The French Riviera. Cote d'Azur. This part of France has a reputation of a rather luxurious and posh getaway dedstination, but it's only partially true. Nice is the second largest city of the region and it lies at the eastern side of mediterrenian coast that belongs to France, at the foot of the Alps, about 13 kilometers from Monaco. It is well connected with the rest of the country and its european neighbours thanks to its international airport, a fine system of trains and highways.
I flew to Nice to join my parents on their vacation as they are exceptionally fond of this area. I have to admit as well that Nice and its surroundings are exceptionally picturesque, as if they were taken from a fine-art landscape. The French have a unique talent of combining colours and texture of their architecture to match the nature perfectly, and arrange their decorative plants, flowers and shrubberies in impeccable compositions. The beaches also stand out among other mediterrenian destinations as they are rocky, mostly consisting of white round pebbles and small rocks. There is almost no sand at all.
France never ceases to amaze me when it comes to street photography. I always feel very inspired to shoot people passing by and spaces that they find themselves in. It all just goes together so well.
We didn't stay in Nice itself, but rather in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, just two train stops away from the centre of the city.
This is the second part of the trip to Tenerife, the largest island of The Canary Islands. In the previous post I've shown the eastern parts of the island and the capital of Santa Cruz. After that we continued our ring-road and drove to the north and the east.
Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands, a little enclave of Spain right by the Morrocan coast. It's the largest and the most populous isle of the archipelgo, with the area of over 2,000 square kilometers. Tenerife 's shape resembles a distorted triangle and most of the cities, villages and other inhabited areas are scattered around the coasts while the center is occupied by Teide National Park around the peak of Teide volcano - the tallest mountain of Spain and the third tallest volcano in the world as measured from its base.
It is one of the top european travel destinations due to its fabulous beaches and tropical vibe and bearable weather all year round. Most tourists stay around Costa Adeje, the south-western coast which is a gigantic resort built strictly for tourists and designed to indulge their whims - mostly for a "beach and party" experience. However, the island offer SO MUCH MORE! We spent a week there and still haven't seen all that it has to offer.
Renting a car and driving across Tenerife was the best idea imaginable. Every part of the island is slightly different, the nature and landscapes varies a lot depending on the region. You'll see if you scroll down!
Last, but definitely not the least - we spent the rest of the maltese trip in Gozo, the smaller of two main islands of the country. It is really small, even for maltese standards as it occupies merely 67 kilometers of land with 13 kilometers of length and 7 kilometers of width. We drove across the entire island a few times just to reach a particular restaurant, or cafe. But even despite its ridiculously tiny dimentions it is very abundant in mindblowing landscapes, dramatic cliffs, vast beaches and picturesque villages. It is much more spacious than the main island, and has a vibe of slow, rural life.
