Our Last Trip Part II: Villefranche sur Mer, Monaco and Nice

The next day in France we headed to Villefranche sur Mer, a small coastal town near Nice. It is one of the deepest natural ports in the Mediterranean sea and is also where our friends are getting married this summer! We met them for breakfast and then walked to the Citadel built in 1557, Chapelle Saint-Pierre from the 16th century and the beach.

We followed the coastline walking all the way to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Along the way, we saw gorgeous villas overlooking the water and lots of nice cars. We stopped for a pizza lunch and drank Monacos (beer, lemonade and a splash of grenadine).

After lunch, we took the train to Monaco: the concrete mini city of money, money, money! There were massive yachts in the harbor (including the 26th largest in the world) and really expensive cars. We thought we'd seen nice cars walking along the coastline before, but they were nothing compared to the ones that were parked outside of the Monte Carlo Casino.

The Monte Carlo Casino sits above the harbor. It's actually smaller than I expected it to be and it's not like the flashy Vegas ones. It is classy, lavish and small but grand with a lot of European charm. We paid 10 euros to go inside, and then I played the slot machines once just to say that I've gambled at the casino : ) but I lost : (

While we were in Monaco, there was a short bike race on part of the Monaco Grand Prix track. We walked around the city (it is very small) and then headed back to Nice for dinner.

Up until this point, we hadn't spent much time in Nice although we were staying there. But we finally had time to explore that evening and the next day.

One of my favorite parts of the trips was once we got back, Aaron and I enjoyed a glass of wine at a beach restaurant. We sat there looking out into the vast sea realizing that it would only be a week and a half before our life would change. We enjoyed our wine and then just as it started to rain (and then pour) we met up with the group at a restaurant where I had the best Niçoise salad (my favorite!) and then we went out for a night on the town.

The next morning we walked all around Nice visiting the little shops and strolling the boardwalk. We didn't fly out until the evening so we had all day to explore. It was a gorgeous day and so many people were out rollerblading, sunbathing or just doing exactly what we were - enjoying life. Of course, it helps if there's a bottle of wine, baguette and cheese, and if you're in the south of France : )

It was a bittersweet, great last trip for the newlyweds abroad!