All posts filed under: French Riviera

boutique hotel pick – royal hotel sanremo – italy

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After a crazy cold rainy day on Wednesday, we experienced a strangely hot day on Thursday which prompted me to get into the vacation planning mode. Since I experienced the sudden urge to plan my vacation for 2012, I realized it was time to do my Friday boutique hotel pick. Royal Hotel Sanremo came to mind because I am actually looking into a vacation or a holiday where I could lounge around the pool and nap my days away while sipping on some exotic drink., in Italy of course. 🙂

boutique hotel pick – hotel martinez – cannes, france

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Right about now I begin to crave a trip to the French Riviera and a fantasy stay at the Hotel Martinez. I mean seriously, I don’t think I need to sell anyone on the idea of experiencing pure luxury and elegance, while getting the most golden tan possible and dining at some of the finest restaurants along the French Riviera. However,  I do want to point out one of my favorite 5-star properties in Cannes, Hotel Martinez as the choice hotel for romance and special occasion celebration or simply a place for rest and relaxation.  Of course the modern classic room decor doesn’t hurt either. Anyway, enjoy the photos and have a wonderful weekend.

outdoor sitting french style

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This is going to be my first summer without a backyard. After selling our house in the country, we traded in a grand backyard with a pool and garden for a view of the Pacific Ocean. Not a bad trade off. But I vowed I would not write about outdoor spaces, patio furniture or backyard get togethers until I worked the entire experience out of my system. But knowing me and the need to talk outdoors, I had to include some of my favorite photos of French country backyards and furniture.

swimwear for the woman over 40

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Just like handbags and shoes are an investment for most women over 40, so are swimwear. Not only does it have to be good quality but durable enough to endure the interesting shapes the over 40 tends to take. One of my biggest frusturation is seeing women over 40 wearing 2 piece swimwear which do not compliment the body.  There is definitealy a way to look and feel sexy with one piece suits if teh following is taken into consieration. The criteria – swimsuit should preferably be a solid color and one that compliments the skin tone. The cut should also be taken into consieration so not to overexpose parts which do not compliment your figure. The fabric is also something to consider because the cheaper the suit, the quicker the give into the water and then out of the water. So for this topic, I have searched online for some of my favorites from the man who knows a thing or two about the women over 40. Click here for more details.

inspirational woman over 40 – Ines de la Fressange

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A woman who I have admired for a long time now, is of course a French fashion icon, Ines de la Fressange. I am not going to detail her bio on this blog entry, but will happily give you a link here  so that you can use it to get some background about her. The interesting thing is that, she became well known around the fashion world as a result of her connection to Chanel throughout most of her 20s. Anyway, she had written a book a while back titled, Parisian Chic, which I have picked up and read from cover to cover, just so I can truly understand Parisian women, their style, even more so than I already do, in order to satisfy my obsession with the French lifestyle, culture, and fashion. Of course the book validates the fact my core makeup and way of thinking and living  is French and I am very happy about that. The transition to living in France someday soon will be very easy for me. So, check out the …

christmas gift idea for her – romantic getaway

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I can honestly say, by the time a woman reaches  her 40s, it becomes  less and less  important to get a gift for her kitchen as it is to get a gift for herself. Sometimes, some women  are even willing to forgo a pair of diamond earrings for a week’s  getaway from their daily lives. So, just in case you have exhausted all your “gift idea” resources, consider surprising her with a romantic getaway (within your budget) to most anywhere in the world. As you know or may not, off-season travel (depending on destination) is  more likely affordable than during the high season . However, planning a vacation “gift” within a budget is often times  very challenging.  Calling a travel agent to arrange such a trip is priceless. 🙂 The reason I suggest working with a travel agent to plan a “gift” vacation is so that you can actually put the plan on hold with a small deposit, while you surprise your significant other with a gift certificate and deal with the reaction. Should she …

dog heaven in france and a few cats

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I know I keep writing about my trip to France but there are so many elements of it that I just can’t let go of or want to forget, so I jot them down as they come to mind  in order to reflect and because telling friends and family about your travels can sometimes get boring, it’s best to write them down instead for those who care enough to read and enjoy. I think the hardest part of going on vacation is leaving your pet behind, in my case it is a dog. First the guilt trip, then the tears and then when you are on vacation, you can’t help wonder how your pet is doing, day in and day out. With that said, I have to say that while  in Paris we did not see too many dogs outdoors because of the downpour I suppose but when we got to the French Riviera, there was a dog on a leash on every corner in every town. The worst of it was that they were …

the french riviera in a nutshell

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You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all goes the saying and if I were to sum up my visit to the French Riviera last week, it would be just that (not in a bad way). The French Riviera consists of seven major towns (Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Antibes, Menton, St. Tropez and Saint Raphael) and a dozen or so smaller ” plages” (Sea) access villages from the Cote D’Azur shuttle train. If you happen to have a Multi-country railpass (which includes France) or a French railpass, you can have unlimited rides on the Cote D’Azur shuttle train between the towns and the beaches. Our plan was to stay in Cannes for several days while we touched up on the towns to the west of it and then move to Nice for a few more days in order to access the towns on the East of Nice. So while in Cannes, we hit up Saint Raphael, St. Tropez and Antibes and when we stayed in Nice we touched up on Monaco/Monte Carlo, Villafranche Sur Mer and hopped over …