The northern part of the Mediterranean
As someone living in the mediterranean, it is normal and easy to me to go to have a vacation to a places like Cannes, Nizza, Monte Carlo, San Remo or Bordighera. Most Italians from Lombardia and Piemonte regions have their summer houses over there.
I truly understand the difficulties of many people living further away. So lets make this trip interesting and exciting enough so that you get in love in the beautiful French Riviera and Italian Liguria.
I truly understand the difficulties of many people living further away. So lets make this trip interesting and exciting enough so that you get in love in the beautiful French Riviera and Italian Liguria.
How to get there? As most of you probably live in the US or in Asia, to get to Cannes ain't more difficult than getting from San Francisco to New Jersey or from Shanghai to the island of Sri Lanka.
If you do not have trip planned, no worries as Aussie says. European low cost airline companies fly to Nice daily. From Paris to Nice for example. Since I live in Italy and near Milan, I could fly from Malpensa to Nice. But I usually drive there.
From Milan it is only 5 hours calculating traffic, some minor car accidents and road works.
I understand that the late events in Nice might not invite you to go there, but if we think rationally, people die mostly for pollution and to cancer, than to terrorist attack.
I spent nearly 4 summers in a place called Bordighera. It is a small touristic town near the French border and a town called Ventimiglia.
Italians are similar to penguins according the fact that they all look pretty much the same, are well dressed and like to stay in large groups as an acquittance of me would say. And this is a bit true, ironically. It is mainly to notice in the beach area where the sun beds are so close to each other, that you feel to belong to an other family, or that they all belong to yours. And in those families everything is possible; from diaper changing to skin cleaning. It is incredibly popular, specially among teenagers to clean up the skin in the beach.
Another thing Italians love is to go everywhere at the same time. If you want to travel with comfort, use meal times. In Italy people have lunch between 12.30 and 14.30. At this period of time, highways are free and most people avoid taking flights.
Also the beach suddenly empties when people go to have lunch queueing and complaining at the same time. Best lunch time is just before, or just after. If you practice this "just before", you shall find everything in the menu and less nervous waiters.
Some Italian hotels do not include any breakfast or overcharge it. Cappuccino and brioche would cost only €2,30 in the bar next door. Although you may find a bottle of wine in a shop for €5, restaurants charge again 400% on it; one glass costs €5, but a bottle might be 200% more expensive. Note that in Italy alcohol is poured with the discretion of the bar tender. Sometimes the glass is really full and sometimes just half full.
With this I am not saying to avoid wine. Not at all. Just keep in mind that Italian government has risen every tax there is to be charged from small companies, like hotels and restaurant and alcohol is easy to overcharge.
In the beach area you might get surprised that you actually need to hire two beds and an umbrella. It is a common costume in Italy. Hardly no one lays just on their beach towel. These beach stands offers showers, bar/restaurant, toilets and changing rooms. You are kind of left alone in a public beach. Add this to your holiday budget. In the Ligurian area a daily rent for two beds and one umbrella varies from €25 to €50 daily depending of the beach stand. Italians have some barriers what comes to speaking other languages. Although they might understand english pretty well, many of them seem to be shy or have never practiced foreign languages and do not know how to build a sentence. If you speak even a tiny little bit of Italian, I can be sure you make friends for a life time.
Italians love to listen how people live aboard, to comment it later on with friends. Sometimes they need to be assured that life in Italy is actually pretty good. And it is. Italians are warm and kind, and usually not vindictive towards those that may cause little trouble unconsciously. All those bad rumours about organised criminality do not disturb those who live an average life. But it is alive everywhere.
As you may ask why some prices are unreasonably high, think that these people need to pay the organised criminality to keep their store safe. It is called "an extra insurance". And a lots of taxes.
I used to holiday in Bordighera for few years, because one of my friends have the family summer house in there. The seawater is clean and the town small enough and safe to children. There is no sandy beaches, that makes you to wear gum shoes to be able to go to swim.
In the evening and after diner, most people just hang in the "lungomare" that stands for the beach road showing of with their fancy clothes. Italians love fashion and certainly will not hide the wealthy life style. Make sure you fit to these "standards". Or just be yourself. Italians love gossip and giving them a reason, they won't waist it.
Bit further away you may find San Remo that is well known to Italians for two reasons; Festival di San Remo and Flower Festival. Festival di San Remo is a sort of local song contest to old and new talents, and each year they invite international stars from show business. It usually takes place in the month of February or march. It is visible at Rai 1
I am not quite sure wether the Flower festival and the Carnival are at the same period of time. San Remo is known for beautiful flowers that are visible in the whole Liguria. I guess they just figured out how to merchandise it.
San Remo is a larger town and it has sandy beaches.
Ventimiglia is at the border of France and it is more a town than just a place for summer vacation. I used to go to do some shopping at Ventimiglia that is easy to reach by train, from both towns mentioned above
Then moving to France one of the first places after the border is Menton. It is also a beautiful town and has sandy beaches. You might feel a medially that you left Italy and entered to France. The division is so clear. Food is different, and even the air is different. It is warmer here than in the Ligurian part of this sea.
I was once invited by the company if my husband to attend F 1 race in Monte Carlo and I must admit that it is a good reason to visit it. I have been to Monte Carlo several times and I must admit that unless you have so much money that you barely know how to spend it, this micro state offers nothing to average tourist. It is nice to visit the old town and see where Grace Kelly lived her entire life after she left the film industry.
To continue the coast line it is easy to arrive to Nice. Many acquittances I know love to spend their vacation in the area of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret that is a small peninsula just before Nice.
Nice offers a lot as it is a small town. The beach is not sandy, but with small stones. It didn't seem that deep as the one in Bordighera. Nice offers shopping areas restaurants and many hotels from which to choose. French hotels are not quite the same as you may think of German, or American ones. In some hotel the twin bed is actually a french twin bed and size 150x200cm. Two friends in such bed might feel a bit awkward.
To continue the road towards Cannes I suggest to visit Antibes at Juan-Les-Pins peninsula. It is a small picturesc town and extremely popular among Italians.
From all these areas my favourite is Cannes. It is an elegant town with beautiful buildings and shops. I love the atmosphere although I never have money enough to buy even a simple wallet from any of those shops. It is a place where I feel I can dream. I have never been to Cannes more than 4 days, and I guess it is kind of enough too.
Cannes holds an annual event that is well known to everyone. It is called the film Festival of Cannes. At this town is to be seen George Clooney, Susan Sharadon, and many more passing by the red carpet showing of the latest fashion in evening dresses.
It is usually kept just before the F 1 race of Monte Carlo, in the month of may.
If you have the opportunity to visit both, do so.
Cannes offers also sailing competitions and several beautiful yachts at the tourist harbour. Nothing to envy Monte Carlo.
The best way to go around in Cannes is with a bicycle. I use to bring my own, but hiring isn't really expensive. I guess we were also lucky not to get rid of our bicycles while leaving them to the harbour and visiting the island of Sainte Marguerite.
I suggest to visit and dine in the old town where a restaurant sets seats so close to the street it feel like dining in the traffic.
At the top of the hill where it is easy to go with this touristic train; a sort of tram with the wheels. It offers a magnetic view.
What comes to the island, be sure to leave early in the morning. There are no served beaches and finding a small spot in some of these bays can be hard after the second ferry. We settled to one of these bays that was far from every services and it took us 20 minutes to walk to the nearest bar/restaurant. A picnic basket is a valid option. I have seen people with canoes and small boats. It is a beautiful island to see it from the part of the sea. One disturbing thing that happens a bit of everywhere is that speed boats seem eager to anker just around the island.
If I had a boat, last thing I'd like to do is to be close to the shore.
Both France and Italy are part of EU and Schengen and € is the currency.
If you want to know wether Cote d'Azur fits to your astro cartography, mail to astrologa.orsetta@gmail.com for further information.
For group reservations, please feel free to contact www.kairos-travel.eu
I understand that the late events in Nice might not invite you to go there, but if we think rationally, people die mostly for pollution and to cancer, than to terrorist attack.
I spent nearly 4 summers in a place called Bordighera. It is a small touristic town near the French border and a town called Ventimiglia.
Italians are similar to penguins according the fact that they all look pretty much the same, are well dressed and like to stay in large groups as an acquittance of me would say. And this is a bit true, ironically. It is mainly to notice in the beach area where the sun beds are so close to each other, that you feel to belong to an other family, or that they all belong to yours. And in those families everything is possible; from diaper changing to skin cleaning. It is incredibly popular, specially among teenagers to clean up the skin in the beach.
Another thing Italians love is to go everywhere at the same time. If you want to travel with comfort, use meal times. In Italy people have lunch between 12.30 and 14.30. At this period of time, highways are free and most people avoid taking flights.
Also the beach suddenly empties when people go to have lunch queueing and complaining at the same time. Best lunch time is just before, or just after. If you practice this "just before", you shall find everything in the menu and less nervous waiters.
Some Italian hotels do not include any breakfast or overcharge it. Cappuccino and brioche would cost only €2,30 in the bar next door. Although you may find a bottle of wine in a shop for €5, restaurants charge again 400% on it; one glass costs €5, but a bottle might be 200% more expensive. Note that in Italy alcohol is poured with the discretion of the bar tender. Sometimes the glass is really full and sometimes just half full.
With this I am not saying to avoid wine. Not at all. Just keep in mind that Italian government has risen every tax there is to be charged from small companies, like hotels and restaurant and alcohol is easy to overcharge.
In the beach area you might get surprised that you actually need to hire two beds and an umbrella. It is a common costume in Italy. Hardly no one lays just on their beach towel. These beach stands offers showers, bar/restaurant, toilets and changing rooms. You are kind of left alone in a public beach. Add this to your holiday budget. In the Ligurian area a daily rent for two beds and one umbrella varies from €25 to €50 daily depending of the beach stand. Italians have some barriers what comes to speaking other languages. Although they might understand english pretty well, many of them seem to be shy or have never practiced foreign languages and do not know how to build a sentence. If you speak even a tiny little bit of Italian, I can be sure you make friends for a life time.
Italians love to listen how people live aboard, to comment it later on with friends. Sometimes they need to be assured that life in Italy is actually pretty good. And it is. Italians are warm and kind, and usually not vindictive towards those that may cause little trouble unconsciously. All those bad rumours about organised criminality do not disturb those who live an average life. But it is alive everywhere.
As you may ask why some prices are unreasonably high, think that these people need to pay the organised criminality to keep their store safe. It is called "an extra insurance". And a lots of taxes.
I used to holiday in Bordighera for few years, because one of my friends have the family summer house in there. The seawater is clean and the town small enough and safe to children. There is no sandy beaches, that makes you to wear gum shoes to be able to go to swim.
In the evening and after diner, most people just hang in the "lungomare" that stands for the beach road showing of with their fancy clothes. Italians love fashion and certainly will not hide the wealthy life style. Make sure you fit to these "standards". Or just be yourself. Italians love gossip and giving them a reason, they won't waist it.
Bit further away you may find San Remo that is well known to Italians for two reasons; Festival di San Remo and Flower Festival. Festival di San Remo is a sort of local song contest to old and new talents, and each year they invite international stars from show business. It usually takes place in the month of February or march. It is visible at Rai 1
I am not quite sure wether the Flower festival and the Carnival are at the same period of time. San Remo is known for beautiful flowers that are visible in the whole Liguria. I guess they just figured out how to merchandise it.
San Remo is a larger town and it has sandy beaches.
Ventimiglia is at the border of France and it is more a town than just a place for summer vacation. I used to go to do some shopping at Ventimiglia that is easy to reach by train, from both towns mentioned above
Then moving to France one of the first places after the border is Menton. It is also a beautiful town and has sandy beaches. You might feel a medially that you left Italy and entered to France. The division is so clear. Food is different, and even the air is different. It is warmer here than in the Ligurian part of this sea.
I was once invited by the company if my husband to attend F 1 race in Monte Carlo and I must admit that it is a good reason to visit it. I have been to Monte Carlo several times and I must admit that unless you have so much money that you barely know how to spend it, this micro state offers nothing to average tourist. It is nice to visit the old town and see where Grace Kelly lived her entire life after she left the film industry.
To continue the coast line it is easy to arrive to Nice. Many acquittances I know love to spend their vacation in the area of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferret that is a small peninsula just before Nice.
Nice offers a lot as it is a small town. The beach is not sandy, but with small stones. It didn't seem that deep as the one in Bordighera. Nice offers shopping areas restaurants and many hotels from which to choose. French hotels are not quite the same as you may think of German, or American ones. In some hotel the twin bed is actually a french twin bed and size 150x200cm. Two friends in such bed might feel a bit awkward.
To continue the road towards Cannes I suggest to visit Antibes at Juan-Les-Pins peninsula. It is a small picturesc town and extremely popular among Italians.
From all these areas my favourite is Cannes. It is an elegant town with beautiful buildings and shops. I love the atmosphere although I never have money enough to buy even a simple wallet from any of those shops. It is a place where I feel I can dream. I have never been to Cannes more than 4 days, and I guess it is kind of enough too.
Cannes holds an annual event that is well known to everyone. It is called the film Festival of Cannes. At this town is to be seen George Clooney, Susan Sharadon, and many more passing by the red carpet showing of the latest fashion in evening dresses.
It is usually kept just before the F 1 race of Monte Carlo, in the month of may.
If you have the opportunity to visit both, do so.
Cannes offers also sailing competitions and several beautiful yachts at the tourist harbour. Nothing to envy Monte Carlo.
The best way to go around in Cannes is with a bicycle. I use to bring my own, but hiring isn't really expensive. I guess we were also lucky not to get rid of our bicycles while leaving them to the harbour and visiting the island of Sainte Marguerite.
I suggest to visit and dine in the old town where a restaurant sets seats so close to the street it feel like dining in the traffic.
At the top of the hill where it is easy to go with this touristic train; a sort of tram with the wheels. It offers a magnetic view.
What comes to the island, be sure to leave early in the morning. There are no served beaches and finding a small spot in some of these bays can be hard after the second ferry. We settled to one of these bays that was far from every services and it took us 20 minutes to walk to the nearest bar/restaurant. A picnic basket is a valid option. I have seen people with canoes and small boats. It is a beautiful island to see it from the part of the sea. One disturbing thing that happens a bit of everywhere is that speed boats seem eager to anker just around the island.
If I had a boat, last thing I'd like to do is to be close to the shore.
Both France and Italy are part of EU and Schengen and € is the currency.
If you want to know wether Cote d'Azur fits to your astro cartography, mail to astrologa.orsetta@gmail.com for further information.
For group reservations, please feel free to contact www.kairos-travel.eu
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