For some reason I have always wanted to visit the South of France. Not sure why, maybe because I saw pictures of it and wanted to see the beauty of this particular part of the country. So, the big guy took me to this area for my birthday.

We went to Nice first. When we were driving from the airport, it reminded us of San Diego, the drive from Lindbergh Field. I felt I was on Sassafras on my way to Laurel Drive. We stayed at a place right on the Promenade des Anglais. It was named for Los Angeles, because of all the stars that visited the area back in the day. Was such a bustling during the day, and lit up at night. One of the things we loved to do was go to one of the local cafes and sit outside to eat. Could have sat there for hours. We walked to the older part of the city that was filled with food Marts and flower markets. Nice was part of Italy until around 1860 when it is now a part of France. The population is 350,000, but in the summer it grows to over a million because of the tourists.

One of our stops was at the Church of Saint Francis of Paola. Like I have stated before, I am all about the churches. Approved by Rome in 1493 and settled in Nice in 1633. It is run by the Dominicans. And the church itself is of baroque designed. Beautiful, and ornate with side altars all along each of the walls leading up to the main altar. Another place I could have sat for hours. Peaceful, quiet, with familiar smells. And lots, and lots of candles.

Now onto Monaco, and Monte Carlo…..again two broke kids. #MondayBlogs #Nice #SouthofFrance #Withthebigguy #Celebratoryweekend