Nice 21-28 September 2019

September 20th 2019

My birthday! I can't believe the age I now am, I certainly don't feel it inside. It's also tinged with a little sadness as inevitably I think of my mother on this day too. But this birthday was different from the usual as I spent it in a b & b near Newcastle airport as I was heading off to Nice early the next day. It was called Stone Cottage and was basic but clean, handy and really excellent value for money and I got a very warm welcome too.

September 21st

Up early and drove the short distance to the airport, parked the car and got the shuttle to the terminal. The plane left on time and for most of the journey we had clear skies, I saw London below with the Thames and the O2 gleaming in the sunlight. Such a big city looked small from that height.

Our gorgeous terrace

We landed on time in Nice, it was cloudy and there was a little rain. Debbi also arrived on time and we got an Uber taxi (much cheaper than the normal fare) to our small apartment building, Les Nereides, east of Nice on the slopes of Mont Boron overlooking the Mediterranean. We were met by Madame Anselmo who showed us round the accommodation. It was as gorgeous as it looked online.
We went shopping for groceries and had a steep but short walk uphill to the supermarket. We had so much stuff my foldaway trolley gave up the ghost so we decided to get an Uber back to the apartment!!

That evening we ate in and had a little birthday celebration for me Debbi gave me a card and nice pressies and we had wine and prosecco.

September 22nd

We decided to have a lazy day today, the weather wasn't too good and we were tired from yesterday. It was good to relax and chill. We did go out with the purpose of getting a pizza for our evening meal but when we got to the shop it was closed! But we had food in that we had bought so I made a nice meal for us and we had a lovely evening.

September 23rd

View on the walk into Nice

Today we walked downhill into the city with beautiful views of Nice, the mountain backdrop and the huge blue Baie des Anges glimmering in the sunlight.
We walked round the port and went to our favourite patisserie Serain Cappa but it was closed on Mondays! So we went on into the nearby old town and wandered it's myriad of streets and alleys full of shops and eating places. We   had delicious pizza for lunch at a restaurant calledLa Mama.

Nice Old Town

Afterwards we wandered on and I went into the cathedral which was very beautiful and ornate inside.
We then stopped off for a yummy raspberry meringue and coffee in one of the squares of the old town and relaxed and people watched.


After that we made our way back to the bus stop so we could catch the bus home - it was all uphill and our old legs just can't cope with that anymore! We had bought ten bus trips online which was really cheap (all local fares cost 1.50 Euro which is cheap but this ticket made it one Euro per trip.)  It took us a while to fathom out how we had to validate them when we got on the bus but we managed fine and in no time we were off on our way home. There is a bus stop right outside of our apartment so that was perfect!

Tuesday 24th September

Villefranche-sur Mer

 Today Debbi was having a writing day so I decided to go to Villefranche just along the coast from where we are staying. I got the bus and once there and it looked very beautiful on the hillside on the sweeping bay with Cap Ferrat in the background. I walked down to the old town which was smaller than that of Nice but similar in many ways. It was also much quieter which made it very atmospheric. One part was 14th century covered alleys that reminded me a little of Edinburgh. There were many cafes and restaurants in the harbour area, the whole place had a relaxing feel about it.

Nice Cathedral Opposite
Restaurant

Debbi

Afterwards I got the bus back home and then later we decided to go into the city for our evening meal. We waited ages at the bus stop until a kind English tourist told us there was a bus strike that day! So we ended up getting an Uber into the city. We had no firm plans on where to eat but eventually found a place called La Claire Fontaine in Place Rossetti  in the old town that had a very reasonable set menu. Our table was right beside the fountain and overlooking the cathedral, all so picturesque! We enjoyed our meal, it wasn't five star but good value for the price we paid and it was a lovely evening.

Wednesday 25th September

Today was our lazy day which we have on every trip we make together, a day of just mooching about, taking it easy

Fountains in Nice

and eating and drinking where we fancy. We got the bus into town and where we got off was a fantastic art shop which felt very old and very French. The easels were cheap compared with home, paint and brushes about the same price. Our first stop was the Brewdog pub which is one of Debbi's favourite watering holes. We walked past a park and fountains on the way there, very lovely, Nice has a lot of fountains. 

After a drink in Brewdog we then walked up  to Gaglio restaurant on the edge of the old town which we had seen the previous night and thought it would be good for lunch. It was rather windy and we had to re-position plates, glasses etc to stop the tablecloth whipping off!

Me in Gaglio

Unfortunately the cheap lunch was finished but the lamb and mash we had was not too pricey and delicious.
After this we walked to our favourite patisserie and had some of their lovely, creamy ice cream for afters! We looked at the cakes and said we'd come back to take some home.

We crossed Garibaldi Square and had a pichet of rose wine at L'Augume and just chilled and watched life pass by.

We then bought 4 cakes and got the bus home. For our tea we just had cheese, baguette, crackers, pate and other nibbles along with wine. The evening was spent relaxing and enjoying the most beautiful view our terrace had.

Thursday 26th September

Creative Day

Yesterday was our lazy day and today was going to be our creative day.  I'm an artist and Debbi is a writer and we decided to try each others art. Unfortunately you need a lot of kit for oil painting which wasn't practical so I brought items to create cyanotype instead.  Cyanotype is created by mixing two chemicals and brushing the solution onto paper, letting it dry. Once dry, under false light, you either place objects on the paper or create a picture on an acetate to put over the paper. Then you weigh it down with glass and place in sunshine for around 15 minutes. Then the picture is set by soaking and washing the paper in cold water and then left to dry. You end up with a picture that is white where you have placed articles or lines and the parts open to the sun turn a beautiful cyan colour. 
It was 1pm so we opened some wine (for artistic inspiration) and I prepared the paper and put it in a cupboard to dry. Then Debbi did a writing exercise with me that consisted of her giving me an opening sentence followed by random prompt words every minute for 15 minutes which I had to incorporate into what I was writing and I had to write non-stop. I enjoyed it a lot and it's amazing where such an exercise can take your writing.

I Love Baguettes!

We then went out to forage for plants to use for our cyanotype and then made our pictures inside before taking them onto the terrace to magically change in the sunshine. Then we washed them and let them dry, they turned out ok! I did another writing exercise which ended up totally different from the first. After that we just kind of chilled and had more wine whilst drinking in the stunning view.
The rest of the day we just relaxed, talked, listened to music and scratched our mossie bites! The one downside of being by the water was the mossies, the other two times we'd been to Nice we didn't get bitten at all.

Friday 27th September

Our last day already and we were going to spend it in Nice shopping. We got the bus into town and first stopped at the

Salt/Herb Shop

wonderful patisserie Serain Cappa, where the cakes are a work of art. We'd hoped to have our favourite cake, meringue chantilly, each but there was only one left! We decided to share it and also bought a millefeuille that looked delicious to share and we had espresso to accompany them. All wonderful, the meringue especially was light as a feather and the cream so tasty.

Soap shop

We then went into the old town to look around the shops. I bought some soap, savon de Marseille, that has real plant oil in it and smell delectable. The choice was amazing, hard to choose which to have. We then had along look around a fantastic shop that sold flavoured sea salts and herbs and spices of all kinds. We both bought some of the salts, it's just something you don't get here.  I also bought a grinder for the salts. 

Le Barbecue, First in Again!

We sat in a bar in Place Garibaldi just enjoying the ambiance afterwards. Then we went to to our favourite restaurant Le Barbecue, which actually is a Portuguese establishment, not French. It is quite small and set in a stepped alley off the main lanes of the old town. The setting is very atmospheric, surrounded by the tall buildings that are home to locals.

We had a very reasonably priced set meal. Cod and shrimp fritters to start, followed by a huge, tender steak with roasted veg and potatoes. Dessert was the famous Portuguese custard tart, Pastéis de Nata, which was warm, the puff pastry melted in my mouth and the custard was delicious. Another great meal in Le Barbecue, it never disappoints. 

Place Garibaldi

We walked up to Place Garibaldi which looked beautiful all lit up and we soon got an Uber home. We stayed up later than we should have as we didn't want our holiday to end. But we knew we were lucky to be able to have a week in this paradise. This apartment was the nicest accommodation we've ever had on our many trips together. We both needed a nice relaxing holiday and as we'd been to Nice twice before we had done all the touristy things and so could just chill and this time enjoy all the things we love so much about Nice and France. And on our last night we got a great farewell too as we watched an amazing firework display at the tip of Cap Ferrat which we watched from our terrace.

Sunset Over the Baie des Anges

Riviera Dreams on a Cold, Dark, Winter Night

The mild spell we have been having has definitely gone and it's nippy now. The shortest day of the year is almost here, the madness of Christmas a week away and my thoughts turn to sunshine, warmth and my favourite sunny place, Nice on the Cote d'Azur.  Hopefully I'll get back there next year, in the meantime I can dream on.....

Nice 4 - An Eccentric Baroness, a Villa in Paradise and Farewells

11th  October

It seems to have taken me ages to get my Nice Blog done! I think it's the combination of a new job (well a job move) and decorating that has held me back. But anyway here's the last instalment of my Nice blog, hope you enjoy it.

Today we were heading east out of Nice to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. No problems finding the 81 bus and we sat back and savoured the fantastic views as the bus trundled along, it's worth paying the one Euro fare for the views alone. I made a mental note that one day, on another visit, (because I know I'll be back!) I would like to get off at Beaulieu-sur-Mer and look round there.  But today out goal was a stop called Passable (all their stops have names so it is really easy to know the right one to get off at) on St Jean Cap Ferrat. Well the area certainly wasn't passable, it was gorgeous and reminded me a somewhat of Killiney in Ireland with it's stone walls, narrow winding roads, exotic flora and grand houses. 

Deb and Me Enjoying our Champagne Lunch

The bus stop was right beside the road that leads to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and it was a five minute walk to the villa, along the route we marvelled at the views over the bay to Beaulieu and Eze and in the other direction the green peninsula of Cap Ferrat stretched out into the blue Mediterranean Sea.

The Italianate-style Villa, built by Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild between 1907 and 1912,  is a sea of pinkness and white on the outside set in fantastic gardens. But first, before looking round, we decided to go into the Tea Room as we were hungry and I'd heard the food was lovely there.  It was an almost circular room with huge windows that looked out over the bay of Villefranche or the patio shaded by orange trees. The walls were a peachy colour and there was ornate stucco and woodwork, the floor had beautiful mosaic on it and the chairs were golden! Apparently this was where Beatrice had her dining room.

The Patio

We both opted for the Meissen menu - warm tart and salad, a dessert and tea or coffee. I noticed a group of four women sitting by a window enjoying a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. We couldn't afford a whole bottle but opted for a glass each, it felt very decadent drinking champagne at lunchtime lol!

After that we took the audio tour around the house. I enjoyed the tour as you could get really close to everything and go at your own pace. Beatrice was part of the megarich Rothschild family and she married a rich banker called Maurice Ephrussi. The marriage did not go well as Ephrussi was a gambler and amassed huge debts. After 21 years of marriage they parted, there were no children. It was after this that Beatrice started building the Villa which became her winter home from 1912. In 1933 a year before she died she bequeathed the Villa and all her collections to the Academie des Beaux-Arts.

The tour started in the patio, which wasn't a patio as we understand it, it was a large, square colonnaded area with a gallery running round the first floor level. The ceiling of the column's arches were painted with designs inspired by a Venetian palazzo.  Beatrice often held grand concerts in this area.

Beatrice's Bedroom

Off the patio were the grand and small salons with priceless pieces of furniture, art and tapestry. It is light and airy and very feminine. There are gaming tables too, as Beatrice enjoyed gambling.

Also on the ground floor are Beatrice's apartments. I found her bedroom touching as it felt quite personal with family photos on the table and one of her dresses lying over a chair - she must have been a small woman! There was a large Venetian bed with silk bed linen facing a huge rounded opposite window that looked out over the Bay of Villefranche, what a view to see from your bed!

Another View of the Bedroom Showing the Tiny Chairs

Beatrice was a modern woman and she a fully functional bathroom, (an intriguing round shaped room with a dome) telephone, a lift and coal fired boilers for heating.

In the bedroom amongst the chairs there are two very small chairs, miniature versions of the full-sized ones. These were for Beatrice's pet dogs and mongoose. She seemed to be a bit eccentric and always had lots of animals around her. Once she had a sumptuous wedding for two of her favourite dogs with the animals dressed as bride and groom and guests and their dogs had to also come suitably attired! Seems pampering and treating pets as humans is not a new phenomenon! True to her memory, animals still lived in the Villa, there were large cages with budgerigars in the patio area.

Some of her Chinese collection of Mandarin robes and tiny silk shoes for bound feet were on show in this area, how those poor Chinese women must have suffered to be able to fit into those minute high fashion shoes, I should have put my hand into the photo so it was clear just how small the shoes were!

The rest of the rooms were primarily filled with her extensive collections from all around the world. Rooms full of Meissen and Sevres porcelain, Louis XVI furniture, Chinese articles, works by Fragonard, priceless tapestries to name just a few of the collections. There was a lot to see and but I still  wondered what was in all those rooms not open to the public that we passed by on the tour.

The View of the Formal Garden to the Villa

The house is only part of the delight of the Villa. The gardens are massive and gorgeous, the south aspect of the house looks down a long manicured garden with fountains. At the end of which there is a little hill with a small building at the top which gives a sensational view of the house and gardens. The fountains performed a show every twenty minutes, dancing, spraying and looping to Handel's Water Music. Around the edges of the formal garden were various themed gardens, each very different and it was quite an adventure following the little paths and steps between them. I liked the lovely shady Spanish Garden and also the Zen feel of the Oriental Garden, but they were all lovely in their own ways. And as you walked along you were treated to stunning views of either the Bay of Villefranche or Bay of Fourmis at Beaulieu, both backed by craggy mountains and cliffs. Stunning.

We were there for ages, but it was informative and fascinating, and also not too busy which meant you could wander parts of the garden without others being around which I liked.  If you would like to read more about the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild visit its website here

We got the bus home and I think the driver must have been finishing his shift as he careered around the tight bends and stopped for the minimum times to pick up or drop off! I spent most of the trip hanging on for dear life lol!

That night was the last Debbi and I would have together in Nice. Her airline (we travelled separately) had cancelled Saturday's flight and she had to go home either the Friday or Sunday, she reluctantly went for the Friday so lost a day of her holiday. We'd done well with our money (Nice is not at all as expensive as they say) and decided to treat ourselves to a meal at the swanky Les Pecheurs close to our apartment. But we found it was fully booked, we'll know for next time! We decided to check out places on the way to our little favourite, Le Barbecue in the Old Town, and if we found nothing we fancied we'd stop and eat there. As it was we did end up there once more and had a delicious, good value meal and the best wine we'd had in Nice (and I'm sorry French people, it was Portuguese!)

12th October

Up early to see Debbi off, it felt really strange to see her walking away and I felt a bit "lost" for a while. But I was determined to make the most of my last full day and first went out to the local patisserie for a baguette, croissant and raspberry cake.  Whilst having breakfast ship's horns, hooters, whistles etc started going off in the Port, no idea why, it went on for about two minutes.  I later realised that it was probably to welcome a cruise ship that I later saw moored there.

After breakfast I walked up to Place Garibaldi, bought a Chantilly Meringue in Serain Cappa for later and then walked into the Old Town. I pottered around the shops, bought a few last things. I then walked through to the Promenade des Anglais by the sea. It was a lovely day and a breeze from the sea made it not too hot for me.  I walked round Castel Hill, past the beautiful War Memorial cut into the rock of the hill and on to the Port. It all looked so lovely glimmering in the sunlight.

Coco Beach

I went home and had lunch before setting out again this time in the other direction towards Coco Beach. I passed by the cruise ship, big, but nothing like the size of the juggernauts we'd seen in the Bay of Villefranche. I was soon at Coco Beach and walked down the steps and found my self a nice bit of rock and sat and read my book on Iceland, a strange combination but it worked for me lol. Funny, two of my favourite places are Iceland and Nice and they are both almost exactly the same distance from my home, but in opposite directions. It was very relaxing there looking out over the sea. There were a few people swimming, one of two sunbathing and a couple like me relaxing and reading, sometimes simple pleasures are the best!

And that was about it for my holiday too. I had the trip from hell home next day, but I won't bore you with all those details here! When we were in Nice three years ago we saw a U2 360 gig so that's one day used up for that and then we were in bed much of the next day as we stayed up so late, so that's two days not devoted to Nice. This time I felt I really got to know the place much better and was able to really enjoy and savour it's many delights. I know I'll be back!

One of the Many Delights of Nice

Nice 3 - Finding the Bus to Cannes and All That

10th October

Another lovely sunny day and today and we've got Cannes booked in for the day!  We had our route by bus all planned, get the 100 from the Port to Station S C Bermond where the 200 bus to Cannes leaves from, simple, haha!  First the two 100 buses that arrived at the Porrt stop let people off but not us on, we realised it was a drop off stop, not a pick up. We didn't know exactly where the Station J C Bermond bus stop was but I had looked on a map the previous evening and had a idea.  There was lots of building work in the area but eventually we found the bus stop, but the 200 was not listed as leaving from there. We walked on a little way and found a second Station J C Bermond bus stop! No 200 to Cannes listed there.  We were now getting frazzled, it was hot and we were wondering if we'd ever find the bus to Cannes! 

We walked on and then Debbi shouted, "There's 200 bus!" And sure enough it was, and it turned a corner and disappeared from our view behind building works.  We rush on to the corner and saw a third bus stop called, yes, Station J C Belmond, God know how many there were! And parked there was the 200 to Cannes. With some relief we paid our 1 Euro each and flopped into our seats, it had been one and a half hours since we'd left our apartment!

The trip to Cannes took ninety minutes, and it wasn't as scenic as I thought it might be. I noticed the signs to the Renoir Museum in Cagnes sur Mer and wished there was time to go there, maybe another day. The hill of the old town of Antibes looked lovely as we passed. I'm sure that the coastal areas on this route are lovely, but the bus route is pretty boring compared to the run east of Nice.

La Croisette, Cannes

We were dropped off just opposite the film theatres and close to the casino. We'd made sandwiches and seeing we'd been travelling for three hours now we were ravenous so we found a seat and ate them. We soon noticed opposite us a very drunk man trying to have a pee! What a delightful first sight of Cannes! It took him at least 15 minutes to have the pee and sort himself out, and then he flopped onto a bench. Shortly afterwards a girl came over to him and gave him cans of beer, just what he needed. There were a few down and outs around which surprised me so close to the glitzy places.

We crossed the main road to where there was one of the theatres, there was some event going on as there were lots of red carpets and self-important looking people with swinging laminates round their necks.  We went past the casino and arrived at one end of Promenade de la Croisette. It is the equivalent to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, a sweeping, horseshoe bay with an endless beach flanked by rows of palm trees. Many of the hotels along La Croisette had very beautiful stucco work on them and looked very expensive.  We walked along for a while enjoying the warmth. We then noticed the fancy designer shops on the other side of the road and decided to window shop.  I'm not into designer stuff but was curious. We peeked into the windows of the Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Bvlgari shops, cringed at the horrendously hideous prices, they all had security guards just inside the doors, no wonder with prices like that!

We then took a road away from that area and wandered there for a while but there wasn't much to see. We saw an ice cream shop with dozens of beautifully displayed choices of flavour. We both tried the violette ice cream and it was delicious, very creamy with just a subtle Parma Violet flavour.

We went back to the main road, which was a dual carriageway, on the shoreline and noticed a man in a mobility scooter driving right up the middle of the road! Brave or foolhardy?

We passed a few men playing games of boules. It looked enjoyable and relaxing with men of all ages playing. 

We were both somewhat disappointed in Cannes, we both expected more from it. Maybe we should have explored further but we didn't have the inclination to do so. We decided to go home to lovely Nice. We caught the rush hour and it took over two hours to get back to Nice on the the bus! 

Welcome to my Yacht!

That night we ate at Le Lunel on the Port. We'd eaten there when we were in Nice three years ago and it was very good. I noticed recent reviews were not so good but we decided to give it a go and we weren't disappointed. I had goat's cheese salad to start and it was huge, more like a main! Then it was chicken forestiere for the main, equally delicious. I was very full after that but couldn't resist the chocolate fondant with ice cream which was perfect, the chocolate oozed out when I took a spoonful, heaven. And it was all washed down with a delicious French red wine. We noticed that most places only sold French wine whereas in the UK you can get wine from all over the world. I suppose they are supporting their own wine producers. Debbi was equally satisfied with her meal too so I'm glad we went back there. Once again it was warm enough to eat outside in comfort.

On our way home we passed by the fancy yachts in the Port, we would have loved to have just looked round inside one but had to make do with having a peep from the quay. It was a relaxing end to what had been a busy, and at times frustrating, day. For me Nice beats Cannes hands down!

Nice 2 - Eze, Hot Stone Therapy and a Lazy, Hazy Day

8th October

Disaster! The patisserie was closed today (as are quite a few places in Nice on Mondays). We made do with toast and then went to the nearby Ile de Beauté at the head of the Port to catch our bus to Eze-sur-Mer. Apparently Ile de Beauté is a nickname for Corsica, and there is a ferry that leaves from Nice Port for that island.  The 100 bus takes you along the stunning coastline east of Nice as far as Menton beside the border with Italy. The journey only costs 1 Euro no matter where you get off.  The bus sweeps up Mount Boron giving you beautiful views of Nice and the Mediterranean, glistening sky blue on warm and sunny day.  The bus then glides down to Villefranch-sur-Mer, which has one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean and is a regular port of call for the huge cruise ships, indeed there was one in the bay today. 

We travelled on past the land-locked end of Cap Ferrat into Beaulieu-sur Mer which positively oozes of money with it's marina, casino and fancy hotels.  The mountains and cliffs rise high behind the small town and continue round the bay.  There is a short tunnel through the cliffs and shortly after that we arrived in Eze-sur-Mer set in the stunning location backed by huge cliffs and mountains.

Me on the Beach at Eze-sur-Mer

We were hungry so we first went to a small roadside cafe and went very local and had a Nicoise salad which was delicious. We then crossed the road went under the railway, and down a narrow stepped alley onto the beach. It is a pebble beach but the location is wonderful, there were huge beds of dry seaweed that were soft and bouncy to walk on.  The beach was surprisingly quiet, we found a lovely spot and settled for the afternoon.  Debbi was brave and went into the water, I did a little paddle and was surprised at how cold the water was on this warm and sunny day. The stones on the beach were hot and I lay down and Debbi put some of them on my back, a bit of stone therapy. As the heat spread down into my muscles I could feel the relaxation spreading through them (I've now booked a stone therapy session at my salon!)

After a lovely day that cost us the grand total of two Euros for our bus fare (the trip alone was worth the money) we headed home and had a rest and shower before we went out for our meal.  We ended up at La Barque Bleue at the Port, less than five minutes from our apartment. Again it was very mild and we sat outside. I had a goats cheese tart to start, followed by spaghetti carbonara all of which was very good.

9th October

Debbi Tucking into her Socca

We'd decided to have a lazy, moochy day today to really soak in the atmosphere of Nice. We had a lie-in and then breakfast of fresh palmier and baguette from our patisserie. We wandered up past the Port to Place Garibaldi and went to the Rue Pairoliere in the Old Town to Chez Rene Socca which is one of the most famous places to buy socca a Nicoise dish. Socca is basically a thin chickpea pancake made on a huge griddle about two feet in diameter and then kind of hacked up into pieces that you buy a plate of.  The restaurant was set on two sides of the small street with wooden tables. You went to where the socca was being made to buy it and ordered drinks from the waiters at the table. The socca was only 2.80 Euros for a large portion and it was quite nice, though I enjoyed it more when we got some lemon to squeeze onto it. 

After our lunch we went on further into the maze that is the Old Town, just wandering in and out of shops, we both bought some heavenly smelling violette eau de cologne, bags and garlic graters. We came across the famous Fenocchio ice cream shop and just had to try it! It certainly lived up to it's reputation, I had vanilla and it was one of the best I've had.  

More Cake!

We headed back to Place Garibaldi and found a seat at le Sully, one of the many bar restaurants in the square. We ordered half a litre of red wine. Unfortunately it wasn't good wine, but we forced it down before moving across the square to Le Paradis du Fruit and more  -this time good - wine. It was lovely just relaxing watching the Nice life pass by.  

After consuming a litre of the wine we wandered across to Serain Cappa for a cake and we both had delicious chocolatey ones that went down very well. We then wandered back to the Port with quite a spring to our step lol!

We ate in that night, and had some French lessons care of our Ipod Touch app. We learned a lot of, let's say, unusual French words that I don't think we'll be using much lol!

Our lazy, moochy day had gone very well, we are very good at doing nothing lol, we decided that in the future we will always set aside a day of our holiday for chilling like this!

Nice 1 - All Things French, and Dali and a Horse

The Courtyard of the Apartments

6th October 2012

I love that moment when you step out of an airport in some foreign country and the new sensations hit you. I saw the lush palm trees, felt the gentle caress of warmth of the sun and the smell of the sea and jasmine in the air. We were in Nice!

We got the bus  into the city and it was lovely to see the places we'd first seen three years ago again. We'd first gone to Nice in 2009 to have a holiday as well as seeing U2 perform. We loved the place so much we vowed to go back, and three years later here were were!

The View of the Port from our Balcony

We got off at the Port where our apartment was and trundled our cases down the quay. Near the apartment block, a very tiny woman stopped us, it was Barbara our host. Our lily-white skin must have given us away as Brits lol! She took us through two huge wooden doors and we found ourselves at the foot of some marble steps and at the top we walked into a fabulous cobbled courtyard with ponds in each corner and fountains, very pretty. 

The apartment was wonderful, very clean and had all we needed, even our own showers! And the view from our balcony of the Port was fabulous. Barbara had told us there was a patisserie and little supermarket just out side the back door so we went out and stocked up on food and wine!

We had a relaxing evening eating in and drinking wine, our holiday had started!

7th October

Niki de Saint Phalle

Deb got a baguette and croissants from the patisserie for breakfast, they were delicious, still warm! I love the European (alas not British) tradition of going to a local baker for truly fresh bread and pastries for breakfast, you can't beat it!

On the first and third Sundays of the month municipal museums in Nice have free entry, so we decided to take advantage of that. The nearest place to us was the Musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain or MAMAC. Neither of us are that into modern art but we went there with open minds. It turned out to be an interesting couple of hours. 

Lichtenstein

                                                                                

I especially liked the American Pop Art section which had works by Warhol and Lichtenstein amongst others. It is the kind of work that is accessible by anyone which, for me, is what art should be all about. 

 I also like some of the works by Niki de Saint Phalle, especially her "Diaries" which were a very intricate mix of art and words, much of it relating to women's issues. There was also an amazing life-size wedding dress with a long train made entirely out of blue plastic bottles! Unfortunately I can't recall who the artist who created this was.

We then walked the short distance back to Place Garibaldi and went to our favourite patisserie, Serain Cappa, and salivated as we tried to decide what cake to have. They are truly works of art and so many to choose from! I finally chose a Framboisine, a delectable fusion of raspberries and chocolate. Deb got an almond-based cake that I tried, it too was lovely.

We sat under the stately colonade that runs right around the square, in the centre is a large fountain. It's a bustling place, and it was good just to relax and watch life go by. We felt very French eating the lovely cakes and drinking coffee.

Before leaving we bought two Chantilly Meringues to have later at home. We then walked the short distance to our apartment and had a some tea before exploring some more.

We went out of the back door of the complex, turned right and followed the road that ran by the sea.  All along the walk were seats looking out over the Mediterranean Sea, lots of people were doing what we were, promenading, enjoying the sun and fresh air. Soon we came to Coco Beach, which you reach by going down some steps. It's not really a beach, moreso a jumble of large rocks with lots of places to sit.  Again, we just sat and relaxed for a while.

Later we went into the Vieille Ville, Old Town, for our evening meal. The Old Town is a maze of small roads, alleys, flights of steps, shops and restaurants.  The buildings are all very old, often a few stories high and painted in fawns, yellows and terracottas. Wooden shutters on the windows, washing hanging from balconies and poles, you could hear their lives of the local people echoing off the walls, smell their cooking hanging in the warm air, it is very much a living Old Town. 


Some parts are a bit touristy, which we generally steer clear of.  But you can find great restaurants in the quieter alleys. One of these is a little place called Le Barbecue in Rue du Four which we first discovered on our last trip to Nice.  It's set on a few levels on the stepped alley and is cheap, serving excellent food. I had cod fritters to start followed by a delicious steak then ice cream, all washed down with an excellent Portuguese red wine served at the perfect temperature. We were entertained by two Yorkshire terriers that lived close to the restaurant that played and scampered around in an adjoining alley whilst their owners chatted. It was so good to be able to sit outside and eat like this, no way could we have done it back home, in October it would be too cold and probably too wet as well!

We headed home and passed a heavy horse strangely tied up in a corner of an alley. I went to pat it as I have a soft spot for those workhorses of the past, I gave Deb my camera to take a photo. Suddenly I was accosted by Dali, well he looked like Dali. Middle-aged, with a spiky moustache, flamboyantly dressed complete with cravat!  I thought he was going to pose with me for the photo as he grabbed me rather tightly round the waist.  then amongst the French chatter coming from him I recognised the word "Assis" and realised he was trying to lift me onto the horse!  "No way, no way" I said and wriggled out of his grip, I glanced at Debbi who looked horror-struck, she took a quick photo and then I heard her say. "Right, let's go."  I didn't know what was funnier being accosted by Dali or the look on Deb's face!  

We did make it home unscathed and we opened a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne as a late celebration for my birthday. Debbi gave me her present which she'd kept back to bring to Nice - vouchers for my fave restaurant I was so chuffed! - and we quaffed the champers and ate our Chantilly Meringues, what more could you want?  Oh I love France!

Some of the Cakes at Serain Cappa

Nice, Part 3

Thursday 16th July 2009

We got up a lunch time as we hadn't got to bed until almost 5am after the U2 show the previous night. We decided in advance on a very lazy day today as we knew we'd have to recover form the rigours of attending a stadium gig!

After a slow awakening we walked the short distance to the bus stop on the Port, today we were going to Eze-Bord sur Mer. The fare anywhere along the route, which went as far as Menton, was one Euro, amazing!

The journey was great in itself and I thought rivalled the Amalfi Way. Hugging the coast for most of the trip we travelled through Villefranche, Beaulieu sur Mer and onto Eze. As you approachedEze sheer cliffs soared into the sky and the road was literally cut into the rock, very impressive. It is a small place bordering the Avenue de Liberte and the railway line with a backdrop of hills and cliffs, and a crescent azure blue bay, a very beautiful setting.

We soon found our way to the beach, which is public, by crossing the railway line that you weren't supposed to cross but everyone did. We followed a little lane down to the beach. This was where most of the grandest houses were and Debbi and I recognised Bono's house. We walked along the fairly busy pebbly beach and found a nice vacant spot in front of it. The house is literally backing onto the beach and the outside areas appeared to be not very high above it, not that private really and we occasionally could hear people talking up there.

We settled down and relaxed. Even with the people there (many of which were obviously U2 fans) it was restful and we just lay down and chilled for a couple of hours. It was a great way of recovering from the strenuous day of the gig (this touring lark gets harder as you get older!). We all regretted not bringing our bathing costumes though as the sea looked very inviting!

Afterwards we walked back to the main road and had a much needed ice cream and drink at a roadside cafe and just soaked in the atmosphere. We commented that it had a bit of the feel of Killiney in Ireland, though was on a grander scale and has better weather!

We got the bus back to the Port in Nice and went home. It was an eat in night for us so I made the dinner. Later we walked up the Place Garibaldi and had a bottle of red wine watching the night life of Nice pass by.

Friday 17th July 2009

We'd put off a trip to Monaco twice earlier in the week so today was our last chance. But Julie wasn't well, a touch of diarrhoea. Once we knew that it was nothing more serious than that and it had settled a little Debbi and I left to get the bus to Monaco. Unfortunately the bus was heaving with people and we stood a lot of the way. I'd been looking forward to just relaxing and admiring the scenery en-route but there was no chance of that as I stood wedged between passengers.

Monaco was noisy and very built up, it had a different ambiance to Nice and I didn't really like it. First we stopped off and had a snack and drink. Then Debbi and I walked to the famous aquarium housed in an impressive building built into the rock overlooking the sea. The entrance hall had very grand decor, all based on the ocean. The aquarium itself wasn't that exciting, in fact we were disappointed with it. And the rest of the museum was not that interesting either plus the place had the worst toilets we'd been in on that trip, they stunk! Yuck, you don't expect that somewhere like that. The views from the viewing terrace at the top of the building were wonderful though. Below is a photo of the Oceanographic Museum.

After that we headed back for the bus stop as time was getting on and we were eating out that night. I think we were both ready to leave Monaco, neither of us were enamoured with it.

We waited ages for a bus and then two arrived at once! By time everyone was crammed on you could hardly move. Needless to say for a while neither of us had seats and unfortunately I was unable to appreciate the wonderful scenery once more because the bus was so full. And it was so hot in the bus, at first the driver didn't have the air conditioning on, she must have been a sadist or something! The sweat was running down my

face and trickling down my back. Eventually someone asked the driver to put on the air con and almost immediately it cooled slightly. I think we were dehydrated when we got off the bus as though we were only minutes from our apartment all we could think of was "drink!" and we had a Coke at a cafe at the Port.

Julie was feeling better when we returned and had been able to eat a little which was good. We got showered and changed ready to go out for a meal. Unfortunately Julie felt unable to come with us and decided to stay in the apartment. We left and went into the Old Town to a restaurant we had seen a few days earlier called Le Barbecue. We got a table and once more went for the set menu. We had the most delicious fish cakes to start, they were so much better than ours! For our main course we had sumptuous barbecued steak and delicious home fries. I only had room for ice cream for dessert .

We got talking to a couple at the table beside us. He was from Italy and it was his 74th birthday that day, Debbi wished him Happy Birthday in French, I was most impressed with her! The woman was about my age and a designer, she had a fashion shop nearby and invited us to go to see it the next day. Unfortunately as we were leaving the next day we didn't have time to do that. But it was nice talking to them, everyone we had met in Nice had been very friendly.

Me and Debbi at Le Barbecue, Nice Old Town

After the meal we walked to the sea front and promenaded like everyone else was. It was windy but it was warm, the palm trees rustled, the cicadas "chirped" and the waves broke on the rocky shoreline. The lights of Nice swept in an arc around the bay, people walked, sat in huddles on the beach, played music, no drunks, no hassle it was lovely. We walked on past the war memorial, lit up with the colours of the French flag and along the quays of the Port. It too looked almost unreal with all the lights dancing on the water and shiny decks and hulls of the luxury yachts. I don't know what it was, but you know every now and then you get a time when everything seems perfect? Well that evening was like that for me, good food and wine, great company, a beautiful place to walk around, simple things really, but all together they made such a special evening for me. Nice has captured my heart and I can't wait until I go back there again.

So that's it, my time in Nice. I've written these articles quickly as I wanted to get them done before I have a whole load of other stuff to share about Dublin - I'm off there this Friday. So please forgive any typos or bad grammar.

Nice, Part 2

Monday 13th July 2009

We stayed in the apartment this morning as we were waiting for Julie's case to be delivered. It duly arrived at 12:30, and Julie was delighted to be reunited with her belongings. After she'd had time to sort out a bit we decided to go into the centre of nice and do a sightseeing trip. The tram we were going to get left from Place Garibaldi, but on our way we saw a gorgeous patisserie/chocolatier shop - we just had to indulge! And boy, the little expensive cakes were works of art beautiful to look at, subtlety flavoured and worth every Euro.

After that diversion we finally got to the tram stop. We thought you bought the tickets on board but we'd missed seeing the ticket machine on the platform. Luckily an inspector didn't get on during the short journey. The fare was 1.30E to any destination, very cheap and the trams were modern and left every six minutes.

We got off at Place Massena, a very large square just off the Promenade des Anglais. We knew where the tour started from and we walked there. We sat on the top of the open decked bus and set off. First we headed back the way we had come, past the Old Town and Port and onto the road that does a loop around Mount Boron on the Cap de Nice. There were some fabulous mansions in the hills over looking the Port including one that was very eccentric looking, Indian influenced and had been built by an Englishman. The views down to the Port and city were wonderful.

We went round and back towards the city and up into the Cimiez area where there was a Matisse museum. We continued on and heard about all the aristocratic Russians who had moved to Nice at the time of the revolution and many built very grand homes. There is even a beautiful Russian cathedral in the city that we passed by.

Finally we drove along the famous Promenade des Anglais, so named because it was built by the British. To be honest I was a little disappointed in it. The pebbly beach was covered with sunbathers crammed together like sardines, you wouldn't get me on there! We passed the famous Hotel Negreso, a lovely building that is still as exclusive as it was originally intended to be.

After the trip we walked back up to Place Massena. We had the most delicious Italian ice cream ever, mmm. Nice was once part of Italy and only ceded to France in 1860 so there is a strong Italian influence in architecture and food. Nice has it's own language, Nicard, that is being resurrected. All the street signs are in both French and Nicard, the latter bearing a strong similarity to Italian.

We went into the famous Galeries Lafayette store. It wasn't as grand as the one in Paris but still large and bustling as the sales were on. We spent ages searching for the toilet there and eventually had to ask and found it hidden away in little corridor.

We walked on along Ave Jean Medecin, Nice's main shopping street and wandered into a few shops. It was tempting to buy things but after all we had spent on the U2 tour we were quite sensible for once and didn't buy anything! We noticed lots of signs everywhere offering U2 tickets for sale.

After a while we got the tram back to Place Garibaldi (paid this time!) and walked home. We were eating in tonight and I was cook. Afterwards we sat and chatted. There was no TV in the apartment which I found really good, it encouraged us to communicate more. We did quizzes and had some good laughs.

Tuesday 14th July 2009

On the sightseeing trip the guide had said that there was a lift to the top of Castel Hill close to our apartment so we decided to explore there. We found the lift ok and soon were up at the top of the hill, which was the original settlement of Nice. It was an oasis up there, lots of cool shade from the abundant vegetation, a large waterfall the spray of which was very welcome! Play areas for kids, a cafe, shops, lots of seats and fabulous views down over the city and sweep of the bay on one side and the Port on the other. It was quite windy so even in the sun the heat wasn't too overpowering.

Afterwards we walked back via the Port and saw boat trips advertised so decided to go on one. They told us that because of the wind the trip might not go but we put our name down and were told to be back by 14:40.

We went to an Irish pub on the other side of the Port for a late lunch which was very good. The boat trip was on and soon we were sailing on the slightly rough Mediterranean. The route took us around Cap de Nice in the horseshoe bay and Villefranche sur Mer. It was beautiful, mansions littered the hillsides, the bay was full of boats, some very luxurious and even a cruise ship. The guide pointed out the luxury homes of the likes of Bill Gates, Mick Jagger and Tina Turner. The rich know where to live!















Photos: Promenade des Anglais and Nice Villefranche sur Mer

We did a loop in the bay and then sailed back towards Nice before turning and following the Promenade des Anglais back to the Port. It's always nice to see a place like this from the sea, you see a whole new perspective.

That night we were going out for a meal and we'd already picked a restaurant, Le Lunel on the Port. We had one of the set menus, again excellent value. We had Kir to start, I had we all had goat's cheese salad to start, sea bass in saffron (yum!) for main and I had apple pie to finish. We got a bottle of very good red wine in with the set meal, all for 25E, excellent value. A relaxing way to end a busy day. We were all excited about the U2 gig the next day!