South of France Travel Diary

Our first stop in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

South of France Travel Diary

Originally, we had planned to start our trip out in Nice, but after a quick Google search, I found a property that caught my eye. A friend casually mentioned how much he loved Saint-Paul-de-Vence, which put the town on my radar. I settled Le Mas de Pierre for two nights and did a hard sell on my husband to trust my vision.

After a very busy first six months of the year, I wanted to have a quiet start to our trip. The property looked ideal for exactly this. I promise to share a more detailed breakdown of our accommodations and thoughts. My husband and I developed a rating system and listed the pros/cons for each property. There were four in total.

First Stop: Nice to Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Wearing the Babs sunglasses from Warby Parker, a Madewell Bucket Hat, and a Sézane tank. (I bought this in two colors and it was the MVP of the trip!)

Into Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Our hotel had an easy shuttle to Saint-Paul-de-Vence. We visited on a Sunday/Monday, and the concierge told us a lot of restaurants were closed on Mondays. After a few attempts to book a lunch reservation, we ended up at a dead end. We took the shuttle into town, hoping to find a spot for lunch along the way. The weather was hot and humid, just the start of the heat wave.

The town of Saint-Paul-de-Vence is small, but we enjoyed exploring the labyrinth of cobblestoned streets.

While in the shuttle to town, we met a fellow hotel guest who happened to be dining in Saint-Paul-de-Vence for lunch and offered to help us. Not long after our arrival in town, we secured a table at La Colombe D’Or.

After exploring the town and picking up a few souvenirs for a bit, we found some shade and waited in anticipation for lunch.

I have heard mixed reviews about the restaurant after our visit, and I'm so happy we went in without knowing anything. The people watching were fabulous, and we enjoyed our meal from start to finish. We dined outside under the umbrellas, seeking shade and cooling off with a glass of rosé with ice.

La Mas de Pierre

One of the highlights of our time at La Mas de Pierre was at the gym. The hotel offered workout classes (complimentary), and I signed up at the spa for a kettlebell class. I prefer group classes to motivate me. It turned out that I was the only guest who signed up for this class time. This gave me the opportunity to have a private coaching session with a fantastic trainer to help me with my “summer body.”

The trainer was fun and motivating. While he mentioned his English wasn’t great, we ended up conducting the class in mostly French. Leave it to endorphins, I just went with it, making tons of mistakes on grammar, and laughing together through the workout. My body felt it for days after, and I enjoyed it more than I imagined.

An Evening in Saint-Paul-de-Vence

We traveled back to Saint-Paul-de-Vence for dinner and it was easy to do with Uber. Our hotel only offered limited shuttle times and it did not work around our dinner.

My ice cream spot was closed but we did have the most amazing tarte citron I am still dreaming about. No other restaurant was able to top this one!

Spa, Food, and The Pool

Our hotel had three pools. The first pool was family-friendly and was great for kids. We opted to skip this one for a more relaxed vibe. At our chairs, we were able to order drinks. In the afternoon, we enjoyed olive tapenade on flat crackers with a glass of Rosé.

The hotel recently underwent a renovation after the pandemic and expanded its spa and fitness center on the property. Each new space was more stunning than the next. My husband and I enjoyed a massage in the afternoon of our arrival day and explored the relaxation spaces and private gardens. The grounds and gardens were also a highlight, featuring lavender and tuberose throughout the property.

The Food at La Mas de Pierre

Breakfast was lovely and something to look forward to, with numerous incredible choices and fresh jams and breads.

Overall, my husband and I found the coffee situation amusing. Iced coffee is not the same as in Paris or Chicago. It was coffee with a lot of milk shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice. Always a great effort, but it never was the taste we were looking for, even with directions for less milk.

On our first night, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel. We loved it so much, we had no problem having lunch here before heading to our next destination.

Our Itinerary for the South of France

What I Packed for the South of France

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