Nous Arrivon s á Nice

Our flight arrives around noon—2 hours late, but that’s just fine as we’ll now be able to go directly from the airport via tram and drop our bags and get the keys. 

Views in 2 directions. @airbnb Delighted. After a very long and uncertain travel day with 2 delayed flights—weather in Newark—actually boarding-deplaning—reboarding—delay for repairing a seat in 1st class. A run through terminal C in Newark with hopes of not missing the flight, to find flight to Nice delayed—twice. Overseas flight had many extra seats so the payoff was that we each got our own row for the 6 hour overnight flight.

Corinne meets us at No. 6 Rue Giofreddo and gets us settled into the flat. She’s very organized and has provided a lovely setting with tons of amenities along with Rosé and juice, cookies and thoughtful touches. 

Our first thoughts are about lunch, so we walk to Cours Saleya and Le Safari—a longtime favorite restaurant. The first one we ate at on our first visit to Nice and Provence. 

I’m thinking pizza and CA orders a Niçoise salad and a glass of Rosé.

We walk to the Promenade and pause to take in the magnificence of the beautiful Baie de Anges (Bay of Angels). As we head back to our flat, we walk the familiar streets of the Old City and share a cup of gelato at Oui—pistachio and chocolate. Still the very best Gelato ever. 

FRANCE: Day 18 - Nice, all day

Nice is our destination today, and to get a good start we skip our morning at the café and brew some dandy French press in the Villa. We’re headed this morning to the Marche Aux Fleurs. Surprisingly, the sky clears as we travel eastward. By the time we’ve parked and ascended the stairs to street level on Cour Saleya, the sun is out! Oh, glorious sun. We’ve missed you.

NICE et MOUGINS

Club Mougins - Mougins, Provence, France

I wake early and stiff. and so head out for a walk along the still dark streets of Nice in search of an early opening café or boulangerie. After a brisk 30 minutes I locate a take-out espresso bar and then just around a corner and a boulangerie where I find a mixed nut sable for Chris and quiche Lorraine for me. Just around the next corner is our hotel.

SN1 and SN2 are to meet us at the Nice Garden Hotel. As arranged, we have high-range walkie talkies to communicate, and just after noon we connect and are on our way to Mougins. We have maps, but our ace in the hole is Maggie, the British expat GPS.

A bright and sunny morning turns overcast as we begin our short journey to Mougins. We travel through a series of roundabouts following Maggie’s instructions-- right turns and left, and one jaunt winding uphill then down through almost too narrow lanes. Maggie seems to be having fun with us. And then, the final climb and we are at Club Mougins.

At check-in we find we have two hours until we can take possession of our villa, so we walk down the winding hill, through a lovely garden to a small Italian café and enjoy a leisurely meal. After, we cross to a grocery store and somehow leave with mostly chocolate and wine…

Villa #805 is high on a hillside, up a series of outdoor staircases. Guess what we find just inside the door? One more staircase! Worth it all when we see the size and ambiance of our home for this week. Nestled into a hillside, it is large by European standards with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a roomy open-plan kitchen and lounge. We have a corner terrace that overlooks undulating hills sprinkled with Provençal villas and blooming gardens—spectacular even in the rain.

SN1 and SN2 hang on until 6:30pm and then succumb to the gods of jetlag. CA and I settle in with our books and also find two English language cable channels. Our “In the Know” packet claims we have an Internet connection, but… Not too late, we shower and climb into our king-sized bed—luxurious w/ soft, white bed linens and 6! fabulous pillows. We will sleep well tonight in Provence. Bonne nuit.

NICE IS NICE

The kiddies are sleeping as the alarm buzzes softly this a.m. We creep around with final packing and showers. DM will take us to the bus in the Centrum [center of Bratislava] for the launch of Adventure, part 2. He has a bad cold and is feeling sickly, so I prepare a pot of French Press made with Intelligentsia coffee. Soon MP joins us with a smiling and sleepy-eyed KF. She is still shy, but always happy to see us--our beautiful baby girl.

A short bus ride to Vienna Flughofen [airport]. We order a kaffe mélange and settle in to the time-honored café rites of silence, smoking, and world-class people watching [without the smoking!]. Our first ever Sky Europe flight beats out Southwest. Safety instructions in three languages—German, French, and English—with the bonus empty seat between us to spread our elbows. Sky Europe has not yet stolen every millimeter of legroom…

The landing in Nice is close to spectacular. If the skies had been sunny instead of overcast and drizzly, “spectacular” would not have covered it. You virtually make a water landing—wheels down almost before you can believe there is earth beneath. Mediterranean Sea waves are crashing into the shoreline and snow-capped mountains are on the horizon. Nice appears ochre and cream, pink and white, with sun-burnt orange tile roofs interspersed throughout.

We know to buy the 4€ all day bus ticket and quickly move to Quai 2 to board. The entire bus ride follows the Baie des Anges [Bay of Angels] and in 15 minutes we are at Promenade des Congrès and a short 2-block walk to the Nice Garden Hotel. We buzz into a simple and charming B&B and are shown about by an effusive Marian—co-owner. Our room has been recently updated and, though basic, has just enough space and a trendy, urban feel. There are wooden floors, soft taupe herringbone wall coverings, and sleek-tiled bathroom walls. A charming shuttered window overlooks the back garden. We are here just for tonight, but will remember and recommend this hotel.

We spend the afternoon wandering the cobblestoned streets, admiring the ambiance and architecture—happy and excited to be on the Cote d’Azur. We head for Place Masséna and then Marché aux Fleurs—Nice’s famous flower market. Marian has recommended Safari for a late lunch and it is seriously drizzling by the time we find it near the end of the flower market. We see many cafes outfitted for wintertime outdoor dining, but have determined to follow Marian’s recommendation. We are not disappointed as this seems a local place—despite its tourist location.

I don’t care if it is trite, I cannot resist ordering salade Niçoise to compare with all the recipes I have read and made in the U.S. Very fine, with just a drizzle of olive oil—mixed greens, radishes, mushrooms, tomatoes, tuna, hard-cooked egg, and scallions. No boiled potatoes in this version. I don’t share, although CA is generous with his pizza with anchovies and olives. CA thinks he has ordered a glass of the local rosé, but ends up with a bottle and we are forced to finish it! It is the lightest pink and the best wine ever...

We hope to fit two meals in, but that full bottle of rosé and then the extra long walk results in a nap. By the time we are again conscious, it is late and we are not hungry… We’ll begin early tomorrow and then our friends join us midday for a week in Mougins and the delights of Provence.