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Tuesday,
July 26 - Arrived in Nice and forgot to bring the rental car
telephone number for pickup. The info desk at the airport found
the number and arranged the pickup. The car was a brand new Renault
Megane diesel with 12km on it when we got it. Filled it with diesel
fuel and headed for the Negresco.
Checked in
at the Negresco. Fantastic room, overlooking the Cote d'Azur.
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Even the hallways
were posh in the Negresco! To say nothing of the public rotunda off
the main lobby. |
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We then took
a walk in the area near the hotel and ended up having lunch at a funky
sandwich place. We had typical French sandwiches - and were typically
wonderful. Our first "meal" of the trip. We then walked
back to the hotel along the Promenade des Angleterres overlooking
the beach and water. Hangglidding seems to be the sport of choice. |
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Back
at the hotel we rested for a couple of hours and then went for a swim
in the wonderful warm waters. The beach has no sand. Only rocks and
is murder on your feet. We need to get some sort of shoes to wear
in the water. Went back to the room for some more R&R before we
headed out to dinner. We walked down Rue Messina, directly behind
the hotel, which seems to be a major gathering place. Full of outdoor
cafes and plenty of street theater. |
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We ended up
at Flo's, the Nice outpost of the Flo Group. We love many of the
Flo Group restaurants in Paris including Vaudeville, Julien and
La Coupole, so it seemed like a good idea. All of the Flo Group
restaurants are sort of upscale bistro food and service is in the
traditional manner. While the food is not haute cuisine by any stretch
of the imagination, it is very good. Especially the sea food. They
are sort of like the Danny Myers places in NY except that they are
less pretentious and much less expensive. And the service is as
good or even better. The food is also less creative and more traditional.
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We
decided on a bottle of Rose wine as it seemed like the right choice
for a summer evening in Nice. A bottle of Badoit was a must. Jane
started with a half dozen oysters, then had rare rumpsteak. I think
she would have preferred the steak tartare the couple at the next
table was eating... well we are sure she will indulge before the end
of the trip. She ended with creme brule. |
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Hal started
with the most wonderful gazpacho. It had a what we think was a lime
sherbet in it. One of the most delicious and interesting gazpacho
Hal has ever eaten. Then he had a fish dish which was good. The
sauce and veggies accompanying it were very good. Hal followed with
a Soup au Frais desert. It was fantastic. Had a mint infused soup
and some of that same lime sherbet. Great first night dinner.
Back to the
hotel for a good nights rest.
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Wednesday,
July 27 - We woke up late and didn't get out till close to 11am.
We headed east and found a place for breakfast on Grimaldi square.
The place ran out of croissants, The waiter suggested we go across
the street to a MonoPrix bakery to get the croissants, which of
course we did. The coffee was good - even if the iced coffee Hal
had was a bit diminutive.
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We
then drove off toward Monaco. On the way out of Nice we passed a very
large yacht with not 1, but 2 helicopters parked on its deck! We drove
through Cape Ferrat, which was just amazing. In credible views of
the bay and Nice and huge mansions, including one for the Rothchilds.
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We continued
around passed Eze. We were considering a restaurant outside of Eze,
Cheve D'Or, that was recommended by Hal's doctor, but we couldn't
even consider trying to drive those mountain roads back to Nice...
so it will be a pass this time around. We need to stay there if
we are going to eat there. If Hal's doctor prescribes it, will GHI
reimburse?
We continued
on to Monte Carlo. One huge traffic jam from one end of the principality
to the other. We did drive some of the Grand Prix course including
the Mirabel turn. We stopped for a few minutes outside the dock.
The yachts were just unbelievable, one huge one tied up to the next.
We were surprised
by the congestion in Monaco. The place has apartment buildings built
on top of one another. The density is just unbelievable. We got
bored looking at the giant yachts and headed back to Nice.
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We stopped
in Nice near the Gallery Lafayette and had sandwiches on the mall
nearby. Jane had her salami and Hal had his ham and cheese. Plus
lots of Coke Light. We then did a quick stroll through the Gallery
Lafeayette and then headed back to the hotel.
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We rested some
and then headed out to the Plage. This time we were smart and went
to the beach owned by the hotel. Comfortable chaise lounges, towels,
umbrellas and carpeted walk ways to the pier to swim off of. No more
trying to negotiate the rocks
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After swimming
Jane had a beer and Hal had a Compari and soda. What a way to live.
And while I
am all for topless beaches - sometimes it is not as pleasing as
one would expect. Some people are best covered up.
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That night
we were so tired that we decided to eat in the hotel. The formal
restaurant there (a 2 Star) didn't appeal to us so we went to the
bistro part. We ate on the terrace overlooking the Promenade Des
Angleterres. The folks at the next table (lubovd@bellsouth.net)
had an ex New Yorker as well some Floridians. Interesting to meet
people, even if they are Americans. Jane started with a green salad,
then had risotto fruits de mare. Hal had a red pepper mouse followed
by a coquille dish. Finishing off with a frozen chocolate mousse.
The food was exceptionally good and served with grace the French
way.
We then went
up stairs to get the laptop and went to the business center to send
some email. They need to get with it at this hotel. It was just
unacceptable to not have Internet service in our room.
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Thursday,
July 28th - Got up for breakfast around 9:45, got dressed and
headed to the old city (Cours Seleya). We had breakfast at an outdoor
cafe, but again they were out of croissants and us the bakery next
door. Can you imagine someone in Starbucks telling you to go next
door to get some pastries to bring back to have with your coffee?
It seems to be the thing to do in France.
The Cours Seleya
is an open market place with all sorts of wonder fruits, vegetables,
spices and flowers. Everything looked so good. We ended up buying
just some wonderful peaches.
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Seemed silly to
travel to Nice for Le Pain Quotidien --- we have one about 50 feet
from our front door in NY. |
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We then headed
west for our day's outing. We stopped in Antibes and went to the Picasso
museum in the old Grimaldi Castle. Picasso actually worked there for
a number of years. The sight overlooking the sea is magnificent. |
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We
continue on through Cap d'Antibes and on to Cannes. Cannes is certainly
up-scale. Every Madison Avenue shop was located on the main drag by
the water. A number of major expensive hotels, the hall for the film
festival rounded out the place. The yachts didn't measure up to the
ones in Monte Carlo, but anywhere else they would be amazing. |
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We were getting
tired and headed back to the Hotel on the A8 highway. At the hotel
we relaxed for an hour, then went swimming at the Neptune Plage
(beach), owned by the hotel. Had a great swim, did some reading
and Hal had a terrific bloody Mary. Back to the hotel for another
short rest.
We went to
dinner at Kai's Passion, a seafood restaurant noted for its wines.
We had the menu which started off with some Mojito served in a test
tube, and a plate of tastes - including anchovies (neither of us
had that), an avocado mouse in a pastry shell, candied tomato, candied
pineapple, melon with mozzarella cheese, and escargots. We then
had a fish appetizer with red snapper on baby artichokes followed
by a tiny cup of Gazpacho with a basil sorbet in it.. The main plate
was sea bass on a bed of girolles with these wonderful little potatos
that looked like French fries but tasted like very upscale knishes.
Then a pre
desert of pineapple and yogurt mouse (foam). Very light and wonderful.
Finally the desert was a grapefruit in a light aspic with yogurt
sorbet and candied pineapple. We had a wonderful Cote Roti (a half
bottle only) and a couple of bottles of San Pellegrino.
We walked back
to the hotel and finished off this commentary.
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