Family Travel – This is my hobby.

We just returned from two magical weeks in the South of France — a bucket list trip that was worth every drop of summer sweat.

If you want to go to France during a record busting heat wave, here’s what you do:

Pick seaside towns to explore. You’re going to be sweaty all day every day, so it’s essential to break it up with time in the water.

We visited:

Menton: ADORABLE and quaint, nice people, good food, wonderful boutique and market shopping, gorgeous beaches — couldn’t recommend more.

Saint-Tropez: upscale, lots of attractive people walking around with main character energy and beautiful clothes, yachts…what you’d expect.

Sainte-Maxime: good shopping, family friendly, not too stuffy.

Cassis: FAVE! You can take boat rides to view the calanques and swim — absolutely stunning; Great food and super walkable.

2. Maybe rent a car? We didn’t and took the train along the South of France. It was hot. It was stinky. It was a lot with a toddler and luggage.

The train honestly wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the heat. We did experience two annoying delays, but overall it was a cheap and efficient way to get around.

Renting a car would have provided more flexiblity and comfort, though.

3. Wear light dresses and skirts. I was advised by a well traveled friend to avoid athleisure, as tempting as it may be, for this trip. It makes you stick out as a tourist which could make you a target for pickpocketing in the larger cities.

I sweated my booty off in my dresses and skirts, but looked kinda chic doing it?

Many times, I was approached by a french person addressing me in french, which made me feel like I didn’t look like an obvious American.

Unfortunately, I only speak english and a few spanish vocabulary words. *le sigh*

4. Eat gelato. And drink rosé. We did these things daily and it felt GREAT.

Rosé occasionally substituted with a limoncello spritz

This was one of the best trips of my life. France lives up to the hype! I came home inspired by the architecture, tile work, landscaping, and styling in every boutique hotel, airbnb, and restaurant we visited (I’d love to do a Styled in France show, can you imagine?!).