Honeymoon Part 2: La Turbie

the next stop on our honeymoon after we left the beautiful beaches in Nice was a small town situated just north of Monaco (literally, since it's straight up the mountain) called La Turbie. when we planned this vacation my husband-to-be mentioned in passing that the Grand Prix would be taking place at the same time in Monaco. seeing as he is a die hard fan of Ferrari & all things Forumula 1, come hell or high water I was determined to ensure that he/we weren't going to miss that once in a lifetime event (even if the tickets did cost an arm, and a leg, ok, or maybe two legs... ). once our race tickets were booked we began looking for a reasonable place to stay. now, clearly Monaco is a playground for the rich. consider it like cottage country for the uber stinky filthy rich and famous – with enormous boats. we knew from day one that we couldn't afford to stay in Monaco on our "reasonable" budget, so we started looking closer at small surrounding towns when we came across La Turbie and Sophie. literally a 10 min drive to Monaco (or a 1 euro and 20 min bus ride) this town was perfect. I won't lie and tell you it is a moderate size town. it is small. if you blink you will miss it, literally (that actually happened), and you definitely need to be good at walking up/driving up hills because it's a very, very steep town (but good for the buns). we loved this place and in a heart beat we would go back. if not for the peace and quiet in a rustic medieval town, then for the best bed and breakfast run by the sweetest lady named Sophie – who goes out of her way to ensure you have everything you need including, privacy, a cell phone (in case you get lost on day trips) & chilled champagne! La Turbie today is most famous for it's large Roman monument, the Trophy of Augustus. outside of that, it is home to some outstanding views of Monaco, great hiking trails, rich local wines, and a small selection of elegant local restaurants serving up traditional french dishes with new menu's daily. Travel Tip - ensure that you try a Nicose salad and Pistou, which originated from this part of the world. we did and it was well worth it. nom . nom. nom.

see! who couldn't fall in love with this ancient town. clearly the girl in these pictures is a few  drinks wines in on a lazy afternoon. give her a drink and she'll be silly for hours. i should also mention that on this leg of the trip we started our ritual of "amazing-mouth-watering-stone-oven-freshly-made-pizza" for lunch every day. i have officially concluded that a) I've unearthed a unbelievable obsession for stone oven pizza, and b) pizza really is better everywhere else in the world. let's get it together Canada.