Dear Friends,
I can't believe we have been here for a week already. After having been gone for seven months, we immediately felt at home in Villefranche again.
There have been some changes. Most of which are not for the better. Our favorite boulangerie, Chez Marie Claire, has closed because Marie Claire has retired. Unfortunately, we were not able to say goodbye. Our wonderful memories of her creations and her personality will remain. According to a small sign in the window as well as local gossip, a new boulangerie is coming that is not a chain. This is very good news, if and when it happens.
Another to retire is the local optician who was really great, both professionally and personally. We got a chance to see him as he is still working with his replacement who also seems really nice and professional.
Villefranche decided to upgrade the boats in its harbor which in my opinion has caused the harbor to lose some of its romance and charm. Now there are fewer boats and close in the harbor they are all moored in a line. Here are before and after pictures.
Before
Today
Perhaps I am just showing how spoiled we are.
On the bright side, there is a new coffee shop, boulangerie, wine bar and deli just down the street that our apartment is on. We have only tried the croissants and pain au chocolat both of which were great. We will go there more to check out all they have to offer.
Plus you never know when you will see something new. Here is a spear fisher person going after octopus in the rocks along the shore just below our apartment. You probably can't tell but those white things at his waist are several octopi that he has speared.
Of course a lot has stayed the same, so that our love for this place continues.
The full moons over the harbor as seen from our apartment.
Fortunately, it still rains occasionally just to break up the days on end of 60° lows, 75° highs and sunny or mostly sunny. We take those days in stride.
Then there is the joy of having a wonderful meal outside. Our favorite restaurant where we go the first and last nights that we are here as well as several times in between, is Le Serre, It is a restaurant where the staff is fantastic, the ambience is local casual, the food is authentic, ranging from pizzas to starters and main courses of the day which are great. We are so used to being there for wonderful dinners that we keep forgetting to take pictures.
The range of restaurants that we have enjoyed is very broad. Here is a sampling so far this trip.
Spalato is quite a nice restaurant right on the quay that runs along the bay. We had lunch there on the day we arrived.
Aren't the plates great. The wine glasses are not as big as they look in the photo.
That is a huge serving of very fresh burrata on some wonderful fresh vegetables.
Le Cosmo is a more casual restaurant but with good food and service. You never go hungry here because even the salads are big.
Sometimes we will have our French lessons outside at a cafe. La Baleine Joyeuse ("the merry whale") is one we frequent because it is close to our teacher's apartment, and they don't seem to mind if we sit there for several hours in the morning having just a coffee and sometimes a croissant. One day last week we decided to stay for lunch. I had mi-cuit thon (half cooked tuna).
Jane had a salad nicoise.
You would never guess that such food would come from this restaurant.
One of our favorite restaurants in Beaulieu sur mer, is La Maison de Beaulieu. It was closed last winter for renovations. It has reopened and is even better than before. It is almost exactly a 2 mile walk from our apartment so we feel that we can eat freely when we get there as we will also have a 2 mile walk home. Although in fairness we can take a bus so the walk is only about a half a mile. While it is the most expensive of the restaurants in this series, the price to quality ratio is excellent. You can see that in the presentation, and we certainly could taste it.
Jane had a chicken caesar salad. The Americanization of the name does not do it justice.
I had seared tuna again. It is so great here. Note the difference in presentation from the dish by the same name at La Baleine Joyeuse. There is a significant price difference.
Since we walked all that way and because the waiter was very persuasive, we had a pavlova with fresh strawberries for dessert. Just to prove we aren't complete degenerates, we skipped the lemoncello offered at the end of the meal.
Of course with all the wonderful places to buy fresh meats and vegetables, we do not have to go out to a restaurant for a great dinner. Here is a sampling of meals that we made at home.
entrecôte
blanc de poulet
côte de porc
There are also two things that are eternal and never change.
The sea and one's need to swim in it.
And the dog poops (but at least they are artistically placed on the sidewalk).
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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