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Day 5 – Menton Day Trip from Nice

We woke up around 8am today and immediately realized we needed to sleep for another hour.

In the past, we always rushed things because we knew we’d have to return home soon. Every time we push ourselves too hard, we end up getting sick at the end of the trip. This time, we decided to let ourselves rest instead of pushing through. Hopefully, this will allow us to travel for longer without burning out. 

Still, in the back of my head, I was concerned that sleeping for another hour would cause us to miss out on something. I think it’s my greediness to experience more things rather than being grateful for the things I actually experience fully. Things ended up working out, of course.

We took a train to Menton for a day trip. Sara heard from a friend that Menton was a beautiful place, so we were curious to check it out. It’s close to the Italian border, and although I’ve never been to Italy, the city felt more “Italian,” whatever that means.

We accidentally missed our stop (sorry Sara), but it led to us walking a long stretch that we wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. The walk into the city was amazing. The air didn’t feel as humid as yesterday, and there was a nice breeze cooling us down, so I wasn’t sweating nearly as much as I expected.

We were shocked when we saw the beach. It had been a long time since I had seen such a nice beach, especially one that crowded. It stretched along the coast for what felt like forever, so we followed it until we reached the city center.

The city felt similar to Old Nice in its density, and every corner we turned greeted us with something new to feast our eyes on. Eventually, we found a pizza restaurant called Sini that specialized in focaccia pizza. All of the people working there were speaking both French and Italian, and I realized this was my first time experiencing a blend of the two cultures.

We were obviously still in France, but the culture among the workers felt slightly different. Louder and more social, maybe? It felt like they were talking nonstop while working and just having a great time in general. I should be clear that I don’t really know anything about French or Italian culture, so everything I perceive is based on assumptions, but it genuinely felt different to me than Paris, for example.

We ordered the Planche Dégustation, which basically means tasting board in French. It came with six different pizzas, all of which were delicious and unique.

My favorite was the eggplant and artichoke pizza, which is surprising because neither ingredient is usually one of my favorites. The eggplant was charred in such a way that it unlocked flavors I didn’t even know eggplant could have. Another standout was the truffle and mushroom pizza because, well, I love truffle.

Something I noticed was that these pizzas weren’t very saucy and didn’t have many toppings. They also didn’t feel greasy, and the cheese was used pretty sparingly. I feel like American pizzas tend to use a lot of sauce, cheese, and toppings, which I like, but this was a nice change.

Afterwards, we wandered around until we found Sara’s pick for a coffee shop, Mitron Café. Mitron Café is a new concept from Mauro Colagreco, the chef behind Menton’s three-Michelin-starred Mirazur, with a focus on specialty coffee and pastries.

They are also famous for their lemon tart. 

Menton is famous for its lemons, so of course we had to try one. The lemon tart. Wow! We both really enjoyed it. I could probably eat about 500 of them. It was sweet, but not in an artificial sugar kind of way, and the lemon flavor tasted incredibly fresh.

Next, we wandered until we found a perfume shop that Sara had bookmarked. Apparently, the surrounding region is also known for perfume, and we wanted to buy one for ourselves and another as a gift for Sara’s mom. I was surprisingly impressed by the experience. I’m not really into perfume, but we had a great time talking with one of the workers and smelling all the different scents. I didn’t realize how meticulous the process of creating a perfume could be.

Eating that lemon tart earlier had also made me think about lemons nonstop. I kept seeing signs for citronnade everywhere and became intrigued. Apparently, citronnade is essentially the French version of the lemonade I’m familiar with, while limonade can refer to a sweet, carbonated lemon drink.

I had to try one.

Yeah, it was great. Menton lemons are supposed to be less bitter than normal lemons, and the citronnade tasted intensely lemony without having that mouth-puckering sourness some lemonades have. I’m not sure how much of that was the famous Menton lemons and how much was me romanticizing the whole experience, but it was a really delicious lemonade.

Now it was time to hit the beach. I needed some sun. Six years in Oregon had made me extra pale on top of my already naturally pale complexion. We found a spot on the beach and went for a swim. The water felt amazing, not too cold, not too warm.

After our beach time, we walked back toward the train station along a stretch of the coast we hadn’t seen before. Along the way, we passed Le Bastion sur la mer, a small stone fortress built in the 17th century. There’s some history there involving Monaco, but I didn’t read much further.

Speaking of Monaco, we decided to stop for a visit on the way back to Nice.

I don’t know much about Monaco other than that it’s famous for racing, yachts, casinos, and people living lavish lifestyles. I was curious to see how my expectations lived up to reality.

Walking through Monaco felt a bit eerie at first. We were in the La Condamine area, which I later discovered is more of an everyday, working neighborhood compared with the theatrical Monte-Carlo side of Monaco. There were plenty of fancy-looking shops, but not many people browsing around, and most of the shops seemed closed. Probably just a timing thing. We were walking toward a gelato shop Sara had found because we wanted something to cool us down.

The gelato shop and the surrounding area were much busier, with people eating and drinking outside. We ordered a strawberry gelato. I haven’t had a lot of gelato in my life, but this was the best one. It tasted like fresh strawberries.

We had one more thing to cross off our list in Monaco before heading back to Nice. We had to see Monte-Carlo.

As we got closer, everything started getting much more crowded. It was definitely an experience. 

There was a huge terrace overlooking the ocean. 

There was a historic-looking palace that we joked was probably a casino, only to discover that it was, in fact, the famous Casino de Monte-Carlo. 

There was a fancy, modern outdoor luxury shopping mall where we joked that everyone seemed to be shopping at Zara because it was the most affordable option.

Then there was an indoor, old-school shopping mall that felt like we had gotten stuck in time or been transported into an old movie.

I felt strange walking through all of it, like I didn’t really belong there. 

I’ve always had a strange relationship with money, especially immense amounts of it. I think part of the appeal of Monaco is that you can briefly get a glimpse of what the lifestyle of someone with a lot of money might look like without actually being part of it. I can understand why people would find it fun to dress up in fancy clothes and walk around here.

Sara and I called it “European Vegas.”

Oh, and we saw the strangest thing in a garden in Monaco.

And with that, we headed back to Nice to end our day.

I really fell in love with Menton today. I think it’s the kind of place I prefer over big cities like Paris. It’s the kind of place that hits hard when you first see it and leaves a lasting impression. The combination of the natural surroundings and the architecture makes you feel like you climbed into a postcard for a day.

I’m sure the locals have their own opinions about the place, and I’m also sure a lot of what I felt today came from the novelty of it all. For me, the combination of French and Italian culture is something so foreign that I can’t help but romanticize it.

But even knowing that, Menton just seemed like a really great place to be.