Nice, The Friendliest City in France?

Crusoe on the Promenade des Anglais

A slight intermission in blogging due to a spur of the moment decision for an interlude in Nice. I have driven through and round Nice many times but this was the first time I have actually visited, and yes, I think it possibly is the friendliest city in France.  The friendly, laid back attitude of the locals did not just extend to us, Crusoe has never had so much attention, he was admired and fussed over wherever we went, bar and restaurant staff could not do enough for him, his every wish was catered for, even fellow diners at the local restaurants and cafes were eager to indulge him by feeding him titbits, if like us you like to travel with a furry, K9 friend, Nice is the place to go.

The Royal Salon, The Negresco Hotel

The friendliness, laid back attitude and love of dogs is apparent even in the smartest hotel in town; The Negresco, although unfortunately we did not reside there we did pop in for a look round and an early evening coupe de Champagne.  We headed for the bar but we spied the resident cat in there, fortunately before Crusoe spotted him, now Crusoe positively loathes cats and if we had taken him in there all hell would have broken lose and I really don't think the other patrons of the bar would have appreciated an impromptu re-enactment of Tom and Jerry.  We went in search of the other bar, located in the Carousel restaurant, we were warmly greeted by Madame La Patronne; Jeanne Augier, the rather eccentric owner, she just happened to be dining in the restaurant as we arrived, she is The Negresco. Madame Augier and her hotel have a rather fascinating story; here.  I found the Carousel restaurant slightly bizarre it is just like being on a carousel, with the music and horses to match, we ordered two coupes, unfortunately, the Champagne was flat and my glass was chipped, we informed the waiter, who opened a new bottle and brought us two fresh glasses.  Needless to say without having to ask a very large bowl of water was served to Crusoe.

The rest of the time was spent exploring, with many eating and drinking stops, I especially loved the old town, the colours and the architecture are magnificent, bearing in mind that Nice was part of Italy until 1860, sometimes it's hard to figure out if you are in an Italian town or a French one.

The other highlight for me was the huge flea market in the Course Saleya, held every Monday, I could have had a field day, there were some fine antiques on offer and the vendors were perfectly happy to haggle, so there are plenty of opportunities to bag a bargain, I wondered around in my element until the market just about wrapped up.  Due to the space limitations of a two seater sports car with tiny boot space, my only purchase was a beautifully made mirrored and chrome, hexagonal Art Deco tray (something I have been after for a while) haggled down from 50 to 25 Euros, next time I am coming in a van!

Crusoe, in Nice, working his baby seal impression, he has no shame!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
XXX

Reflections of The South

We have returned from our jaunt to France's Mediterranean coast and I am already missing it. They say people are; town people, country people, mountain people or coastal people, I am a bit of all of those, however whenever I am on or near the Mediterranean coast, I feel a sense of well being and contentment that I cannot explain, it runs deeper than just a holiday thing, my hairdresser, describes my hair as Mediterranean!  Perhaps my early ancestors hailed from some place on the shores of the Mediterranean.

Now back in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the weather is growing colder and there is the distinct smell of Autumn in the air, the first dusting of snow appeared on the mountains the other morning.  The Mediterranean won't really experience colder weather till around November.

  I know some people who have moved from the Mediterranean coast to other parts of France because they miss the seasons, although there are seasons in that part of the world, they are less defined.  There is a point in Southern France and I can tell you exactly where it is, it is just after Carcasonne, the landscape starts to change, green fields and deciduous trees decrease in numbers and are replaced by pines, cypresses and vineyards as you reach Narbonne you get your first glimpse of the sparkling blue Mediterranean and the further east you go, the landscape becomes increasingly Mediterranean, driving through towns you see Bougainvillea, Oleander and olive trees in abundance, the architecture changes, the colours change, tiles on roofs change, the style of the shutters on the buildings change and most significantly, the light changes...

I could not resist snapping this 2CV, they are getting rarer in France, you don't see this icon of France on the roads as often as you used to.  Judging by the flowers, attached by a ribbon, I suspect this one has just been used for a wedding, possibly carrying the bride and groom. My friend Veronique over at French Girl in Seattle has just written a superb post about the 2CV, pop over and visit her, she has one of the most informative and interesting blogs regarding France and French life.

Most of these photos were taken in Antibes, we spent an afternoon there with Belle Mere, she had not been for quite a while, she reminisced about a restaurant, near an English bookshop, she used to frequent around 20 years ago, imagine her delight when she discovered the restaurant and bookshop still there.  The restaurant was different to how she remembered it, much more modern and swanky now and the bookshop is larger, needless to say we had a delightful lunch and afterwards wandered round the bookshop.

Christmas on the Cote d'Azur Part 2

The Christmas Tree and Pere Noels, post box in Sanary-Sur-Mer

Another day when it has done nothing but rain, in fact, pour, there were supposed to be fireworks tonight in Sanary and some of the neighbouring towns, sadly they were cancelled.  I have been coming here for ten years, in all seasons, I have never seen it rain like this before!

I have spent another day lolling around indoors, I hope there is some respite tomorrow as I still have a few things to do in town tomorrow morning.  A couple of days ago we met up with some friends in Saint Tropez, it was raining, the town was completely deserted... 

I love boats and yachts, one's that include wood, brass and sails, not these floating, plastic gin palaces, this one has 'Don't Touch' written on it, don't worry I would not set foot on it even if you paid me, which ironically is probably the point!

We headed off to hole up in a restaurant, for warmth, wine and pizza.  Love this tree and the chap trying to get his parasol down, at least I think that is what he is doing!

Back in Sanary, Sanary differs from some of it's better known neighbours on the Cote d'Azur because it is vibrant and busy all year round, shopping is always a joy here...

Have to have a rest and a quick aperitif!

Bought some flowers for Belle Mere, could not decide, I like plain white but Belle Mere likes colours, so I bought both.

Fell in love with this dog, sitting on a chair at one of the cafes, he was like a mini whippet, with the most enormous eyes, sporting a very fetching black, woollen, coat.

It's the orange season here, they are everywhere

Roasted chestnuts?

Christmas on the Cote d'Azur

The rain finally abated, and it turned out to be quite pleasant, it was market day in Sanary-Sur-Mer today, it was a great atmosphere, lots of people were out and about buying last minute bits and bobs. The real show starts at night, this year the local mayors have surpassed themselves.