First off: a big THANK YOU to WordPress for featuring my post on Dublin on their “Freshly Pressed” homepage today. I honestly cannot believe they found my infant of a travel blog, which so far has only been getting hits from people I know or weird search terms like “soul crash character,” “this weather makes me crave mommy pho,” and “best thing i have out in my mouth.”
New readers, welcome! Unfortunately I’ve just finished all the Ireland posts, meaning I’m back to writing about France and my travels around Southeast Asia. I hope I don’t disappoint. At the very least, I can promise lots of pretty pictures!
Which leads me to my next post. I recently returned from a week on the French Riviera, or the Côte d’Azur. It was a work trip, so not all fun and games, but still a welcome change from Paris — both in terms of pace and space; and of course, the weather. Paris will not stop raining.
Riding the TGV (France’s high-speed rail) train from Paris to Hyères was surprisingly enjoyable; as I was going from the north of the country down to the very south, the train ran through some of the most stunning French countryside.
For the next week I woke up to the Mediterranean at my doorstep, watched international sailing regattas from my window as I ate breakfast, and biked around the acres of vineyards that surround Hyères. The area is well-known for its rosé wines, which would have been lovely to sip as I watched the sunsets on the beach (had I not been on a work trip).
You know you’re in a tiny town when the main road is shut down every week to become the Sunday market. Here I tried the wares of a man wearing a salami hat; ate entirely too many baguettes (it is possible), and picked out pastries simply because I liked their color. Of course, being on the Riviera, one night I also sampled a fresh seafood stew called marmite du pêcheur, or pot of the fisherman.
As tranquil as life is on the seaside, after a week I was ready to return to Paris. Work wants me back in La Londe several more times this year, so I’m not suffering goodbyes, as I know I’ll most likely be back next month. So instead of these being the final photos from the Riviera, I see these last two instagrams — a gate at the Hyères train station, and the Place de La Liberté in Toulon (where I changed trains), as a photographic cliffhanger; a dot-dot-dot hinting at future Riviera adventures this summer.
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6 Comments
Erica
May 3, 2012 at 10:35ahahaha I love the search terms.
gosh, what a terrible place to have to go to for business! ;)
Hope you’re able to get some time off before/after some time so you can have some fun (aka some of that rosé), too!
Kate (@shoegirlinDE)
May 3, 2012 at 13:32J’adore la Côte d’Azur! My summer study program in high school was in Nice and it was the first place in Europe I’d ever been, so it holds a very special place in my heart. I’m so jealous that you get to go on a regular basis! Guess I can’t complain as we head to Cinque Terre in two weeks though… ;)
PS – I may be getting job similar to yours soon, although on a much smaller scale (which means no paid ‘holidays’ like this!).
Susan
May 3, 2012 at 17:28Loved watching the Instagrams roll in on real time… and congratulations on the Freshly Pressed selection!
Daisy de Plume
May 3, 2012 at 23:34Yes, an enormous CONGRATULATIONS on the Freshly Pressed Selection — what is it, one chosen out of nearly 500,000 blogs? Well done! Expat Edna certainly deserves it!
As for the Cote d’Azur, more posts please. The pictures are too pretty to be denied, even if you’re suffering for us with only a stealthy sip of Rose under your desk!
Scenes from a train ride through the French countryside | Expat Edna
May 4, 2012 at 23:28[…] on my trip to the Riviera, I discovered there are trains in France I like: those of the TGV, France’s high speed rail […]
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May 14, 2012 at 16:08[…] Instagrammed: A Week on the Riviera (expatedna.com) Rate this: Share this:MoreLike this:Like6 bloggers like this post. […]