Bon Voyage! This Is How An Editor-in-Chief Takes in the French Riviera
Escape with BAZAAR's Editor-in-Chief Kenneth Goh as he brings you on a lush seaside journey along the French Riviera with Chanel
Dear Diary,
Sunday, 25 June 2017
10pm: I am about to jet off to the French Riviera for some much needed R&R for a few days. Sunblock, check. Swimmers, check. Sunnies, check. I can’t wait to start this fab trip with a relaxing massage for my shoulders and a light facial at the uber-luxe Chanel Beauty Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3 – this tired skin needs some TLC before the 20-hour journey ahead.
12am: Am on board now, complete with Chanel-perfected skin– I slip into my comfy jammies and it’s good night, world — wake me up for brekkie in 12 hours time! Zzzzzzzz
Monday, 26 July 2017
7am: I finally arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport and it’s blisteringly hot! Did I even leave Singapore? I still have a flight to catch to Nice and if this heat wave is anything to go by, forget the light sweater for nights and bring out the flip flops!
9am: Two hours later and I am in Nice — and yes, it’s flip flop weather. The scorching sun is beating down on our backs but the cool blue Azure waters off the Med looks ever so inviting. The beautiful French are all out in their summer beach gear and strolling down the promenade. We reach our hotel in about 30 minutes — the lovely all pastel-hued La Reserve Beaulieu at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is chic-ness personified — everything is deliciously macaron-like and good enough to eat!
11am: I take a quick shower and am off to lunch at the famous La Veranda restaurant before a visit to Jean Cocteau’s famous holiday home. Santo Sospir Villa is a stunning holiday home located on an avenue named after him. The walls are covered in frescoes and the dining room done up like a Parisian Animalia room, replete with cane furniture and African masks.
7pm: A quick change of outfit (all monochromes!) and I am whisked off to La Pausa — the home of Coco Chanel in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. This stunning villa is surrounded by 200 ancient olive trees and inside, the whole space has been converted to showcase “Flying Cloud”, a spectacular high jewellery collection inspired by the yacht of the same name that belonged to Hugh Grosvenor, the second Duke of Westminster who counted Coco as one of his everlasting lovers. This blue sapphire, pearl and diamond collection takes inspiration from marine life, nautical attire, ropes, sailor tattoos and even a life buoy — so lyrical and injects so much fun into a collection that’s worth a king’s ransom! We dine under the tents at La Pausa, listening to the sexy voice of handsome French singer, Thomas Dutronc, to get us in the mood for love.
Tuesday, 27 July 2017
10am: The next day is spent touring the beautiful beaches that hug this fabulous seaside town.
4pm: A quick jaunt through the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi of Rothschild (the blooms were #InstaReady!) before watching the sunset at Paloma Beach, feasting on a mountain of seafood and champagne before dancing to the cool tunes of stunning girl group, L.E.J.
11pm: Is this magic? I would say so and never a happier summer spent than here in the chic confines of the French Riviera.
Love,
Kenneth
A video by Laureen Haag. Image: Stephane Flores. Editing: Laureen Haag. Music: Mahira - BAM Library