Tuesday, May 20, 2008

St. Paul de Vence

We throughly enjoyed our introduction to the French Riviera with our stay in Nice. However, it was time to leave the Hotel Suisse, the Promenade des Anglais and Nice.

Carrying our back packs, we walked a few miles through the streets of Nice to the train station to pick up our rental car. We had an easy navigation out of Nice and onto the A8 toward Cannes. However, we decided to take a scenic road up to St. Paul de Vence on our way to Mougins.

Some folks say that St. Paul de Vence has gone too perfect for tourists with all the shops, galleries and restaurants. Being there in the less crowded shoulder season, we found it to be quite enjoyable. We were taking our leisurely time with an easy scenic drive, and this little stopover made for a great place to lunch. The weather was perfect, the streets weren't crowded and the views were great.

From one side of the village walls, we could see the ocean. From another side, we could see the snow in the alps.
















We found a tiny little restaurant with a perched terrace for lunch. While the tables were tightly packed into the little space, it was still a great choice for delicious fare. I had a wonderful salad and crepe. My husband had the special lasagne and a salad. The restaurant owners were quite friendly and hospitable. We recommend La Terasse if you're stopping by St. Paul de Vence.



From here, we continued on through scenic roads past Roquefort and Grasse and took a quick little side tour up the Route de Napoleon. This was an afternoon for scenic hill driving until our afternoon check-in time at the apartment in Mougins.

NEXT: Mougins: Our 7 day "home"