I adored Nice. Being there felt so easy, as if the palm trees and sunshine and salty air give the place a natural effortlessness. A swim in the sea is just as far away as it takes to walk across the beach separating the city from the Mediterranean.
A weekend exploring the French Mediterranean Friday night in Hyères, we arrived at the restaurant to the sound of live music as the sun was setting. We had to walk down a forest road for half a mile before finding the hip place, which sprawled over the beach and had tables a stone’s throw away from the water’s edge. I felt so happy: sipping cocktails, sharing tapas in the violet dusk, listening to a band, gazing at the twilit sea,…