Nice is Nice…

….but off we go to the Bordeaux region of France.

Before I tell you what we did on Monday, however, I want to wish my stepmother a wonderful birthday. She and my dad are two of my most loyal readers, so I know she won’t mind if I tell you that she is happy to be turning 39 (again). Happy birthday, Shirley! We will see you both very soon.

Now, on to our day in Nice. We got up early and decided to set off on foot. Our hotel is near the airport, so I think it is somewhere around three or four miles from Vieux Nice, or the old town. It is right on the Mediterranean, however. Our plan was to catch a bus and take it the rest of the way if and when we got tired. Well, we started off on a side street so that we could find a boulangerie (to buy a croissant) and a cup of café au lait. Once we had a bite of food and some joe (can you call it joe when it’s loaded with sugar and hot milk?) under our belt, we walked a block over and started walking down the street that ran along the ocean. It was so beautiful and we were enjoying the walk so much (in particular, Bill was enjoying the women’s lack of modesty in their bathing styles), before we knew it, we had walked the whole way.

Along the way we saw a variety of beautiful apartments and hotels that overlooked the ocean. Bill shot this photo of a particularly pretty hotel (which, I emphasize, is not ours).

We looked at some of the things we had missed the night before in the old town center, and then began searching for a place to eat. We walked down a street called Rue Droite, which is a long, skinny medieval street. We were looking for a bakery that is reported to have won awards for the best baguette in France. We found the bakery, but unfortunately it is closed on Monday. We did find a little restaurant that served a Nicoise specialty called socca. Socca are omelettes made from garbanzo beans – basically fried hummus. Bill and I split an order of socca and a Nicoise salad. He had a beer and I had a glass of the ice cold, and very delicious, Cote de Provence rose wine. Afterwards, we tracked down Fenocchio’s, a wonderful gelato place that offers 86 flavors. The grand marnier flavor I selected was maybe the best I’ve had on this trip.

We caught a bus home and spent a quiet afternoon reading. Once it got dark (and a bit cooler), we walked over to the market and bought some pate, cheese, and wine. We found a little store that sold wonderful baguettes and enjoyed a picnic in our room.

We will be up bright and early tomorrow as we head north to Bordeaux.