Villefranche-sur-mer v.8

Dear Friends,

We continue to enjoy our life in Villefranche.  Today's post covers a variety of topics with no particular connection except that they are all part of our wonderful adventure.

First of course we must discuss food.  Unwittingly we have been sampling the wide variety of salade de chèvre chaud available in the various restaurants in and around Villefranche.  There are several ingredients that are essential to une salade chèvre chaud - lettuce (your choice of variety), small pieces of bread and of course warm goat cheese.  Beyond that, do what you will.  Here are three examples of salade chèvre chaud that we have had since we arrived in Villefranche.

The one above is, I think, my favorite.  It is from La Grignotière.  In addition to the required ingredients, it has red onion, that wonderful mustard vinaigrette dressing and the best part, pesto on top of the warm goat cheese.  The toast in this salad was perfect.  The bread had not been toasted when the chèvre was put on it.  The toasting occurred at the same time as the cheese was heated.  The bread under the cheese is not toasted at all, and the rest of the bread is golden brown but still soft.

The next one is from La Taverne d'antan in Eze.  The special ingredient for this salad is that there is really good syrupy balsamic vinegar heavily drizzled over the warm goat cheese.

The last one is my least favorite, but it was also the least expensive.  It comes from Les Palmiers.

As you can see there is less cheese and lots more lettuce.  Nevertheless, it had three special ingredients - walnuts, honey and lardons, all of which added great taste.

But we have not just been eating.  We also had a great adventure last Wednesday.  We decided that we would visit the ancient hilltop town of Eze.  It is a tourist heaven and generally priced accordingly, but for some reason nobody goes there in January so many of the art galleries and restaurants are closed.  Our adventure began when we decided that we would rent a car for the day.  We could technically have visited Eze by bus, but they run every hour and 10 minutes or so, and we could only have visited Eze.  We reserved a rental car online on Tuesday night.  Wednesday morning we took the bus to Nice to the port and changed to the tram to get close to the car rental place and walked there.  They had our reservation and our car.  In a mixture of French and English we got all the instructions and started our trip to Eze.  To make my life easier, I took the way I knew rather than the most direct route.  As a result we had a wonderful drive along the coast.  We stopped at one point to take in the view.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day and the sea was quite tranquil.  You can also tell that the land rises very quickly from the sea.  We arrived at Eze without any problems.

The plan shows the area of the old city which was started sometime in the 1200s.  Only pedestrians are permitted.  It is quite a climb to the top but well worth it because of the views.  Also there is a wonderful cactus garden there.

It is a beautiful old town with narrow streets and surprises at every corner.  The best part for us is that in January it is virtually deserted.  The cactus garden is wonderful because of all the amazing varieties of cacti.  Here is one that we liked because it represents the renewal of life.

Since the top is about 700 meters above the sea, the views are spectacular.

This picture is looking back along the coast toward Nice which you can see very faintly in the distance.  The first point that goes out quite far is Cap Ferat.  It is the point that separates Beaulieu from Villefranche.  The second point is Cap de Nice which separates Villefranche from Nice.  Hence these two caps form the natural harbor at Villefranche.

After walking around (more like up and down) Eze, we drove to another picturesque hilltop town, La Tourbie, which is about 650 meters above the sea.  The road from Eze to La Tourbie is really great if you love switchbacks and narrow roads on cliffs.  The views are also fantastic.  We thought we might see the Roman ruins, but it being January they were closed.  Nevertheless, we got a picture.

We drove back to Nice and since we had come from La Tourbie, we arrived in a different part of Nice.  Amazingly enough we filled the car with diesel, found the car rental place and returned the car with no damage to us or it.  We had a great day.

In addition to walking along the sea and up and down hills, I get my exercise playing patétanque (aka boule) once a week on Saturday mornings with a bunch of expats.  We are not very good nor are we anywhere as serious as the French are, but we have fun.  A very important part of our game is kibitzing.  The game is simple to understand but difficult to play well.  A player draws a circle in the sand to stand in and throws a light small ball (la chochonnet) which then becomes the target.  The team with one of its balls nearest la chochonnet gets a point for each ball that is closer than any of the other team's balls.

The guy in the foreground with the small green ball (la chochonnet) in his hand is the only French person in the group.  This group included 2 from the US, 1 Australian, 1 Scotsman and 1 Canadian in addition to the sole Frenchman.  This picture is from last week when only one woman came and she came late.  This week the group was expanded by 3 women (2 French and 1 Canadian) and the Scotsman was replaced by another American male.

After Pétanque, Jane and I went to the Saturday market where we bought some beautiful tulips, some homemade soup, two wonderful homemade tapenade type toppings, one was made with tomatoes and one with onions.  That same guy also makes his own olive oil, so we got some of that as well.  We then took a long walk along the sea before having lunch outside where we (and everybody else) were serenaded by a guitar and fiddle duo playing swing music.  

When we returned to our apartment, we understood yet another difference between January in Minnesota and January in Villefranche.  Here is the view from our balcony when we returned.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

Villefranche-sur-mer v.7

Dear Friends,

Today after we finished our French tutoring and had lunch, we decided to go to Nice.  We took the bus as usual, but this time we decided that we would walk along La Promenade des Anglais which is la grande promenade right along the ocean.  It was started by the British aristocracy who vacationed in Nice in the early 19th century, and Nice has turned it into a wonderful promenade for both tourists and locals.

After walking about a mile or so along the beach, we decided that we needed to experience the  Promenade des Anglais as the British aristocracy did, so we went to Le Negresco, a beautiful five star hotel on La Promenade des Anglais.  The hotel opened in 1913 and was named after the architect.

We were only going to have un verre (a glass of wine) and some water so how much could it cost.  We should have had a clue when the man at the front door ushered us personally all the way to the bar which looked like a very old conservative British bar.

We each ordered a glass of the least expensive wine they had.  It was very good wine.  We also had a small bottle of sparkling water.  We thought the prices were extravagant even with the wonderful snacks that came with the drinks.

                       

 

The bill was very straight forward.  With a small tip, our little excursion into the past cost us 40 euros.

As a result we decided that we would not go out to dinner tonight but instead would have a simple meal at home.  Before we could do that, however, we had to stop at the Nespresso store to get some more coffee and then at Les Galeries Lafayette, a huge French department store, for a little shopping as there were great sales going on after the holidays.  We took the bus back to Villefranche, arriving at about 6:30 and quickly stopped at the Primeurs to get some potatoes and vegetables, then the boulongerie for a small dessert (a chocolate eclair to split) and then the butcher for a chicken breast.  We were home by 7, and Jane had prepared a wonderful meal by 7:30.

This entire meal including the wine (which was twice as much as our normal 6 euro wine) was way less than half of our glass of wine at Le Negresco.  But we had a great afternoon exploring Nice.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

Villefranche-sur-mer v.6

Dear Friends,

One of the things that we love about Villefranche is that we are a part of the weather and the natural parts of life that we often miss in a big city.  We know when the sun rises and when it sets.  We can tell when the rain is coming and when it will clear.  We notice the beautiful and varied colors of the sea and the surrounding hills.  We have a greater sense of nature.  So I would like to share some of the wonderful nature of Villefranche with you.  If I were Ansel Adams, the photographs would be much better, and you would be able to really get a sense of the beauty of Villefranche regardless of the time of day or weather.

Of course, first of all the high today was 61 and the low was 46  It was windy but when we took our walk and were sheltered from the wind, I had only a long sleeved shirt on and was very comfortable.

This year has been somewhat more cloudy than last year, but we still get great light and colors particularly as the sun is rising and setting.  Here is a picture that I posted a couple of days ago of the rising sun hitting Villefranche in the morning taken from across the harbor as we were on our morning walk.

The next one is taken from our apartment looking east across the bay as the sun is rising.

Except for Sunday afternoon, the sea has been (as they say in France) agitated.  Here is a picture from our apartment balcony on Sunday afternoon when the sea was rather tranquil.

The tranquility lasted long enough for a poor boat owner to try to salvage something from a boat that had not survived the seas.

Today the seas got really agitated.  We have never seen the waves breaking over the promenade and covering the roadway with water.

                         

They closed the parking lot for the beach. We tried to walk along the road for the parking lot but thought better of it when we could not get through several inches of water on the road between the breaking waves.  They also closed the road along the water in front of all the restaurants that line the harbor.

They also closed the path around the point on which the old fort is located.  That meant that we could not do most of our regular walk.  In the picture below the sea looks much more tranquil than it is.  Villefranche is a deep water harbor and the swells can build up as the bay get shallower.

The skies are now cloudless and the stars are beautiful, but the wind continues.  The forecast for the next two days is all sun so hopefully the seas will become more tranquil.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal