We bid au revoir to our French Riviera retreat, and drove the scenic, winding road towards Le Pont-du-Loup.  Tucked into the mountainside on the bank of Le Loup river is the Confiserie Florian, France’s answer to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. At the original Confiserie Florian in the Nice Old Town, traditional candies have been cooked down and created since 1974, following the purchase of the former Florian chocolate factory. To this day, traditional practices are followed, specialising in candied fruit and crystallised flowers. But, this isn’t all that’s cooking in this sweet shop.
They’re well known for their jasmine jam, and I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful the smell coming from the hot, floral liquid was.   Trays of crystallised candies sat drying until ready to be packaged. Here they make use of flowers and herbs already being used in the profitable perfume industry in a more edible sense.  Fruit sweets and jellies surround the workers in bucket loads, ready to be put in their pretty packages and sold across the world. I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to control myself should I work behind the glass. In fact, I think I would go full blown Augustus Gloop on my first day.  The sweet shop above the factory is bursting with any sweet tooth’s every desire, including floral jams, chocolate candies, toffees, sweets, crystallised flowers and their famous candied fruit.

Positively buzzing and seriously sugar high on samples, we left for Cannes, the resort town synonymous with the flashing lights and glamour of its world-famous film festival.  Infinitely more calm than red carpet season, we wandered the picturesque little port town, soaking up the sunshine and salt air. I’ll let you explore the streets with us, but you have to imagine a buzzy atmosphere of lounging locals, meandering tourists and warm sun on your skin. 

If you know me at all, you’ll know all three reasons I took this shot ^ 
We eventually reached the port for some sea-shopping of enviable variety.  Each as beautiful as the last, we gave up admiring the port-candy for some edible entertainment: fromage.
Cheese shops in France are nothing short of heavenly, filled with angelic assortments of aromatic offerings. Hardly able to contain our hunger much longer, we sank our toes in the sand at Plage Goeland, a beachside restaurant, for some lunch.
To start, an avocado and prawn salad.  Followed by a rib steak served with pepper sauce and a mountain of frites.  And a sweet finish of panna cotta topped with strawberry sauce. The view, surrounding scenery and sound effects were far better than the food itself, but we happily wiggled our toes in the sand and absorbed every last drop of Vitamin D before leaving for London.A sensational trip of sensory indulgence. Mille fois merci, France, for another fabulous escape. Á la prochaine!