Musée Océanographique de Monaco | Monaco

Musée Océanographique de Monaco is one of the most visited marine science museums in Europe as well as one of the oldest. It was founded by Prince Albert I in 1910, who wanted to have a palace dedicated exclusively to art and science. Markus found out that Jacques Cousteau was the director at the museum for 31 years. Markus has loved and admired Cousteau since he was a kid and watched his program on PBS.  So it was a given that we would visit. The actual building itself is quite stunning and picturesque and is situated high on a cliff that overlooks the Mediterranean.

Our favorite part of the museum was Oceanomania, "the biggest collection of marine world curiosities." The beautiful "Cabinet of Curiosities" is straight out of a Wes Anderson movie and unlike anything I've seen in real life. It's the sort of thing Markus and I thrive on. We love the old, weird and interesting. We spent a majority of our time at the museum scouring through the collection of skeletons and fossils, models, diving equipment and antique books.  After we finished exploring the museum, we headed up to the roof.  There we found breathtaking views of Monaco as well as the Mediterranean. There was also a surprisingly good restaurant on the roof where we ate appropriately ate a delicious seafood lunch of moules et frites and a seafood pasta. I'm so glad that Markus insisted that we visit Monaco and Musée Océanographique, because it ended up being one of the best memories from our trip!

Astoux et Brun and Other Spots | Cannes, France

Cannes, is well-known for its yearly film festival, so it's definitely a touristy spot. I was a little bit worried about this.  Since it was closer to the end of the summer, I thought it would be a great time to visit. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but this worked to our advantage. We ended up walking everywhere and parked the rental for the entire duration of our stay. For this part of our trip, Markus and I had two objectives, eat and tan. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we quickly changed into our suits and headed to the rooftop pool to relax. It was so lovely and we spent a couple hours up there and met a nice couple from Canada. After baking in the sun, we worked up an appetite and headed out for some delicious food.

Since we were near the ocean, we knew we wanted to eat seafood. I found the highly-rated and popular restaurant Astoux et Brun. The food was really good and very fresh. All of France is pretty pricey when it comes to food, but I didn't think the prices were too high, especially for the atmosphere, quality and service. For our meal, we ordered half a dozen oysters, moules frites and whitefish in a white wine sauce. To wash it all down, we ordered a nice bottle of white wine and enjoyed our meal outside. Before dinner, we passed by a gelato shop that shaped the cones into flowers. I saw similar desserts all over social media, so I knew I wanted that for dessert. I got pistachio and vanilla and it was the perfect combination for a hot and humid night.  Overall, it was the perfect relaxing day I wanted and had been waiting for. 

The Cité de Carcassonne, France

The stunning medieval city of Carcassone is perched up on hill above the River Aude. The town is very old and dates back to the 3rd century A.D. That's over 2,500 years of history! The town has lived through the Romans, Crusaders and more. The town itself is still inhabited and from the looks of it, is solely sustained on tourism. There were restaurants, specialty shops and souvenir shops galore. That was one of the things that I disliked about Carcassone and felt very similar to Mont Saint-Michel. There was too much emphasis on the touristy things and not on the history. If I didn't do research before it's possible we could've fallen prey to a tourist trap! It's just one of those places that you have to find the hidden gems. Despite all of this, it's a beautiful medieval city and I'm glad that we were able to visit. 

Château Lamothe du Prince Noir | Saint-Sulpice-et-Cameyrac, France | Part Two

One of the best things about our stay at Château Lamothe du Prince Noir was the superb breakfast that was served on the gorgeous terrace. Breakfast was provided at every place we stayed in France and all were fantastic in their own ways, but I didn't whip out the camera for any of those mornings. Carla, our host, put a lot of thought and love into the menu. She even whipped up a couple fried eggs to order.  They were really appreciated especially during our long days walking through vineyards and cobblestoned streets. 

Saint-Émilion, France | Part Two

As I stated in my last post, one of my biggest regrets on this trip was not spending more time in Saint-Émilion. Thankfully, I booked an afternoon excursion with Bordovino that combined a stop in the little commune and two wineries. Our tour guide, Soline, managed to pack in the greatest spots in Saint-Émilion before we left. One of these spots was this great view near the Saint-Émilion Monolithic Church. The church dates back to the 12th century and was carved from a single block of stone and is quite massive. I've seen a lot of churches in my life, but I honestly cannot say I've seen one as impressive and towering as this one. It was positively medieval and the perfect place to end our time in the beautiful and stunning Saint-Émilion