Meeting the Parents (2025)

The first trip abroad my boyfriend and I went on was to Italy in July. Some of my boyfriend’s family live on either side of the French-Italy border so we went to visit them over a long weekend. 

Day 1 

We started the morning at 3am and my mother very kindly offered to drive us to the airport despite the antisocial timing. Annoyingly, the gifts that we’d bought for my boyfriend’s brother and his partner hadn’t arrived in time, and as we were staying at theirs, our main aim in the airport was to find some gifts for them. 

We quickly went through security and then waited for the duty free to open in search of apt gifts. Fortunately, the process was much quicker than anticipated (which was a godsend since our gate was opening shortly after) and we found some nicely packaged gifts within no time.  

Our luck didn’t last very long however, as after boarding the plane, we were notified by the pilot that we wouldn’t be setting off for the next two hours, due to the French air traffic control being on strike (what’s new). One thing about the French: they love a strike. Our flight was scheduled to be roughly the same length of time as the delay, so all of a sudden our flight time had doubled. On top of this, the lady sat next to my boyfriend was using the seat pocket as a footstool for her bare feet, and when she wasn’t doing that, she was using the armrest of the seat in front instead. As someone who hates feet, I was so grateful to be in the window far from any unruly strangers. 

Our flight set off earlier than anticipated and passed quickly (which was helped by the fact that I slept for a bit). On arrival to Nice Airport, we got a free shuttle to the other terminal in order to pick up our rental car, which I was apprehensive about. Despite having driven on the other side of the road many a time, including earlier this year in Italy, I never enjoy the faff of picking up a rental car, inspecting it for damages, and trying to avoid getting sold unnecessary extras (spoiler: we did buy more insurance).

We got upgraded to a bigger car, which we weren't sure we wanted as we wanted a small car that we could park anywhere, but we went to see it anyway. The car was a Citroën C3 and despite its large appearance, it was actually very enjoyable to drive. The main concern was remembering that I was driving a manual at all times and not slamming down the brake pedal without putting down the clutch, as I’m used to with my automatic in London. 

Our first stop was the small town of Èze in the South of France, which I’d wanted to visit for ages so I was very excited for it. We stopped at a viewpoint en route for some pictures and then managed to park underground by the town. Èze was gorgeous, with narrow paths, stone buildings, and flowers everywhere. It reminded me slightly of Mont Saint-Michael in the north of France, with its picturesque streets and popularity with tourists. Luckily, we visited on a Thursday afternoon so it wasn’t too packed. 

There were only two downfalls to Èze: firstly it was 33°C so very warm and humid, secondly we ordered bruschetta and were served tomatoes on sliced toast. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted nice but we felt mugged off. We explored the town, including the botanic gardens, which were very picturesque, and bought some souvenirs for our loved ones. 

We then headed over to my boyfriend’s brother’s home just across the border near Sanremo. I met my boyfriend’s brother, as well as his bambino and doggo. The little one was very shy initially, hiding his face completely, but after 10 minutes (and a present) he was bouncing around. It was a beautiful home and I enjoyed meeting each of them, however it was very warm so we spent some time showering and freshening up before driving back across the border to Menton for dinner at my boyfriend’s favourite restaurant: il vecchio forno. I’d heard many good things about this restaurant and was very excited to give it a go. We were joined by my boyfriend’s mother and sister-in-law, who were both lovely, and his mum was good friends with the staff which was lovely to see. 

We started with mussels and wine for the table and then I moved onto risotto frutti di mare, which was honestly divine. Everything was absolutely delicious and my boyfriend and I wanted to pay as a thank you, which felt very couple-y and I enjoyed. As we all walked back, my boyfriend’s mum made it clear how overjoyed she was to be with her two sons and their partners, which was sweet to see, and she gifted me some beautiful earrings, which was very generous of her. The whole family was so kind and welcoming and I was extremely excited for the rest of the trip. 

Day 2 

After getting back late, we slept like logs and eventually awoke for breakfast with my boyfriend’s brother and nephew (and, of course, the doggo). The doggo came to our room and her tail started wagging when she smelt her gift, and it was very sweet seeing her playing with her new tug toy. We then drove to Ventimiglia to pick up my boyfriend’s mum, bound for a small nearby town called Rocchetta Nervina. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect but nothing could have prepared me for how gorgeous this place was. We walked upstream, which was reminiscent of walking along Madeira’s “levadas” and eventually found a nice spot to settle in. We had a serene natural pool of freshwater which became deep very quickly and since it was fairly high up, we could jump over a waterfall into another natural pool below and even swim under the waterfall. 

We spent hours here, swimming and exploring, and enjoyed some lunch and cherries courtesy of my boyfriend’s mother, which was absolutely delicious. The whole experience was incredible and definitely a highlight of the year thus far. In the late afternoon, the clouds started coming in so we headed back to the car, grabbing a coffee en route. We drove back to my boyfriend’s brother’s house to freshen up to then meet my boyfriend’s sister-in-law for dinner in the nearby city of Sanremo. 

I hadn’t heard of Sanremo until I met my boyfriend, but they apparently hold a renowned festival here each year and Italy’s Eurovision contestant is chosen here too. I didn't see much of the city but my boyfriend’s family had raved about the cocktail bar we were heading to for dinner, Mille806, so I was excited to try it out.

My boyfriend, his brother, and I arrived early so we sat at the bar and enjoyed a cocktail each, mine being the first cocktail my boyfriend ever made me (which it turns out was inspired by this bar!). Soon after, my boyfriend’s sister-in-law arrived and we were taken to an outdoor table to eat al fresco with a view of the live band, which was delightful. We enjoyed a couple more cocktails, as well as salmon tacos, ceviche and gyoza, all of which were delectable, followed by a delicious panna cotta. The music was delightful, the staff were very attentive, and the food and cocktails were divine - all in all it was a lovely night and I’ll definitely be returning!

Day 3

The plan today was to go to the beach and then have a BBQ in the evening. Since my boyfriend and I are early risers and I enjoy seeing what different countries’ supermarkets are like, we offered to head over to the supermarket in Sanremo nice and early in order to pick up everything we needed for the barbecue. The parking near the house was on a steep hill so every time I successfully moved the car I felt proud of myself and this was no exception. 

We headed to the greengrocers for some vegetables, followed by the supermarket and I quickly became overwhelmed as for some reason, various people tried to speak to me and I wasn’t understanding what anyone was saying. At one point, I saw a big tub of Greek yoghurt in a box but couldn’t find a member of staff to ask whether I could have one, so added one to my basket on the assumption that they were going to stock the fridge with it anyway. A member of staff pointed at me, presumably asked if I’d taken the yoghurt and then pointed to the deli and took the tub of yoghurt there. I hovered around, unsure whether I’d be getting the tub back or not and after a minute or so, no-one returned so I continued with my shop (and no yoghurt). Eventually, someone else pointed at me and they returned the yoghurt, although the whole interaction was very bizarre. 

That said, we managed to get everything we needed and came home to my boyfriend’s mum making us an authentic Greek coffee, which we enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the sea, which was absolutely lovely. We then drove down to Ospedaletti beach, where we’d reserved some sun loungers and a parasol. It was very hot and humid, which made going into the sea delightful, and as I’ve mentioned in several posts, swimming in the sea is one of my favourite things in the world, so I was loving life. We also enjoyed some Aperol Spritzes in the late morning, and then headed to a restaurant on the beach where my boyfriend and I shared a burrata salad and a plate of mixed fried fish for lunch. I had never tried anchovies on my burrata salad before, but they provided a satisfying salty contrast, which I really enjoyed, and have since incorporated into my own version.

The beach was absolutely wonderful and very relaxing, so I was one happy girly. On the way home, we passed by my boyfriend’s favourite gelateria, and truth be told it was divine. We also picked up a tub with four different flavours (chocolate, salted caramel, pistachio and stracciatella) for our dessert after the barbecue. As I showered and got ready for dinner, the boys started on the food. For context, their dad used to own a restaurant that they both worked at growing up so they both cook very well and are very congruent cooking together. 

There was an array of food, including lamb chops, goat skewers, pork chops, panzanella salad, potato salad, greek salad, sweetcorn, tzatziki and fava, all of which was delicious. We then enjoyed watermelon for dessert, alongside the gelato that we’d picked up earlier. My boyfriend’s brother was raving about the chocolate flavour, and although I’m not usually a fan, I gave it a go. To my surprise, it tasted exactly like chocolate mousse and was the best chocolate gelato I’d ever had.

My boyfriend’s sister-in-law is Italian, and her father had gifted them some homemade limoncello, so we each tried a bit, and it was very sweet, which is exactly how I like it. Overall, it was a wonderful evening, and when the bambino ran over to give me a kiss on the cheek, it absolutely melted my heart. Although our trip was coming to an end, it had been wonderful from beginning to end and I was sad to be leaving so soon. 

Day 4

We woke up slightly later than anticipated so hurried to get ready, pack and say our goodbyes. We thanked Ryan’s brother and his partner for having us, and then headed back to Nice, where we were meeting a friend from my Master’s and her boyfriend for brunch. 

En route, we passed Menton, where we dropped off my boyfriend’s mother, and then we continued on to Nice’s old town. My friend very kindly made the booking and sent some parking options, which was extremely helpful, and since we’d all been to Nice previously, we were happy to just have a proper catch-up rather than sightsee. We had brunch al fresco at “Comme Un Dimanche” and my boyfriend and I shared the smoked salmon, egg, and avocado croissant and some pancakes, all of which I'd recommend. I met my friend’s boyfriend for the first time, and my friend seemed to be doing well and very happy, which was lovely to see. 

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for too long as we still had to fill the car up with petrol, return the car, and catch our flight, so we said our goodbyes and headed onwards to the airport. At the airport, we treated ourselves to a macaron each and people kept coming up to a random man, who my brother later informed me was an Italian footballer. We caught our flight, although once again we had to hang about in the aircraft for a couple of hours prior to take off due to thunderstorms in London, but it passed by quickly and before we knew it, we were home. 

It was our first trip abroad together and was absolutely wonderful, I couldn’t have asked for more - we managed to see everyone that we wanted to see and explore various regions, whilst relaxing and enjoying delicious food - what could be better!