Day 10 – Diano Marina, Italy to St. Martin D’Ardeche, France
After enjoying another al fresco breakfast, it was time to cruise the Italian and French Rivieras! I wish could say in our convertible with the wind whipping through my hair, big sunglasses on… but the scenery was just as spectacular in the Nissan! 😉
Our first stop was Monaco, as who can pass up a chance to look at ultra expensive cars (not my husband!), pick out our next yacht (wink wink) and gamble amongst the rich and famous! It was the perfect hot, sunny day to people watch in one of the smallest countries in the world. Monaco is a great port stop if you’re on a cruise or a day trip if you’re vacationing nearby in the south of France or Italy.
Waving goodbye to Monte Carlo in the rearview mirror we cruised into the French Riviera (one can’t just drive in the Italian or French Rivieras). We soaked up the Mediterranean views with many stops along the way, past the beautiful little village of Eze and through Nice. It was time to drive north, sad to say away from the sea and more toward “home”. Stefan wanted to show me the Ardeche area in France. After a nice drive through the French countryside we found the village St. Martin D’ Ardeche to stay for the evening. With everything sold out in town we were lucky (again!) to find one last room at a small inn just outside of town. It wasn’t our favorite place we stayed… but not planning ahead we couldn’t be picky! It did have a lovely view of a vineyard outside our window and a friendly Frenchman who helped us.
After enjoying a crepe dinner on a terrace in the village center, a street dance started! A great DJ, hanging out with locals and listening to French music (I learned they play all their music in French even if an English song) made for one of our favorite evenings of our road trip!
Day 11 – St. Martin D’Ardeche, France to Alex-Corton, France
We started the day with fresh baked pastries from the local village bakery (aaaah that makes my mouth water writing that!). And I’m guessing in France they most likely don’t call it a French bakery. 🙂 After inhaling the scrumptious pastries we started the gorgeous drive through the Ardeche – it’s considered the European Grand Canyon. As I haven’t yet been to the Grand Canyon I can’t comment on the comparison, but it was a very scenic area where the river has carved out the rocky steep gorges. During the last portion of our drive we discovered what a popular vacation destination this was (traffic!!) with numerous campsite and water sport areas. Dodging traffic we drove north through Lyon into Burgundy for a stop in the tiny village of Aloxe-Corton for the evening. It was a rainy evening but we did stretch our legs with a stroll through their tiny but pretty village.
Day 12 – Aloxe-Corton to The Netherlands
Knowing we only had a few more days left of our second honeymoon, we decided we wanted to spend it in our favorite place in The Netherlands. Leaving France we drove again through Luxembourg and Belgium… completing our circle we had started two weeks ago. Our favorite place in The Netherlands deserves a review of it’s own, so stayed tuned for that in future writings. 🙂
We had the BEST time on our Epic European Road Trip/Second Honeymoon! I hope sharing our experiences, stories and travel tips has inspired you to get out and travel!
- 2 Weeks
- 5000 Kilometers
- 8 Countries
- Countless Memories
Until the next adventure – bon voyage!
Kris
