Somehow our observations on our first week back in Nice came across to some as negative. We just thought we were making observations without being judgmental - but for the record, here are the things we love about Nice that keep us coming back year after year.
Our mornings are almost always the same, day after day, which is a great comfort. We get up, do our morning exercises and hit the mean streets of Nice for a long walk for me and a run for Cindy. The Promenade is always fascinating with spectacular views of the water. If I look very hard to the south I can almost see Tunisia and Algeria; of course I have super vision skills lacking in mere mortals. The far point of my walk ends at the top of a hill which gives me spectacular views of the entire city and the mountains surrounding Nice. At this time of year the peaks are usually covered with snow but it has been a very mild winter. Cindy’s run continues to the old port, which is filled with luxury yachts, the largest being the Quantum Blue, a 250 million euro darling owned by, of course, a Russian friend of Putin.
Six days a week after I turn around to head back, I walk through the open market just to see what is new and different. I love the early morning smells of coffee, cheese, vegetables and flowers, all blending in with the salt air. We usually meet outside the Negresco after our walk/run and then head to our favorite café, the Brasserie des Chauffeurs. After bonjours to all, we take our usual seats and madame brings us our coffees and water. I grab the local paper, Nice Matin, and Cindy reads the articles and I read the captions under the photos. It is nice to be a local and it certainly starts the day on the right note.
Speaking of markets, there are two large ones six days a week and Mondays are for antiques, aka junk. Saturdays are the most fun because the Liberation Market is much larger that day and takes up ten blocks and is filled with folks shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables and all manner of seafood. All of the cafés and bistros are jam packed with folks having coffee, tea or hot chocolate for a small pause before heading back to the market. All around the seafood section of the market are little bars where men and women take a break with their petit rosé or vin blanc, while others enjoy a small pastis. I have just figured out, after many years coming here, that before noon the bars serve the petite wines which are about three ounces, and after noon they revert to the regular five ounce glasses. Not at all sure why, but certainly no one is limited to just one before noon. Today we went to one of our favorite stalls in the covered portion of the market that sells fresh salads of seafood and vegetables. We were recognized since the last few times here we gave the owners some American bonbons, either See’s lollipops or mini tootsie rolls. We did the same today and after paying for our purchases the man insisted we wait a few moments and he then produced the most marvelous little vegetable fritters for us to try, piping hot and startlingly delicious.
Despite the devaluation of the dollar there are still great bargains to be had here in Nice. Almost any bar will provide you with a five ounce (15 cl) glass of wonderful rosé, white or red wine for about $4 and if you order by the carafe, either 25 or 50 centiliters, the per glass price goes way down. Lunches that will comfort you for hours are still a great value. Today we had one of our favorite lunches in Nice, Aioli, which (brace yourself) is a huge hunk of poached cod surrounded by two boiled potatoes, a hard boiled egg, two boiled carrots, a small salad and some other boiled vegetables. The best part is the little bowl of aioli, which is really just mayonnaise and garlic but at out little café it is homemade and is mostly raw chopped garlic held together with homemade mayonnaise. I love garlic, I worship garlic, I can eat raw garlic until the cows come home (or choose not to) but this was the strongest, most delicious thing I ever had. When the meal was served and I saw just this small bowl of aioli, I knew I was going to have to ask for more. However, I did not finish all that was in the little bowl, it was that strong (although I did dip a crust of bread in it at the end of the meal to finish off the rosé, so the bowl was indeed almost empty). Aioli is traditionally only served on Fridays, France being a Catholic country. However, since Cindy had class on Friday, our friends at the restaurant saved two servings for us to eat on Saturday. See what I mean about getting to know the ’hood!
I love the French supermarkets. They sell everything from fresh fish, oysters by the basketful, great vegetables, wines, spirits, cheeses, breads, well, you name it and they sell it and it is top quality. But the thing I love most is the fact that they sell wine by the box, 3 liters (four bottles) of really great wine for under ten dollars. The down side, if you chose to call it that, is the fact that you really never know how much you are drinking and it is always right there for a short glass, but hey, we are on holiday so who really cares.
I love walking by the health/nutrition supplement store and seeing all four employees standing in the doorway smoking cigarettes or e-cigarettes. Sure makes me feel healthy! Menu reading remains my number one reading activity and it provides a great incentive to get out of the apartment for an afternoon walk. It is still the primary way we choose where to eat, as it is for the French. That is why in some areas that are dense with restaurants you’ll see the best bargains posted on chalkboards outside.
Since we have stayed in the same neighborhood for the past four years and we always shop at the same little stores, we are known to the shop owners and that makes for a lovely shopping experience. For instance when we go the cheese lady, she knows what we like and gives us little tastings of other types of cheeses to see what we think. Yesterday at the supermarket I had a discount coupon. I had misread it (well that is presumptuous since I really don’t read French) the last time I tried to use it and it was not valid that day, but I got it right this time. As it happened it was the same cashier, who remembered the incident and gave me a big voila and a smile, and I scored a ten euro discount on my groceries. What’s not to like?!
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