We left relatively early, say 9am, to head off to Nice. The day got quite warm, and the countryside looked quite dry due to the lack of rain and the warm days, around 30C. This area of the coast is quite hilly and rocky as the mountains are close to the sea. Because we drove on the autostrada, we didn’t see much of the coastline, but we did see many picturesque towns perched on the top of hills along the way. We drove through many tunnels cut into the hills, which after a while becomes tiring because of the lighting differential between the tunnel lighting and the brightness of the outside daylight.
We finally arrived in Nice around 5pm, after stops for lunch and the odd break. We booked into the Hotel New York (!!) near the centre of Nice and after a short break headed for the beach. Nice has been a port since approxiamtely 600BC and it contains a large beachfront which although stony, is a popular place to swim. Frances, as usual, went for a swim while I checked out some of the old town – a small part of what is now a very large city.
We then headed back to the hotel for a rest and shower (sound familiar?), before preparing to head out for dinner. As in Italy, there’s no point in looking for food before 7pm.
We settled on a restaurant called L’Abbaye which had a set menu including Nice specialties. You may have guessed by now that food plays an important part in our trip, and that by listing the menus, we may be prompted to try to make them at home when we return. Anyway some food stuff starts now.
For entrée, Frances had a Nicoise salad and I had a whole meal crepe filled with onions, mushroom, a small amount of speck and cream. For mains Frances had grilled local fish with ragout and I had baby squid in a tomato sauce. Both were served with saffron rice and lovely crusty bread. For dessert Frances had a pedestrian fruit salad and I had a delicious apple tart with whipped cream – slices of apple baked on a flaky pastry base with no added sugar. To help the meal along we ordered a bottle of house rose which was light and dry which really complemented the food. The staff and atmosphere were friendly, and the whole experience was very enjoyable.
Because of the long evening twilight, we walked back to the hotel, maybe 2-3 kilometres, just taking in the atmosphere and the French architecture, which although similar to Italy, has a different look and feel.
We really enjoyed the short time we had in Nice and it was really worth taking the time to stop there. Unfortunately we had to bypass Genova, another great and historic Mediterranean port city - maybe next time...
Okay another food shop. This one sells olive oil - of all types. Inside the shop were huge tanks of oil, more than 2 metres tall with fresh oil where you could could fill your own containers, and have you own mix if you like. The shop even has its own brand, Nicolas Alziari - the address is on the can.
We finally arrived in Nice around 5pm, after stops for lunch and the odd break. We booked into the Hotel New York (!!) near the centre of Nice and after a short break headed for the beach. Nice has been a port since approxiamtely 600BC and it contains a large beachfront which although stony, is a popular place to swim. Frances, as usual, went for a swim while I checked out some of the old town – a small part of what is now a very large city. 
We then headed back to the hotel for a rest and shower (sound familiar?), before preparing to head out for dinner. As in Italy, there’s no point in looking for food before 7pm.
We settled on a restaurant called L’Abbaye which had a set menu including Nice specialties. You may have guessed by now that food plays an important part in our trip, and that by listing the menus, we may be prompted to try to make them at home when we return. Anyway some food stuff starts now.For entrée, Frances had a Nicoise salad and I had a whole meal crepe filled with onions, mushroom, a small amount of speck and cream. For mains Frances had grilled local fish with ragout and I had baby squid in a tomato sauce. Both were served with saffron rice and lovely crusty bread. For dessert Frances had a pedestrian fruit salad and I had a delicious apple tart with whipped cream – slices of apple baked on a flaky pastry base with no added sugar. To help the meal along we ordered a bottle of house rose which was light and dry which really complemented the food. The staff and atmosphere were friendly, and the whole experience was very enjoyable.
Because of the long evening twilight, we walked back to the hotel, maybe 2-3 kilometres, just taking in the atmosphere and the French architecture, which although similar to Italy, has a different look and feel.We really enjoyed the short time we had in Nice and it was really worth taking the time to stop there. Unfortunately we had to bypass Genova, another great and historic Mediterranean port city - maybe next time...
Okay another food shop. This one sells olive oil - of all types. Inside the shop were huge tanks of oil, more than 2 metres tall with fresh oil where you could could fill your own containers, and have you own mix if you like. The shop even has its own brand, Nicolas Alziari - the address is on the can.
