NICE: Bike Ride on the Promenade Des Anglais; Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill) and Old City Walk

Bonjour everyone! We started out early this morning. We wanted to get to the Promenade des Anglais to rent bikes. It took us 5 minutes to walk over to the Velo bike station from our apartment. What a great life! Our goal was to be on the bikes and riding along the Promenade before it began to bustle with activity. We rented the bikes at a cost of 1 euro for the day and the first 30 minutes free. So cheap... We love bike riding. But there is something about getting on a bike and knowing that you are riding along a portion of the Cote d'Azur that just makes me smile - it's so exhilarating! We loved it from the moment we started pedaling. Breeze and clouds aside, we did the full 18 km. (All the way to the airport, and back the other way as far as possible). While we have walked along the Promenade several times, it was fantastic to experience it yet again - only on bikes.

When we arrived back, we parked the bikes, went and freshened up, and carried on to Jeanot Boulanderie-Patisserie. The shop is right next to the Opera House. We came here to this patisserie, because their croissants are puffy and flakey and of proper size - which is important. While I ordered the croissants, I was looking at other delicious products:

Each time we have stopped at this Boulangerie, we have been served by the same lovely girl. So friendly and pleasant.

As we were sitting outside at the little table, a ridiculous wind came up and blew all along the Cours Saleya street, (which is where the huge vegetable/fruit/flower marker sets up everyday). We decided the wind was too much, so started walking back to the apartment. We heard a crash. The wind was so strong, some of the cafes started losing their chairs! The wind knocked chairs over and blew them around the pavement. The staff started scurrying everywhere. Feeling sorry for them, we gave them a hand wherever we could. (Why wouldn't you help if you could?) Surprisingly though, a number of people walked on by, commenting on such misfortune. "Oh la la!" they exclaimed, while walking their petite chien...

We decided to spend the afternoon exploring the streets of the old city. We stopped by a small Cathedral called 'Glorious Divo Jacobo Majori Apostolo' in Place du Jesus. We continued on down the colourful, narrow streets. A common sight down the side streets of any of these cities, is the hanging and drying of laundry off balconies. This is what happens when you hang your clothes to dry and the wind comes up. You come home from work - and some of your clothing has blown down the street!

All week we had eyed Castle Hill and wondered if we might like to return. Even though we had done the walk up the hill once before, we couldn't resist making the trip again - because of the amazing panoramic views of the sea and the city. This time though, we took a different route and accidentally came across a very old cemetery. It was full of breathtaking monuments marking the tombs. The cemetery was called 'Ville De Nice - Cimetiere Du Chateau'. We strolled around admiring the sculptures and here is some of what we saw!

We carried on up Castle Hill. Voila! There were the amazing views again. The 90 metre high terrace roof of the "keep" overlooks the sea. On this very site used to stand Nice medieval castle. The castle was built at the time of the Earls of Provence. The castle passed on to the Earl of Savoy in 1388. Partly ruined in the 17th century, it disappeared completely in 1706.

We started our descent after taking several pictures. Since we are leaving early tomorrow morning and flying to Amsterdam, we decided that we should get back to the apartment and start packing. But first we stopped at "Lac Patissier Chocolatier". Look at this amazing dessert! We shared one, and enjoyed a glass of red wine along side of it!

To finish our final evening in Nice we went to a recommended restaurant called 'Restaurant Acchiardo'. It was packed and very noisy. We had heard it was necessary to make a reservtion, so had done so the night before. Obviously it was a favorite! We shared a nicoise salad to start. Then, I tried gnocchi with a gorgonzola sauce, and Ron tried lamb with green beans. Wonderful food and a nice ambiance in the restaurant. I would post a picture of the gnocchi with the sauce, but a picture just doesn't do it justice. (No color to it at all). Here's a picture of our nicoise salad which we shared:

As mentioned earlier, this evening closes our time in Nice. What a wonderful time we've had in this glorious city. We never get tired of the south. If I had a way to describe Nice, I would say it is like a blue diamond, which disperses light and sparkles in all kinds of surprising ways. There is so much to discover... Au Revoir from beautiful Nice, France. Karen

NICE: Notre Dame Cathedral; Russian Orthodox Cathedral; Henri Matisse Museum; Dinner at la Voglia!

Our morning started with café au lait, but we were bewildered with the pint size croissants that came to the table today. Ron actually said, "No merci", and sent them back. I thought perhaps something had gone wrong with the proofing of the pastry dough!

I must say, we have had some interesting moments when it comes to communication. It seems that some of the French don't like to admit they speak English. This is fine except when they work in the tourist offices. Yesterday, Ron asked the lady behind the glass, "Parlez vous Anglais?" "Non!" she replied. Ron proceeded to ask her a question in English anyway. She answered, "Oh, you just go around the corner, down the street...!" Ron replied, "Merci, bonne journee!" I have posted lots of market pictures in this blog, but I can't help posting another when it comes to something a little on the unusual side, Here is a magnificent display of candied fruit at the market this morning:

We decided to walk to the famous Cathedral Russe (Russian Cathedral) this morning. On our way, we walked by the gothic Basilique Notre Dame de l'Assomption, so of course we stopped in. It was built in 1864 and took 4 years. It is known for its imposing twin towers and vibrant stained glass. I am disappointed that my camera could not capture the beauty of the stained glass, but this picture gives an idea of the interior:

We carried on towards the Russian Cathedral. This took about 50 minutes to walk, but it was such a pleasant morning, and the streets were fairly quiet. This Russian cathedral is recognized as a national monument of France. The cathedral was built for the hundreds of wealthy Russian families who liked to winter in Nice in the late 19th century (following in the footsteps of the English upper class). Since they were not Catholic, they needed a worthy Orthodox house of worship. The cathedral was opened in 1912 and it is full of fascinating icons and colours:

We left the church, and saw a variety of beautiful vegetation in the nearby neighborhood:

We passed by a lady selling Socca (a chick pea flour crepe) at a little booth. Apparently this is a food that originated in Genoa, Italy and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea, from Nice to Elba Island. It is a specialty of southwestern French cuisine, particulary in and around Nice. So, we bought a serving for 3 euro and tried it. It had a different taste, and we both found it a bit too salty, but it was fun to try. I think it need jam or something...

Our next stop of the day was at the 'Musee Matisse'. The gallery contains a large collection of Henri Matisse paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures, and lithographs. The style of his work was influenced by the Mediterranean light and also by other artists who lived in the area - Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. This art is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's interesting to see how his style developed over time. Henri Matisse, who died in Nice in 1954, had a fascinating life story! Here is a portrait of Madame Matisse, done in 1905.

Here is another of his most famous works. You can see Ron standing in the front. This gives you an idea of the scale. I snapped this photo as the security guard sternly said, "No Madame!"

After this, we went into the nearby Musee D'Archeologie De Nice, even though we have seen a lot of ruins in our travels over the years! More proof the Romans were everywhere. By this point, we were quite tired and decided to hop a bus back to our apartment for a bit of a break. Look at these dangerous high heels:

This lady also carried a large, red Prada handbag. She proceeded to tell Ron and I she wasn't used to taking the bus (Who cares?) When we got off the bus, we saw a brilliant pastry shop where there was quite the selection of macaroons for 1,20 euro. We bought two, so we could eat them right away. One was praline and one was coffee flavor. As well, we picked up two fabulous desserts for later.

We are trying to take in as much of the Promenade as we can while we are in this beautiful area - the Cote d'Azur. We went for a long walk enjoying the sun and the beauty of the water. There were people walking, running, skateboarding, bike riding, all loving the beauty, just as we were. After walking, we found two chairs very close to the water and sat for quite awhile watching the waves roll in.

Soon it was time for dinner. We went to a restaurant that our landlord recommended called 'la Voglia'. I had a vegetable antipasta meal, Ron ordered the 'Spaghetti aux Fruits de Mer', (seafood spaghetti). Both meals were spectacular to look at and delicious as well.

After dinner we walked over to Place Massena to see the seven figures designed by Jaume Plensa specifically for this area. These seven figures represent the different continents. At night, soft variations in colour, symbolize the dialogue between the communities making up our society. They invite passers-by to look up and rediscover the sky of Nice! (Zoom in to see their beauty!) They are amazing to look at, as well as very unusual.

Today was a great day. Tomorrow is our last day in Nice. How fast these days have gone... Bonsoir, Karen

NICE: Antibes and the Musee de l'Art Culinaire in Villeneuve-Loubet

Bonjour! Once again, outside our front door was the vegetable market...this morning I took pictures of what most of us enjoy - garlic, and the cool vegetable known as the artichoke:

We continued down the street for our morning coffee. We decided to start ordering coffee as 'café au lait', otherwise if we order coffee black, there's additional charge for hot milk on the side. If you order milk in the coffee, "Voila!" - you pay less!

From where we were sitting we could see the famous 'Patisserie Auer's' grand old storefront at 7 Rue St. Francois de Paule, and I had to stop in. They didn't mind me taking pictures inside, so I snapped away. Talk about the sweet life in France! This store really was a feast for the eyes. There is a royal shield on the wall at the back to remind everyone that Queen Victoria liked to indulge her sweet tooth here. The store was loaded with fancy chocolate.

Nearby, on the same street is the famous olive oil store called 'Maison Alziari'. They have been making olive oil in this store since 1868. Of course the cans are really attractive - the Provencal blues and yellows. As soon as you see the decorative can, of course you'd like to buy a few - until you remember your suitcase. This was such a beautiful store - again a feast for the eyes..

Then, we went to the train station, Gare de Nice-Ville, to catch our train to Antibes. We have been in many train stations and some are spectacular and very busy and interesting but most are quite ordinary and no one wants to be there any longer than necessary!

There are no words to describe Antibes. It's a town situated between Cannes and Nice on the French Riviera, Cote d'Azur. Ron and I have stayed in Antibes twice before and loved our time there. It is a quaint and interesting town to walk around in. There's an excellent vegetable/fruit market every morning in the centre of the old town. There is an excellent Picasso museum near the market. It's easy to spend many hours walking around and enjoying yourself down some of the little side streets as the sun filters down! You can't help wondering, what would it be like to live here?

The beauty of the water and the French Alps in the background is quite spectacular. A few years ago, while walking and looking at the water, I passed by a picture on the promenade commemorating a painting by the great Impressionist painter, Claude Monet. I nearly fainted! He had painted it while standing on the very spot where I now stood. The painting was called "Antibes, Afternoon Effect". You have to zoom in to appreciate it. Make sure to look off into the distance to see what he was capturing!

After walking around for awhile, reminiscing about areas where we had been, we decided to have lunch. I tried the 'Croque Madame' today. This is a fabulous sandwich with Gruyere cheese, bechamel sauce, toast, ham, and egg. I don't want to think about the calories. Delicious. Ron tried a sad 'club sandwich'. Yes - a club sandwich. It was served in a baguette. He said he couldn't eat the bread because it was just too tough. But here's a picture of my Croque Madame. Zoom in on the sandwich. I know the fries and ice berg lettuce are a bit cheesy, but concentrate on the sandwich:

Soon afterwards we needed to get on the train back toward Nice to the town of Villeneuve-Loubet. We were going to visit a historic culinary museum and it took a little effort to get there. We had to take a cab, after getting off the train. The cab driver drove up the windy hillside into the small town and tried his best to get us to the Museum. The streets were so narrow, he couldn't continue driving without bashing his car up. The explanation was all in French, of course. We got out of the cab, and then found our way, along a narrow street and just around the corner to the famous, yellow house. On our way I took pictures of the little streets and gardens. This is what we saw:

This museum was especially meaningful to me. We were going to the Musee de l'Art Culinaire - a historic site, where one of the greatest chefs of all time was born and whose childhood home is now a museum. His name was Auguste Escoffier, and he has a fascinating life story. He is the founder of "haute cousine".As a child, he wanted to be an artist, but at the age of 13, his father sent him to apprentice as a cook, in a restaurant in Nice. The rest is history. He became known as "The King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings" and blazed a culinary trail through The Savoy and Ritz in London and the Grand Hotel in Monaco. The museum is full of his life story - the stoves common in the 1800's, the kitchen tools, the famous menus he developed in many hotels of the world. It was fascinating wandering through the rooms of this very old home!

This was just a lovely experience to have been able to visit this museum, and this most beautiful town. After returning to Nice we went out to the Promenade des Anglais for an evening stroll.

Bonsoir! Karen