Antibes: One for the Books

My time in Antibes was a step back into my favorite author’s world – or at least, one of his worlds.

It’s no secret that my favorite author is F. Scott Fitzgerald, so when I realized I would be passing through Antibes between Nice and Cannes, I knew I was going to make a pit stop there.

F. Scott lived in Antibes for a period of time, and the French Riviera makes its very own appearance in his work. Today, a hotel has converted his home into a gorgeous place for accommodations in the city: Hotel Belles Rives.

While the hotel was out of my budget and completely booked, I was still able to visit their restaurant and bar, so I decided to stay at a nearby hotel so that I could visit one of F. Scott’s former homes.

After checking into my hotel, I decided to go for a walk through Antibes. My sunburn from Dubrovnik was still quite red, and my skin was still pretty sensitive. I’d been wearing linen shirts over my shoulders to keep them out of the sun, but after rewearing the same tops a few times, I ended up asking my hotel to wash them as part of the laundry services they offered.

However, I knew my shoulders wouldn’t make it through a day in Antibes without coverage, so I decided to walk into the main streets of town to find a new linen shirt that I could wear.

After walking a few blocks, I saw a beautiful tree standing just in front of the beach, and I decided to pivot and walk toward the ocean for a moment.

The ocean views here were stunning.

GORGEOUS.

To my left was a pretty trail that was calling my name, so I decided to walk along it.

Pink and red flowers to my right, the ocean ahead of me – I knew I needed to head into town before grabbing lunch anywhere, and the burns on my shoulders were like a physical countdown of the minutes I could safely spend in the sun, but there was something about the path that my curiosity could not say no to.

Imagine my surprise when I turned around the corner of the path to see this.

In about ten minutes in Antibes, I somehow stumbled into and was drawn toward an F. Scott Fitzgerald site. Very on-brand for me.

I had no idea that I was even close to his home, but seeing where it was located, I decided that I would run into town, find a linen shirt, and come back for lunchtime. The views of the water were calling my name, and my stomach was starting to grumble.

After a successful shopping mission, my shoulders were thanking me and I was on my way back to Belles Rives.

Hotel guests were able to relax along the beach here – looked like an incredible place to write or read a book.

And to my left, slightly in the distance, F. Scott’s gorgeous former home.

I would definitely be inspired to write a novel if I lived here, too.

I managed to get to the restaurant during an ideal time, and they placed me at a table directly on the water.

This was my view as I looked to the left.

I mean, does it get any better than that?

As I was eating my meal, a small group of fish were also eating their lunch next to me, and I thought that was quite a cute moment to share with Mother Nature.

Enjoy a meal at Belles Rives with me.

First, the Art Deco menu was very cute.

They brought me bread with orange olive oil. It was the best olive oil I’ve ever had in my life. It was perfectly orange-flavored, and I will dream of it until I can get a hands on a bottle myself.

Had to hold myself back from licking the plate.

I chose a tuna mango poke bowl for lunch, and it was delightful.

One thing I appreciate about Europe in general is how relaxing their meal services are. They don’t rush you, and they want you to stick around and enjoy your meal. There’s no hurry, and you can simply relax and enjoy the experience. It allowed me to look around the beach at Belles Rives, taking in the sights and sounds, and imagining F. Scott and Zelda’s footsteps around me. They probably swam at this beach right here!

Wild to think about.

I was pretty full and had decided that I would not be getting dessert for lunch, because I’d been getting dessert at nearly every meal, and I had to stop at some point. However, that day would not be that point. The server brought a full tray of desserts out to me, and asked me if I would like to pick one. How was I supposed to say no to the strawberry shortcake covered in gold foil and a Belles Rives stamped chocolate?

I did not, in fact say no to it, and I regret nothing.

Delicious desserts and delicious views. Yes, thank you.

After my meal, I walked up the steps toward the house/hotel.

Even more beautiful views from the terrace.

And the house – beautiful flowering vines climbed up toward the balconies, where cobalt umbrellas punctuated the sand-toned brick.

It’s on my list to return to Antibes someday, and actually stay at this hotel!

Inside, there were many odes to F. Scott.

There was also a plaque including a quote from him.

Very on-brand for F. Scott.

I was also pleased to see they had photos of Zelda!

An absolute queen.

Outside, they also had a plaque, declaring that F. Scott and Zelda lived there.

Satsfied with my lunch and my F. Scott adventures, I decided to continue strolling around Antibes, which was a charming little town.

I headed toward the center of the city, in hopes of coming across a bookstore.

Antibes is such a pretty little place. I can see why F. Scott and Zelda were drawn toward it.

I found my destination: Antibes Books.

No surprise, they had F. Scott’s books highlighted at the front of the store.

Satisfied with my excursions, I headed back to my hotel, enjoying people-watching while I walked, and snapping photos of the pretty street corners.

The hotel I stayed at was Le 1932 Hotel & Spa Cap d’Antibes – a beautiful art deco hotel.

I was a bit obsessed with my room.

Look at that headboard! And the rug! And also this cute chair!

They also left me a cute note on my bed. So sweet.

The room was lovely – when you entered, you actually began in a small hallway with lovely woodworking on the floors.

I felt lucky to have such a large room! I definitely scored on my accommodations during this trip.

I also really loved the bathroom – it was just so pretty and soothing with the cool blues and the black and white finishes.

The top of the hotel had a bar and restaurant, which was really fun.

Past the bar was a small pool and hot tub.

I’d originally planned to hang out in the pool, but decided I’d had enough sunburn for my trip, so opted against it.

The views from the rooftop were beautiful.

I was feeling pretty worn out from my travels, and really just wanted to stay at my hotel for the evening, however, there was one last thing on my list. The Bar Bellini at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

The hotel was another F. Scott Fitzgerald site, where he’d shared drinks with friends, and I’d hoped to grab a drink at one of it’s several bars, but a Bellini was most specifically calling my name.

I called an Uber to bring me to the hotel, but to everyone’s great discomfort, when we arrived, there was a group of men outside their massive iron gates (yes, locked gates) which was the first signal that I was out of my tax bracket. The second signal was the men in suits who were guarding the hotel, and lastly, was the group of men who were laying down some kind of material on the ground around the gates, which seemed to imply they were preparing for an event.

The guards approached our car and informed us that unless we were guests, we were not able to enter the facility or visit the bar or restaurant. It was pretty awkward for myself and my Uber driver, who kindly brought me back to my hotel. I was a little frustrated, because Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc advertises their various bars and restaurants on their website, and doesn’t state anywhere that only hotel guests are allowed to dine there. I wondered about the economics of that – I know their hotel guests are extremely wealthy, but surely they cannot always be booked up with enough guests to dine with them each night to keep those kitchens going. But apparently they can! I’d wished their website had said something about their policy, as it was a long Uber drive there and back, and since I was already feeling tired and not really wanting to go out, it felt like a waste for me to get dressed up and drive over for nothing.

Tired and resigned, I decided to order UberEats to myself. I’m not proud, but I’m also not regretful, because I ordered a delicious HONEY pizza. Yup, honey pizza.