After a delicious morning breakfast at our hotel in Avignon, we headed straight for our next destination, Antibes/ Juans Les Pins. Antibes is not as well known as some of its more famous and illustrious neighboring towns like Cannes, Nice, and San Tropez, but it is centrally located and gave us the option of visiting those other places if we chose while offering a quieter respite. This area has two distinct personalities. The harbor and old town of Antibes with its medieval walls and quaint cobblestone streets has a lively market and lots of charm, while Juan les Pins hugs the shoreline and draws more of the beach crowd. We opted for Juan les Pins largely because the literature junky in me wanted to stay at Belles Rives, the former home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
By this point in our trip, we had many miles on both our legs and our car, and 5 days of relaxation was exactly what we needed. I settled in with Tender is the Night, the book that Fitzgerald wrote about his time in Antibes, and we enjoyed the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the lovely Belle Epoque hotel with it's perfect sunset views and impeccable service.
We had grand ideas about exploring other areas (Thank you Shannon L. for your Cannes recommendations), but with a book in my hand and the sound of the water all around me, it's pretty hard to get me to move, so our only day trip was to Nice. Nice is a beautiful but LARGE city with much more hustle and bustle than our quiet little enclave, but we found a lovely restaurant near the marina for lunch and a wonderful cocktail spot built upon the rocks (http://www.leplongeoir.com ) to while away the afternoon.
In most of his novels, Fitzgerald explores an obsession with the mysteries of wealth and the irreconcilability of the lifestyle of the very rich with the rest of us. It became one of his greatest themes, and it's easy to believe that being surrounded by massive villas and mega yachts in the harbor of Antibes may have caused his imagination to speculate about the lives of the inhabitants. The Hotel Belles Rives pulls the curtain back on the identities of its rich and famous regulars, designating storage units for some of the most recognizable of its clientele. Zoom in on the pictures below to read the names! Like Fitzgerald, we couldn't help but imagine rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sting in our hotel lounge!
Overall, we enjoyed the relaxation of our time here, and the beauty of the Cote d'Azure is undeniable, but it was more crowded and fast paced than the kind of beach vacation Mike and I normally gravitate towards. As beautiful and elegant as the hotel was, we also felt a bit "nickel and dimed" since absolutely everything (including a beach towel for 5 Euros) was extra despite its already high price. I loved immersing in the energy of one of my literary heroes, but I doubt we would return.
Little did we know, the best was yet to come...
We saved our favorite stop for last. Stay tuned for Part 6: Eze!
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