Okay. Continuing to work backward regarding this past summer, our annual trip to Theoule-sur-Mer took place from the middle of June until the beginning of July.
What was slightly different this year was that nothing was planned except for dinner reservations at L’air du Temps. Other than that, it was a truly relaxing two weeks. The focus being on the word relaxing!
Twice we had dinner here. It’s our favorite restaurant in Theoule!
We left Philly for Nice on an uneventful flight that had us arriving early morning to extremely hot weather. We are getting a bit used to the fact that American Airlines lacks a hub terminal and that we must exit on the tarmac for a bus. My only solace was that at Nice, I can piggy-back onto my husband’s EU passport so I do not have to wait on a long line.
Almost there!
The wait for our luggage wasn’t long and we were able to board the tram to the car rental in no time. I am not gonna lie and not gonna sugarcoat the wait for the car rental. It was long. And I waited outside while Vincent was inside waiting. The car rental is always incredibly crowded during summer. I swear, I got a sunburn waiting for him to come out with the car keys but once we were in the vehicle and out of the airport—our vacation officially commenced.
How I feel at the car rental…
Finally able to hit the road!
There is something extremely comforting about returning to a place year after year. While I realize some think it might be odd to visit on repeat or adhere to the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt,” we think differently. It could be because with age comes wisdom. It could be because as we’ve gotten older we prefer a routine rather than a surprise. Or it could be that both of us work full-time, so we need to plan our time off in a pragmatic way. We love the area so we travel there.
It also makes me happy to pass familiar sights that haven’t changed—not that I don’t like change, but I happen to be a creature of habit and I find it comforting. When we pulled up to the apartment, a smile immediately spread across my visage. I couldn’t wait to get to the terrace and soak in the view of the Mediterranean. I couldn’t wait to spot, in the distance, the infamous Bubble Castle. I couldn’t wait to unpack and head to Auchan for our essentials and groceries. French supermarkets are the greatest. They don’t have cheese or bread “sections” but rather have those items in complete aisles of broad selections—it’s mind boggling and I love it.
Let us enjoy the overwhelming choices of the simplest of foods such as ham for sandwiches!
The apartment had little changes but nothing major. The bookshelf that I leave novels I’ve read was still in the corner and my books were waiting for new guests to arrive—and arrive they did because I did a lot of reading this summer! The terrace was the way it always was and the view spectacular.
Familiar but always that thrill when we get to the apartment..
Look to the back. My books are still on the shelf..
One of the additions from summer 2025! This book was fantastic!
The major difference this summer was the weather. In 2024 it was rainy and cool. And to be honest—with no pun intended, it left a damper on me. I almost didn’t want to return. However, this year things changed—and the weather was extremely compliant. This year it was incredibly hot and we had not a drop of rain! For two weeks!
Biew from the terrace. The weather was a gift!
And, as I stated before, we unpacked and headed to Auchan. Having made most of the list on the plane, there was still room for extras—which is always quite a bit. Might I add that at this point it was nearing late afternoon so there was a bit of oncoming jet lag. But it didn’t stop us from spending a long period of time at the supermarket.
Yes. We purchased goodies of all sorts–I picked up 9-euro espadrilles and the pureed gourgettes were absolutely delicious!
And when we arrived back at the apartment, we unpacked the groceries, and I started making dinner. It was time to enjoy our first aperitif of our stay on the terrace and overlook the Mediterranean Sea.
We traded in Kir Royals for Peche Royals. Tchin. Tchin Baby!
For the next two weeks, we enjoyed the doings of doing nothing except heading to the beach, reading by the pool and swimming. The excursions we made were purely out of guilt—but not in a bad way.
Where we spend a great deal of time!
We took a boat ride to Ile Saint-Honorat and attended Mass at the Church at the Monastery of Abbaye de Lerins. The island was beautiful and so incredibly peaceful. And on the boat ride over we ran into a Muslim gentleman with a group of people with a ton of food. He explained that every year a group of Muslims and Christians head to the island for a feast and to join and put differences aside. It was so moving that both Vincent and I got misty-eyed.
The trip to the monestary had us thinking why we hadn’t done this years ago? Moving forward, it’ll be done again. This was a fantastic day!
Another activity of sorts was to visit the Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence. We’ve visited about four times and it is, hands down, one of my favorite places to visit. The exhibits are always unique and interesting and the grounds incredibly soothing and calm.
You never know what you’ll come across at Fondation Maeght. We saw a wonderful dancer and look at all the fun toy cars!
The same day, we headed to Opio to see where Vincent’s grandfather lived. Opio is charming—a bit inland to the back country but nonetheless, beautiful.
Vincent was thrilled to stand at his grandfather’s square. The maire’s building has quite a number of his grandfather’s paintings. I wanted to take one but my husband stopped me!
Oh yeah, we went to Cabris where I paid homage to St. Rita and we strolled at a leisurely pace.
Is isn’t an official drive to Cabris unless I stop to say hi to Saint Rita and offer my thanks!
We also played tourist and took the choo-choo train around Cannes. This was our second time doing this. And it is always a ton of fun. The driver stopped at the top of Cannes to allow us to disembark to take photos. I highly guarantee if you are in Cannes, do this touristy activity—you’ll enjoy yourself!
We played tourist and rode the choo-choo from the port at Cannes all the way to the top. We did this a couple of years ago and it was so much fun that we did it again! It was so stinking hot though that I cooled off by storing my cold water bottle in the top of my dress!
Naturally, it would not be a trip if we didn’t head to St. Tropez. I purchased my annual pair of Rondini sandals and, the weather was so hot that it finally became uncomfortable for me—not for my husband though. What was different about this trip was it being our only visit to St. Tropez.
More Rondini’s. A naughty fan I purchased at the flea market. A yacht we were not invited on and more. St. Tropez is always fun!
A return to Fragonard in Grasse, heading to Marché Forville for produce we also enjoyed.
It’s always a good time to load up on my Fragonard products!
The spices. The food. The flowers. THE MUSHROOMS. I could have kicked myself in the ass for not buying Morels and bringing them home. I’m a moron for not doing so because they are so incredibly expensive at home and in France are cheap–and they are my favorite mushrooms!
And., I made a friend at the pool. I heard a voice with an accent. It was a New York one so I followed the voice and luckily met Rena and her husband Jeffrey. Since our return home, we’ve been trying to find a weekend to get together but we both have busy weekend schedules. Hopefully, soon we will be able to see them.
A funny thing happened when we returned home. Co-workers and friends inquired as to why we keep returning to the same spot year after year. Why spend the money? Don’t you want to see America? Aren’t the French vengeful toward Americans?
Seriously. What’s not to love? I’ve never had ANY Frenchman or woman acting vengeful towards me. In fact, the reception has always been positive!
than my explanation at the beginning of this post—I will address other reasons why we head to France in the summer: Have you ever looked at the prices of summer rentals at the Jersey Shore or the Hamptons in New York? They are astronomical. For the same price or slightly less, we can fly to France, rent the apartment, and relax. And, quite frankly, if you’ve ever been to Stone Harbor, or Avalon, or the Wildwoods, the amount of Trump flags are sickening. I have no desire to spend more than a few hours at the NJ beaches.
I don’t have to explain further. We love it there. And while we are still in good enough health to get around—it’s perfect. The other thing is we’re over that age of needed to go clubbing at night. We go to bed early and rise early—and we enjoy that. It is the summer vibe.
Besides–where can you get such great food–whether at a restaurant or market–or swim in the sea that has no life-threatening waves, or buy the greatest sunburn spray on earth, or be overwhelmed by the wine choices?
Don’t get me wrong—when we are in NYC, it’s more conducive to be out and about later—much later—especially when we get to see the dress rehearsals or live show of SNL. But—everything has a vibe!
Even though I am extremely lucky to have seen SNL in person quite a few times, France is always a great place to visit.
So that’s it. It was a busy summer. From France to Santa Barbara. From a relaxing vacation to my son’s wedding which was a whirlwind of fun. I have wonderful memories to look back upon –and those memories get me through the oncoming bleak days of winter season after the holidays.
Do you have great summer memories to look back on? Let me know!