Our Return to Canada

We don’t know when Eva will have her first memory but we hope that it’s of this very special time together as a family.

Enjoying one last swim in the Mediterranean. Neptune Plage, Nice.

As Eva would say, “I’m looking for pretty rocks.” Evening before our departure on Neptune Plage, Nice.

Enjoying one last swim in the Mediterranean. Neptune Plage, Nice.

Enjoying one last swim in the Mediterranean. Neptune Plage, Nice.

Skipping rocks on Neptune Plage, Nice.

Planes flying near the beach towards the Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport remind us that our departure is only hours away.

Beautiful rocks found on Neptune Plage, Nice.

The sun sets on Hi Plage for another day.

Savouring our final dinner at a restaurant named Le Québec in Vieille Nice.

Savouring our final dinner at a restaurant named Le Québec in Vieille Nice.

Savouring our final dinner at a restaurant named Le Québec in Vieille Nice.

After dinner at Le Québec, we went back to our apartment and indulged in one of my favourite desserts, mille-feuille.

At about 8:00 a.m. (GMT +2) on Thursday (Aug. 13th) we set off to the Airport Nice Côte d’Azur for our flight to Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and then ultimately to Toronto. Eva rarely lets anyone help her with her pink suitcase!

Air France flight 356 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Toronto Pearson, August 13, 2015.

Entering Terminal 2 at Airport Nice Côte d’Azur for our flight to Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and then ultimately to Toronto. Eva is improving at holding our hands when crossing a street!

David and Eva checking the departures display in Terminal 2 at Airport Nice Côte d’Azur for our flight to Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and then ultimately to Toronto.

Eva fell sound asleep somewhere over the French Alps. I wish I had taken a photo of the snow that spotted the mountaintops during our flight.

Eva fell sound asleep somewhere over the French Alps. I wish I had taken a photo of the snow that spotted the mountaintops during our flight.

At the baggage claim in Toronto. Eva is on the lookout for that that last piece of luggage!

Awaiting the shuttle at Toronto Pearson for our return home.

Advertisements

Coming Home

Eva was such a good traveller. She was able to experience many firsts… riding in a taxi, riding in a bus, riding in a train, flying in a plane, swimming in the sea, visiting so many new places etc.

It was an amazing experience. We are so blessed to have these memories together.

Menton – New Photos Added

It was quite a hike to Old Town but oh so worth it!

Our muse smiles happily

VIDEO: Menton

On Monday, we spent a lovely day in Menton. This video captures a few of the highlights.

 

Menton – The Pearl of the Alps

So we’ve been so busy trying to squeeze everything in before we leave… that it’s hard to get the blogging in too sometimes.  We awoke to stormy skies and the first rainfall on our vacation.  As we watched the pouring rain, we wondered if our day’s plan would be cancelled.  A few hours later it stopped, bringing a refreshing coolness and afternoon sunshine.  With excitement and relief we headed off.

Menton, is my favourite village we’ve visited so far!  It’s a picture perfect representation of what most people romanticize France’s riviera to be.  The colours were absolutely delicious and the town quaint and inviting!  The Italian influence was delightfully evident everywhere. (We were only about two kilometers from the Italian border.)  Here’s just a tiny glimpse of our day.  We’ll post more later!

Our sweet Eva with the backdrop of the lovely town of Menton behind her.

We were blessed to have our friends Nick & Elizabeth give us some travelling ideas before we left for our adventures, as France is one of their favourite destinations.  They recommended that we stop in Garavan so we would have this stunning view of the old Menton Village.  We were so thrilled we did.  There was an amazing family friendly, sandy beach there and fun playground for Eva.  The old village was straight out of fairytale.  You can just imagine all my gasps and “Oh my’s!”  Another surprise was the luscious and beautiful gardens that lined our pathway as we walked to the Menton train station to go home.  Eva was filled with extra smiles today, which made the day seem even brighter!!

Our muse smiles happily

It was quite a hike to Old Town but oh so worth it!

VIDEO: A Day in Monaco

A Discovery on (Our!) Popular French Riviera Beach

Early this afternoon, as we were eating lunch, I felt our building shake and I saw the television and the plant beside it move. I assumed that it was an earthquake. I stepped outside onto the balcony and I saw people from other buildings doing the same, wondering what was going on. I didn’t feel any further trembling and soon thereafter we headed to the beach. However, the beach that we’ve recently been enjoying, Plage Neptune, was closed and had police tape around it. We also saw a video camera set up pointing towards the water and a police boat in the water. This is not normal to see on the beaches of Nice.

Photo: Twitter / Ötsuchi

After dinner this evening, we headed back to the beach and noticed that Plage Neptune was open again. It’s my favourite beach as it’s directly across the Promenade des Anglais from the Hotel Negresco – quite beautiful, especially in the evening.

After we returned home, I discovered online what the apparent “earthquake” was and it’s connection to the police activity on the beach. It wasn’t an earthquake at all. Actually, a WWII shell (undetonated) was found only 10 metres from the shore and in only 3 metres of water on the same beach that we’ve been swimming at, opposite the Hotel Negresco. It was spotted earlier today by a swimmer. A large security perimeter (100 meters from the sea to the floor) was then established.

Further information:

• Un obus signalé tout près du rivage, plusieurs plages de Nice évacuées
• WWII shell found on glitzy French Riviera beach