Schreibers of Bellevue: 1st Week in May - Our First Bank Holiday Weekend

One of the benefits of working in the UK is the Bank Holiday at the beginning of the month of May. We decided to travel to Nice, France. Chris had been there once before in 1998, for Bastille Day, but it was my first trip. We were lucky with the weather when we were there as it was sunny and in the mid to upper 70's.

In Nice we enjoyed walking along the Mediterranean on the boardwalk during the sunny afternoons. We weren't surprised at how relaxed the rules were for bathing topless on the beaches. Many ladies were sunning their "girls" so to speak... anyhow one of the best meals we had was at a local Nicois restaurant called L'Escalinada. It has red and white checkered table cloths as well as a complimentary shot of rosemary digestive at the end of the meal. We ended up going back once more because their food was very yummy. We also enjoyed walking among the daily flower and produce market in the morning. There were some of the most beautiful floral arrangements that I have ever seen and they were selling for 15 Euro - about 25 USD. There was also amazing fruit and veges. Another discovery while in Nice was Alden's love for fountains. He LOVES them. He kicks his legs and squeals when he sees them. Europe is a great place for fountains, so he was having a ball on our trip as well.

We took a day trip to Cannes by train. It was a week before the famed Cannes Film Festival and the city was already getting ready. We wandered through the streets seeking a place for lunch and we found a lovely bistro where Chris has a duck salad and I had a pannini. After lunch we walked along the water looking at the tents that were being set up for the film festival. (I think the tents were for media and "shwag" stands for all of the celebs.) There was a lot of shopping to do in Cannes if you wanted to shop at High End Sacs, Louis V. or there were also cheap Cannes souvenir shops. Not a lot of middle ground. We left early and headed to Antibes which is a small walled town on the way back to Nice. It has very narrow cobblestone streets which great local shops. Chris found a lovely set of Oil and Vinegar holders and I found a great toy shop that had wooden toys. (I bought Alden a wooden Xylophone). Looking back, if I could do it all over again I would skip Cannes completely and spend a nice long day in Antibes.

Chris and Alden in Nice.

Alden standing on Daddy's lap in Antibes.

A famous artist who makes sculpture daily. (He was mentioned on our Lonely Planet.)

The flower market.

The second day trip we took from Nice was to Monaco. I had always wanted to go but truly as Chris had warned, it is mainly the Monte Carlo Casino. If you don't want to gamble or drive a rented Bently, Ferrari, Lamborghini or any other expensive sports car there isn't much to do. We had lunch and walked up to the casino following a path that snaked up above the bay. There were HUGE Yachts docked everywhere. We also saw the seated risers that were being set up for the Monaco Formula One Race which was going to happen later in May. We left after a few hours and returned to Nice by train.

When we left and returned to London we connected through Zurich on Swiss Air. The airport in Zurich was very kid friendly as they had play areas set up for small children. We found a quirky Swiss Airport Restaurant called the Swiss Chalet or something like that and there was Swiss Polka music being blasted through the speakers. We tried Swiss Wine that was "decent. It tasted like a Beaujolais Nouveau" Chris says when asked to comment. Traveling on the European Airline was nice. Alden got a Swiss Airlines bib out of the deal.