The birth of our first child has had us seriously grounded. Expecting mothers can’t fly at the end of a pregnancy. And once the baby arrived, I could hardly make it to the end of the block let alone onboard a trans-European flight. So it had been nearly eight months since we’d been up in the air. For these frequent fliers, this time on land felt paralyzing.
And while I had visions of getting back in shape and cooking gourmet dinners while on mat leave, it’s mostly been characterized by the following:
- Rainy afternoons spent at Gymboree singing nursery rhymes that stay in your head for days
- Middle-of-the-night wake up calls
- An uninspired diet of whatever I can easily shove in my mouth in between naps and muster to prepare for dinner
- A serious concern that my body is breaking, morphing, and aging at lightening speed. While I was prepared for some crow’s feet to appear with motherhood, I was not ready for the flat tush that comes standard with breastfeeding?!?
- A sense that our apartment is caving in on me
For fear of being perceived as a heartless mother, I must make mention that amidst all of this has been the incomparable love and joy that our little one has brought into our lives. As any parent knows and any non-parent has heard 1,000 times, this love is beyond worth every sleepless night, every new wrinkle, and every fretful hour spent wondering if you’re doing the ‘right’ thing.
But still…one can only take so many months of one-sided conversations before the lure of a vacation outweighs the fear of flying with an infant. And reinforcements had been called in so it was time to fly. The French Riviera avec Grandmere was like a smorgasbord of all things that which new parenthood deprives one.
Sun & Sea
While not all new parents develop a Vitamin D deficiency, those who (like us) have a January baby and live in a basement apartment in London certainly are on the spectrum. And the closet thing we’ve had to a relaxing sea vista lately has been Jeff’s view of Canary Wharf from his cubicle. So the Riviera’s bright blue skies and azure waters for days were like a tonic for these Londoners.
We opted for this AirBnB in a lesser known corner of the Riviera – a little town called Villefranche. I could have let the week pass just staring out at our sea view and gone home a happy camper.
But with its quaint harbor and seemingly locals-only beach, Villefranche affords countless spots to perch and soak in the Cote d’Azur. What the town lacks in glitz and glam of some of the neighboring hot spots, it makes up for in charm and intimacy. Considering I haven’t worn a normal bra post-baby and only occasionally muster the energy to blow dry my hair, I take charm and intimacy over glitz and glam every day of the week nowadays.
A Relaxed Pace
Although my daily calendar is generally wide open save for said Gymboree class or a coffee date with other new moms, motherhood has me constantly feeling like I’m running late. Single-handedly synchronizing the sleep, eat, poop, play cycle in order to sneak in a shower or make the activity du jour can be quite a feat.
Our itinerary for the trip was essentially wide open…gasp! In my old life this would have been travel suicide. I had intentions of mapping out our plans down to the minute, but a four-month old derailed that pipe dream. So we took each day as it came and ventured out for day trips to neighboring towns including Cap Ferrat, Monaco, Eze, Nice, and Antibes.
Upon arrival in town we moseyed. No lunch reservations to make. No tours not to miss. I relished in a permanent sense of, ‘We’ve got nowhere we’ve got to be’. It was so restorative that it has me thinking I may ditch my OCD-travel planning ways for good.
Cap Ferrate – Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Monaco
Eze
Nice
Antibes
Wholesome Food (and Drink)
I have never been one of those people that forgets to eat or loses weight because they are busy or stressed. Generally when the last bite of one meal ends, I’m thinking about the next. But since our munchkin has come along, my caloric intake has become more a means of sustenance than a well-rounded diet. I simply now lack the time, energy, or desire to indulge my taste buds in anything that takes longer than fifteen minutes to prepare, eat, and clean-up.
But in France, the prep and clean-up was in the hands of the professionals so I could just show up and eat…and eat…and eat. Here is a rundown of the stand-out restaurants that brought my appetite back to life.
Eze – Château de la Chèvre d’Or: This Relais & Chateaux property has quite a reputation, but in my book it lives up to all the hype. We walked in sans reservation, basked in a leisurly lunch at their al fresco lunch spot, Les Ramparts, and then sat mostly spellbound by the view and uber-relaxed atmosphere.
Nice – Olive & Artichaut: Perhaps it was the passed-out baby, but lunch at this nook in Nice’s Old Town was an unexpected highlight of the trip. With few other tourists about, Olive & Artichaut earned a handful ‘best-ofs’ including best dessert and best service, while the zucchini flower starter wowed us as well.
Antibes – Les Vieux Murs: We kicked it up a gear for a bit of finer dining in Antibes at Les Vieux Murs. I typically turn my nose up at any menu filled with ‘foams’ and ‘essences’. For my taste, it’s all just a bit too froo froo and never packs enough punch. But these fine flavors in my non-descript ‘fish of the day’ made me want to squeal, ‘Ooh la la!’
Villefranche Sur Mer – Les Garcons: With little competition but the run-of-the-mill port-side restaurants, Les Garcons is the best game in town in Villefranche. Not to be undersold, even the bubs could tell this cuisine was drool-worthy.
Villefranche Sur Mer – La Grande Cave: This wine shop’s name is completely ironic as it’s really just a hole in the wall. Nonetheless, it’s packed with some BIG wines and some of the friendliest customer service on the entire Riviera. Owner and operator, Leslie, had Jeff swinging by daily to pick up our vin du jour.
After a week spent soaking up what felt like French chicken noodle soup for the mind, body, and soul, we were relaxed, rejuvenated, and pretty much as chilled-out as this guy (almost) always is.
Barbara Greaney says
You all look MA-VAL-LOUS! So glad you all enjoyed your trip.
Love, Aunt Barb and Uncle Tom