Villefranche-sur-mer v. 3

Dear Friends,

Today, it rained almost all day, and we are still suffering jet lag so we slept late.  We finally got going on our walk at about 3:30 pm which is the perfect time since the stores are re-opening after their mid-day closing, usually from noon or 12:30 to 3:30.  We walked along the sea below the giant walls of the old fort with the waves hitting the rocks below us.  When we got up to the Octroi, we could start our shopping for the day.

Before I continue, perhaps the time has come for a little lesson on Villefranche.  The old town of Villefranche along with the fort that protected it and the harbor sit at seal level but the hills drop precipitously into the sea.  As a result in the old town you are often walking up/down very steep hills.  The road that is right by the ocean only goes along the harbor but cannot go to the town on either side.  The first road up the hill that can go to other towns is referred to as the basse corniche.  At the base corniche we can get the bus to Nice or Monaco depending on whether we are heading east (to Nice) or west.  When we reach the basse corniche, we have left the old town.  To walk from sea level just below our apartment to the base corniche is about 500 meters even though as the crow flies it would be about half of that distance.  All of the restaurants and shops that we frequent are at or below the base corniche.  Just to give you an idea of the ratio of hills to distance, my step counter for today shows that I only walked 6,171 steps but I walked up/down 36 stories.

The next level up is the moyenne corniche, roughly halfway between the basse corniche and the grande corniche that runs along the very top of the hill.  The grande corniche is over 200 meters above sea level, but only about 600 meters as the crow flies.  That is probably over a 30% gradient.  The system of basse, moyenne and grande corniche works all along the French coast of the Mediteranean.

I should add just a little history.  The harbor at Villefranche is the only natural, deep water harbor  along the north coast of the Mediterranean.  As a result, since forever it has been conquered and occupied by just about any force you have ever studied in history, starting with the Greeks and Romans, then in more modern times the French retook it in 1793 only to give it up to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814.  It was returned to the French in 1860 and has remained French since then.  The Russians used the harbor as an important port in the late 19th century, and Villefranche served as the home port for the American 6th Fleet from 1948 to 1966.  In 1966 Charles DeGaulle took France out of NATO and forced the Americans to leave.  It is now the most visited port of call for cruise ships in France.

So I said that when we reached the Octroi we could start our shopping.  The Octroi is on the basse corniche and gets its name from the place where the tax on goods was collected.  On the basse corniche at the Octroi, you will find a Casino store, Picard Surgelés and Primeurs which we frequent on our shopping trips.  There are also many other shops, etc.  As usual we started our shopping at the Casino, moved on to Picard and then Primeurs before heading back down into the old town where we could stop at the boucher, the patisserie, another Casino (where they have bio milk) and the legume guy.

This trip resulted in a particularly good meal.  We were delighted to find both romanesco broccoli and cauilflower to roast.

In addition, the entrecôte at the boucher looked really good so we got 500 grams.

When we added some baked potatoes and a fresh baguette, we had a great looking meal.

We could never skip the fresh pastries, so we finished with a tarte au poire.

All in all not a bad way to forget that it was a rainy day.  Tomorrow is predicted to be sunny, so we can eat more healthy then.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal