La Vie est Belle : So nice to land in Nice

I'm like super excited for summer. I have been going to South of France since I was a bubba and whilst it has always been somewhere I love and look forward to going to I did not really start to appreciate South of France in it's entirety until a couple of years ago when I "came of age"- this is when you look old enough to blend in with the Caroline Casiraghis and Cara Delevignes: tall tanned skinnies with long, thick hair in all the right places being on their heads and their eyebrows.

Well we tried!

Since then I have graced the famous film festival and many long and lazy summer weeks with my presence. Due to this many of my friends ask me where to go and what to do so I thought I would spill all of my Cannes knowledge this summer in this blog with a little help from my best friend and 'Cannes-do' partner in crime, Abi. Ok I have overworked the Cannes/can nice/Nice jokes now.

But for now before I blog my way through the lavish, luxurious side of Cannes this summer, I thought I would divulge my tips on a more relaxing SOF holiday. Although I am in an unhealthy love affair with them Cannes nights out and food really are on another level and South of France has become so ridiculously expensive.. If you are just that hardcore, feel free to wait for my posts on Cannes.

But if not here are my not so glamorous but oh so amazing favourite calm and inexpensive things to do:

Me and my sister simpler times

1. SMELL:

- dried lavender, herbes de provence (the most amazing herbs you have to buy for anything: salads, meat, fish, sauce), salty air, local wines and smelly cheeses. I would recommend visiting Antibes markets for this located in the old town.

2. SEE:

- fireworks on the beach, throughout the summer there are fireworks- well worth a google to see when although I am often pleasantly surprised by them as I'm having dinner on the beach in Juan les Pins.
- the exotic dancers in the PAMPAM in Juan les Pins or the brazilian acrobatic dancers who roam the street pretty much everywhere in South of France in fact you can't avoid them.
- the amazing cars outside all casinos and clubs
- the cobbled streets around the back of Cannes (although tempting to venture into one of the pricey but UNbelievable restaurants- more later)
- the beautiful beaches, nothing like a morning stroll
- the people: such beautiful fashion unlike anywhere else or the ridiculously, adventurously dressed striking Russian women, old French men with cardigans tied around their shoulders in the heat. Buy a coffee in a little shop and sit and watch for hours

3. EAT:

- La Forge: I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough, it is so reasonable for a 3 course meal, compared to the rest of SOF. The staff and owners are so friendly and make you feel so at home. The food is so yummy: goats cheese and honey on toast, foie gras, fish soup, ribs, steak, duck, ile flotante, creme brûlée. You can also watch the world go by if you sit outside but normally I am much too concentrated on getting the food inside me. (In Antibes)
- Le Chaudron also in Antibes: family run restaurant, they do a to die for menu- I love the soup and the stewed apple with rosemary with ice cream.
- Cafe florian it's a healthy low calorie restaurant in Cannes, a bit pricey like everything in Cannes but not compared to most. They do fresh tasting salads and their petit fours is so delicious and you can eat it and go out without feeling like you just want to go home to sleep with an over full tummy!
- Sushikan: this is on the same road as cafe florian the crunchy rolls are their speciality and unlike anything you have ever tasted in your life- you have not lived until you have tried one trust me, this is our favourite place to go before clubbing because you can still comfortably fit into your tight dress. Also on this road is a Morrocan restaurant owned by the same people which I have never been to but I have heard very good things about.
- Waffles, crepes: Anywhere, my personal fave since I was very little is nutella and chantilly cream. I love the white chocolate crepes in the Grand Marnier stall.
- Local casino or other supermarket- these are not like your local tesco. Buy salads galore, cold meats, cheeses, wines, baguette to tuck under you arm of course and go have a picnic (somewhere shaded)
- Food from the markets or rotisserie chicken (from the local stall on the side of the road), this is a traditional meal for us, they do rosemary potatoes which have been cooking whilst the sauce from roasting chickens drips down onto them- yum! (Juan les pins)
- Pasteries from any bakery in the mornings- pain au chocolat, jus d'orange et cafe au lait! Who could resist?

4. GO:

- Clubbing in Juan les pins- ok so not so chilled but everyone goes from the age of 14 I kid you not. It is free for girls and relatively cheap for boys. Ignore everywhere but le village club- they're lying it's not busy.
- For drinks and ice cream in the PAM PAM- watch the dancer as mentioned before!
- Wander up and down the croisette in Cannes. This is free and possibly the best window shopping and people spotting you will ever do. Abi once bumped into Mark-Francis from made in Chelsea doing this and was greeted with a lovely 'well hello there darrrrrling!'
- Final tip! If you want to get into a club for free the best thing you can possibly do here (shallow but true) is dress up like you own the world (or at least a little island somewhere) and march confidently to the front. Make up some story and you will normally get through. We have tried in Baoli 'we were just here for dinner we just checked on the car' or 'we are on (over heard person's) table' or google the name of someone who owns or promotes for the club and say it at the door. Any trouble you get in say you don't speak that language!