Spain vs. South of France: The swimsuit competition

I suspect many of you may know which way this contest is going, but in all fairness let's have a look at the few categories being compared.  This is the criteria by which I judge most vacation destinations anywhere in the world: Beaches (where applicable), People, Nightlife (including food).  Today let's compare beaches. 

Beaches
I expected quite a lot more from the French Riviera, it sounding so glam and languishing on my bucket list unexamined all these years. But it's giant bowl of rocks! Literally, all rocks. Spain at least has sand, though not the fine, white powdery kind we have on most of our eastern seaboard. In fact, the more I travel the more I realize how beautiful most North American beaches are by comparison. I hear the names of these far-off places and just assume they are going to be superior to what I've known but oftentimes this is not the case.   

Sunbeds are available to rent but in Spain you'll only pay 4€ for the day and in Nice 19€(!).  There are a few beach clubs in Nice that knock down the price to 14€ or 15€ past two but that's the best you're going to do unless you think outside the box. Jen and I, ever creative and thrifty, solved this problem in Nice by buying rafts at the beach shop for 5€ each, having the guy inflate them, and using them as cushions to protect ourselves from a bed of rocks.  I also used mine for its original purpose and floated around on it. This enabled us to go to the public beaches with freedom of space and movement, and to position ourselves facing the sun versus the beach clubs where the chairs are all stacked in tight rows with umbrellas. There, turning is impossible and if your neighbor's umbrella is up, you're in the shade whether you want to be or not. 

The beaches in Barcelona and Malaga also have fun little beach bars along them versus the fenced in beach clubs offered by Nice.  The beaches in Spain are much more social and fun.  They both have guys hawking their wares (beers, jewelry, etc), but in Barcelona there was actually a guy, not affiliated with any restaurant, which may alarm some of you, with a tray of homemade mojitos! Gotta love some Spain. 
 
Swimsuit competition
Clothing optional seems more prevalent in Barcelona than even Malaga, though obviously topless is the rule all over Europe, Spain and France being no exceptions. The nudity in Barcelona is more along the lines of Greece as it is not limited to sunbathing, but people romp around and even participate in water sports sans swimsuit.  Even if I had the body of the girl doing the stand-up paddle boarding naked I would still want to be wearing something. 

Remember the Seinfeld episode with the good naked and bad naked?  Most of the men that were nude are not people any of us really want to see in that state. Again, if you're trying to eliminate tan lines, is it also necessary to parade all around, clean out your cooler, shower off in the open boardwalk showers and dress right there, bending over to reach into your bag for your clothing?  I enjoy some good nudity as much as the next person, but most of what I was looking at I could've skipped. 

Of the two countries, France is definitely more conservative.  I was wearing a sarong over my bikini walking from the beach back to the hotel. It was tied around my chest  and hung down almost to my knees but flew open a little when the breeze blew.  A woman approached me and stopped, standing right in front of me blocking my way and spouting something in French that sounded a lot like I was getting a scolding. I said, "Excuse me? I don't speak French." She said, and insert a snooty French accent here, "Dees ees a ceety! You cannot wok around like dat! Close eet up!" I said, "I'm coming from the beach!" and walked away. Sheesh! Talk about uptight. 
 
Final score: Spain 2 (sand and chair rental), France 0

PS North America has both these countries way beaten, but let's keep us out of it for now.  I'm just sayin'. Don't fret that you've only been hanging around Jones Beach or that you may never get to the French Riviera.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I'll be comparing the people from both countries.  And no, not just the men.


Top: Barcelona 

Bottom: French Riviera and DIY sun beds