Boutique Apollon

In the vibrant “Petit Marais” district of Nice, an abundance of trendy shops and restaurants can be found, and one of my favorite places to visit is the Boutique Apollon.

Whenever I am in the neighborhood there always seems to be an enticing array of sexy underwear and beachwear on display in the windows at Apollon.

In conversation with the owner’s beautiful daughter Mandy one afternoon, I was told the boutique opened in October of 2007 by her mother because at the time there seemed to be a lack of selection when it came to quality men’s underwear, swimwear amongst other clothing items in Nice and I tend to agree with that sentiment.

This quaint, fully stocked store maintains a varied and ever changing collection so you’re sure not to encounter the same item twice when stocking up from season to season.  Name brands such as: Barcode Berlin, Addicted, Arthur Club and Modus Vivendi to name a few are available in every taste and size.

Apollon is a shopper’s heaven.  It’s the one stop shop for not only underwear and swimwear but there are also those edgier pieces in the form of club wear if you were looking for something when attending a social event at one of the gay establishments in the city.  And you will also be able to find casual and sportswear pieces for outdoor activities or for the gym.

 

As the Boutique Apollon Facebook page suggests, you’ll find a mix of chic and naughty items available.

So if you are in Nice, be sure and stop by Apollon, for a small boutique it provides a big punch!

As of 2018 Boutique Apollon has now closed.

The Monaco Open Air Cinema

Last night a friend and I thought we would check out the Open Air Cinema in Monaco at the foot of the rock next to the magnificent Oceanographic Museum

Movies are shown at this beautiful outdoor venue in the summer from about the middle of June until near the end of September.  The ticket booth outside the cinema doesn’t usually open until just after dusk, around 8:30pm, with the movie starting an hour later.

The Monaco Open Air Cinema

Keep in mind you can’t make reservations and there are a limited amount of seats.  There were other groups of people ahead of us also attending the movie, but we had no trouble getting our choice of seating.

The movies featured are up-to-date with a classic film or two thrown in occasionally, the ones played at this venue are the English version with French subtitles.

Cost to get into the cinema is based on what kind of seat you would like; the cheapest are near the front of the screen and cost from 11-13 euros with the most expensive being the more outdoor lounge type chair of higher quality costing from 22-25 euros.  This is Monaco after all and choice is important.

All the seats in the cinema do seem to give you a prime viewing location no matter where you sit and every two seats get their own table to hold your variety of refreshments that can be bought near the ticket counter.

We ended up seeing a British comedy that wasn’t exactly at the top of our list of films to see but we did choose this night to attend and to us this atmosphere of the evening was more important.  Yes, it's a very romantic setting.

The weather in the French Riviera has been so hot, and I love the heat, but it was nice to be able to sit on the edge of the rock, under a clear evening sky with the stars twinkling above us with a gentle, cool sea breeze coming off the water.

The Monaco Open Air Cinema is the perfect location, especially given the fact that in this part of the Principality, in the evening, it’s like a quiet little village, a peaceful place to sit under the night sky and take in a movie.