9 (cities) in 5 (days). THAT'S HOW WE ROLL.

Pretty sure we brought half of those rocks home with us in the boys' pockets.

Nice-old town

We set off to explore the French Riviera for a long Easter weekend.  We started out with the intention of hitting 4 cities on a loop that took us down through France to the Mediterranean, then along the coast and back home through where else--Italy.  However, for one of the rare times in our 17 year relationship, we road tripped the way I always want to...and we stopped at points not on our "planned itinerary" along the way that looked intriguing.  We ended up hitting nine villages/cities.  And I'm glad we did, because some of the high points for me were the spontaneous stops!  Other favorite moments:  Luke lost his tooth on Easter morning, AND, that bunny tracked us down in our hotel room!  What luck!!  Hope you enjoy our pictorial tour:

The "Dalmatian Pigeon".  This one's for Isaac, who loves pigeons more than Roman ruins, or mountain views, or walking.  But not more than ice cream.

First stop:  Annecy.  Lovely.

Chris grilled me on how much French I could remember from 3 years of  high school.  Of the pathetic 10 words I could recall, library was one of them.  And low and behold, not 3 minutes into France, we saw one!  Ha!

Took a paddle boat ride.  Levi did the steering.  Needless to say, it was pretty zig-zaggy.

Motor one and two

Arlés--it was like a little Rome

The arena was closed for a bull fight!  

Checked out some awesome Roman ruins!

My boys!!!

Pont du Guard.  Roman bridge from 6 AD.  The top tier served as an aqueduct that brought water to the city of Nimes for 500 years.  Impressive!

Nice really is nice.

Tried Nice's famous Socca-a savory chickpea pancake

Nice flower market

One of our spontaneous wanderings!

Monaco

Had a rainy day, so we hit the aquarium

Fantastic museum!

We got a kick out of "americanized" euro-t-shirts.  Picture a collection of random American words that don't make any sense together.  Words included are usually: California, athletic department, and numbers.

Stopped in La Turbie for some (french) bread and to see the Tower of the Alps.  Built in 26 BC to symbolize the power and protection of Rome over the area.  

Hit Sanremo before heading north!

The Poggio is a famous climb in the Milan-Sanremo classic cycling race.  Chris was delighted to stumble upon it and we drove the whole route.  Crazy narrow.  Crazy switchbacks.  Crazy.

This is how Isaac rolls. ?

Asti, Italy

Looks like this lion had a rough night...

See ya later, Asti!!  (or should I say Asti-lavista, baby ;) Thanks for the DELICIOUS wine!

Yes, Mom.  I'm taking notes on the historical facts.  But I'm not going to pretend I like it.

And, there you have it...a brief (believe it or not) glimpse at our trek through: Annecy, Valence, Arlés, Antibes, Nice, Monaco, La Turbie, Sanremos, and Asti.