One of our favorite places to visit is Nice, France, a city with everything we love and enjoy in life. Amazing food, beautiful beaches, stylish ambiance, historical interest, energy and diversity. This summer we spent our days at the market and beach, and the evenings dining, cooking and strolling throughout town, late into the evening. One of the reason I’m drawn to this area is that people dress up here! It makes people watching even more exciting while sipping on une tasse de café ou un verre de vin! It’s so refreshing to see women, and men, in outfits other than t-shirts, baggy shorts and leggings.
It’s hot here in July and August, so the least amount of clothes the better, which means pack extra swim suits! I brought pieces from my wardrobe that would easily work with the beach, hot summer nights, and French Riviera vibes. Jordan (my husband) packed linen shirts, one pair of linen pants and shorts in neutral colors. Our apartment elevator served as my full length mirror. Adorned with disco like lights, music and French greetings, I couldn’t help but decide to snap some pics as we came and went about our days. I realized after the fact, that the elevator mirror was overdue for a good cleaning!
Market to Market
Walking the Promenade along the sparkling Mediterranean Sea to the Cours Saleya Market is what my dreams are made of! We made the most fabulous dinners with fresh produce, cheese, breads and meats from the market! Oh, and the fresh Pain au Chocolat is a perfect mid morning treat! Since we were staying in Nice for two weeks, we brought home flowers to color our apartment. En route to the market and wandering the streets, I wore midi skirts and white dresses. It was very hot so these choices were ideal for staying cool enough and appropriate for visiting cafes and shops.
Beach Days Every Day
We spent every afternoon soaking up sun and dipping into the clear blue Mediterranean water. So therapeutic! Nothing purifies the mind, body and soul as floating in this water. Walking to and from the beach involves stops at a cafes, epiceries or a tabac, so proper swim cover ups are necessary. I rotated a couple linen tops and jersey knit skirts in black and navy. The skirts were perfect for the beach, and then evenings, as they don’t wrinkle!
Nice Nights
No need to say much here! Glamour, style, ambiance, and amazing food and drink choices surround you, no matter what corner you turn. Evenings in Nice in July and August are very warm, but comfortable since there’s no sun blazing upon you. I love wearing black, off white and dark green on warm summer nights. This past year I lucked out finding two Reformation dresses with floral patterns on major sale. Perfect for Nice nights!
Strolling the Streets of Nice
The wonderful thing about Nice is the ability to go walking and find unique and fun shops. High end stores, local shops and markets are everywhere. We stumbled upon Le Palais d’Osier, a wicker shop full of beautiful woven basket bags and baskets of all shapes, sizes and styles. I bought my daughter a very cool large navy and natural basket tote, myself a roomy woven shopping/ beach bag and an ornate short handled bag (perfect for daily use and a bottle of wine!) and a solid wicker bread basket for my sister. Honesty, if I had an empty suitcase to come home with, I would have purchased more! Knowing we will always come back to Nice, I cannot wait to visit this shop again!
It’s so fun to wander, stop for a glass of wine or expresso and discover! While in the port area, we visited Les Indociles Librairie, bookstore and coffee shop. The proprietor was a very friendly woman who shared insight on some books of philosophical nature (written in French). We each left with a book of interest which we’ll translate to improve our French. But before we left, we sat outside the shop and enjoyed some drinks crafted from local ingredients. I brought two white dresses that I wore often during our trip. Swapping shoes and accessories made the dresses seem new each time. The one below is a Paige dress. It is so versatile!
It was hard to say au revoir to Nice, so instead, we said “au revoir pour le moment” (goodbye for now). “Nice, France, a l’été prochain”!
