car, but then they abandoned this idea, since it would be tiring to travel far and with a child, they took an internal flight with the Easy Jet low-cost airline. Well, with organizational moments like everything, now in more detail about the trip itself.
Since the hotel in Paris was booked through Booking before they abandoned the idea of traveling by car, it was located already in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, on the outskirts, but with its own parking (which made it attractive to us earlier, although it turned out later not needed), far from the center, next to the RER commuter train and a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Apart hotel, two-room suite with its own kitchen. It takes about 10 minutes to Montmartre on foot. We took the metro to the hotel. Oh, the metro in Paris - the quest is still the same, I didn’t really delve into it, my husband understood. Upon arrival, we immediately went to Montmarte.
Montmartre - is a former village, which was annexed to Paris a couple of centuries ago. That is why it has its own atmosphere of romance, many artists, multi-colored cafes, sidewalks paved with stone, and walls entwined with vines, as well as African Americans - yes, yes, they are everywhere and there are a lot of them, they are black as night and all are dressed in national clothes, their not well-groomed children swarm on the sidewalks in the garbage, and their women do not pay any attention to it. This, of course, spoiled the impression of Montmart a little, somehow African Americans forced out Bohemia and chose Montmart for themselves. Well, let's not talk about sad things.
Montmartre is a hill from the top of which offers a magnificent view of Paris, and at the top of the hill is the snow-white Sacré Coeur.
It is very beautiful and majestic and must be visited.
We devoted the second day in Paris to sightseeing, having bought tickets for the Open Tour buses and driving along all three routes, if you do not have much time in Paris, then this is very convenient, as the bus makes more than 50 stops and there is an opportunity to go out, take pictures, linger if something is of interest and continue the journey further. So, we have seen all the main sights of Paris and of course it is beautiful!
I dream of returning in autumn and wandering slowly through the authentic streets and the Luxembourg Gardens, which are especially good in autumn, drink hot chocolate with the most delicious croissants and get rid of everything unnecessary and small. It is a pity that there is no time left for the Dé fense district - the realm of sights of a completely different era, causing no less interest.
So, Paris is a holiday city! Paris is very diverse and original, mysteriously romantic and fashionable. It is different, historical and modern, it is beautiful in any era.
The third and final day was devoted to Disneyland, which is located about 50 km from Paris and can be reached by a double-decker commuter train RER. Disneyland gave an unforgettable pleasure to both us and the child, despite the 35-degree heat, we received a lot of positive emotions and delight!
In principle,
I am satisfied with the organization of leisure in Paris, but I consider it a mistake to travel by metro due to the huge number of people, if you initially book a hotel in the central districts of Paris, then this could have been avoided.
The next stage of our journey was the morning flight from Orly Airport to Nice. A brand new plane, smiling stewards, an hour of flight - and hello, my dream - the Cote d'Azur of France!
Now, after almost a year, I am writing, and my heart stops from the memories! In Provence, we stopped in the village of Bauduin, I chose the stopping place so that it was not far from Valensole (lavender fields) and the Verdon Canyon. An old mansion of the 19th century, in one wing of which the family lives, and the other wing and annex are converted into a hotel.
A wonderful place surrounded by mountains, the owner has his own stable and kennel, the dogs, by the way, are focused on finding truffles, which, as I understand, are abundant in these places. Guests can enjoy breakfast and dinner by the pool. Quiet, calm, not many people, peaceful, I would say.
There is a famous place in Provence - the Verdon Gorge (Gorges du Verdon), the deepest gorge in Europe. The dream of many travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. The Verdon Gorge is one of the most amazing natural attractions in Europe. Its depth in some places reaches 700 meters with a width of up to one and a half kilometers and a length of more than 25 km. This huge magnificent canyon runs through the territory of the Var and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Giant cliffs were the result of the destruction of limestone by the Verdon River. The gorge itself and the area around it is the Verdon Natural Reserve with rich flora and fauna and stunning views. A huge number of viewing platforms from which the Verdon river seems like a small blue ribbon.
“Lavender blooms in summertime and like an optical illusion, a bluish-violet fog spreads over the field. And I will take a sprig of lavender and dream in silence, it is like a little news sent to me from childhood.
At sunset, the famous lavender fields of Provence near Valensole awaited us. For the sake of objectivity, it should be noted
that at the end of July (we were on the 25th) the color of lavender is not as rich and bright as I thought and how they were presented by photographers on instagram offering their services in shooting in lavender. BUT the smells of herbs, the sounds of cicadas were dizzying, and this is true.
The next day was devoted to relaxing on the Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon lake and riding a catamaran. What was revealed to our eyes is indescribable! The azure color of Verdon's waters against the backdrop of the bright sun, majestic mountains covered with lush greenery, waterfalls, lagoons - this is something that will be remembered forever. Goodbye burgundy Bordeaux, goodbye Provence!
And then there was Nice - with its Promenade des Anglais, on which the fashionable Negresco is located, Massena Square, a lookout at the Bay of the Angels and many other maybe less famous, but no less attractive sights. We rented apartments in Nice with underground parking, which is very convenient if you travel by car.
And how many cool places are just an hour away from Nice! The town of Saint-Paul de Vence, where Marc Chagall lived and painted, with its narrow streets, souvenir shops, showcases of art galleries and restaurants.
The village of Eze on the way to Monaco with a beautiful botanical garden and stunning views of the French Riviera. From this height (429 meters above sea level) there is a breathtaking view across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, and down to the Franche-sur-mer bay, down to Nice and Saint-Tropez, and on a clear day you can even see the island of Corsica from here!
We also visited Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat - a village where millionaires of different nationalities rest in their villas, Paloma Beach and Villa Ephrussi-Rothschild. The mansion was built in 1912 by Baroness Beatrice de Rothschild, daughter of the world famous banker Alphonse Rothschild. The facade of the building is made in the style of Italian Renaissance palaces,
and around it is a two-level landscape park, divided into nine stylized gardens: French, Japanese, Spanish, Provencal, Florentine, Sevres, a garden of stone sculptures, exotic plants and a huge rose garden. In the main part of the garden there is a fountain with classical music. This garden is simply a charm for the eyes and soul, Baroness Beatrice created this splendor and left a memory of herself for centuries.
The final touch of our trip was Monaco - to say that what I saw there made my head spin for a long time - to say nothing. luxury, sophistication,
aristocracy - there are not enough characteristics to describe this amazing principality, you need to go and see everything. Monaco is as beautiful as its muse Princess Grace! On the Cote d'Azur, ancient architecture, lush Mediterranean vegetation, and an interesting history are so successfully combined that all this creates a unique cocktail of emotions. Well, that's probably the point.
