Villefranche-sur-mer - Winter 2026-6

Dear Friends,

Our time in Villefranche is rapidly coming to an end.  We are always sad when we must leave our French teacher, our friends and our home away from home.  This year is no different.  We had our last french lesson of this trip this morning.  We thought back on our time here this year and in the past.  We could never live here full time, but we still love to come here and hate to leave.  We are lucky that we can spend 3 months a year here.

After our last French lesson of the trip, we couldn't face making our own lunch so we went out to Bakaro, a small Italian bakery/coffee shop/cafe/wine bar that is just a three minute walk from our apartment.  If we go out for breakfast, it is our favorite spot.  They also have wonderful treats, great coffee and good lunches.  Today, Jane had an omelette.  They are really good especially with ham and cheese.  They are served with a little green salad.  I had their lasagna bolognaise.  Since we were sad that we would be leaving soon, we each had a glass of wine.  Jane had a wonderful little cookie with apricot filling and a noisette (small espresso with foamed milk).  I had a chocolat chaud.  Here is a picture of our dessert from lunch today.

noisette, chocolat chaud and cookie

Chocolat chaud is hot cocoa, but the Italian version and some French versions bear little to no relation to what we think of as hot cocoa.  I have written about chocolat chaud many times before.  Here is one example.  Since writing that blog, I discovered the Italian version of chocolat chaud in Ventimiglia.  It is a town located just into Italy from France and easy to get to on the train from Villefranche.  

The Italian chocolat chaud is much thicker than the french style.  The chocolat chaud at the Gran Caffe in Beaulieu-sur-mer which I had thought was the best was the Italian style but not so thick.  The chocolat chaud in Ventimiglia was great and very thick, but today I tried the chocolat chaud at Bakaro.  It is a whole new level of melted chocolat just barely able to be drunk.  

You can see from the photo below how thick the chocolat chaud is.  It is barely able to slip off the spoon.

Bakaro is so passionate about their chocolat chaud, they have a special sign describing the different styles.

Here is a very loose translation.  

Three ways to savor your chocolat chaud.

• "The Lapping" (normal)
• light, fluid, comforting 
• "The Swell" (thick)  [as in a big wave]
• more body, a texture that envelops your patate
• "The Depths" dense, intensely rich,
• to savor with a spoon

I asked the server for the thickest kind.  She actually told me after that she made me one between the "Swell" and the "Depths'.  Anyway, it was fantastic.  If it had been any thicker, I would have needed a knife.  I won't be able to go again this trip to Bakaro, but I will stop by in October to try the full on "Depths".

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

Villefranche-sur-mer Winter 2018 - 3

Dear Friends,

Today was a perfect day here in Villefranche - sunny skies and 60 degrees.  After spending the morning doing laundry which we of course hung outside to dry and studying our vocabulary, we decided we would walk to Beaulieu for lunch.  It is a little more than 1.5 miles east from our apartment mainly along the sea.  On the way there you walk past the gates to the Villa Nellcote.  Very seldom are the gates open so I was quick to take a peak as they were closing when we walked by.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Villa Nellcote, it is the villa where the Rolling Stones recorded their album, "Exile on Main St." in 1972.  They were eventually kicked out of town because of the drugs and negative influence on the youth of the area. 

We had lunch a the Gran Caffe in Beaulieu.  It is one of our favorites even though it is Italian.  We knew we were in France when a woman came in after us and took the next table.  She put her jacket down and then her dog on one chair and she took the other.  She was nice enough to ask if we minded, and we, of course, said no.  I did feel like the dog was my dinner companion.

In any case, the presence of the dog led to a conversation in French with the woman which was later joined by the French couple sitting on the other side.  By the way my lasagne bolognaise was great and was followed by the best chocolat chaud on the Côte d'Azur.  I have written about my search for the best before.  While I continue to search, I have yet to find any better.

While it was a beautiful day for us in Villefranche, the same cannot be said for several boat owners.  The wind began to pick up in the morning and by the time we were walking to Beaulieu for lunch the surf had too.

The picture does not do the surf justice.  On the walk to Beaulieu we noticed a dingy that had dragged anchor and was about to crash on the rocks as well as larger sailboat that had dragged but looked like the anchor may have reset.  Unfortunately, the wind and surf continued to increase during lunch and on our return, the sailboat had dragged onto the beach.

If they can get it off the beach before the seas increase again, it will be salvageable.  Unfortunately, the forecast calls for big winds again tomorrow.  These winds are basically out of the south, think Africa.  There was also a new boat that had dragged and was in the process of being smashed on the rocks.

This picture looks like the seas are calm but it is just between breakers that come in and bounce the boat off the rocks.  It was riveting to watch and each time we would turn to go we would hear another loud bang as it hit again.  If it can stay together a little longer and the winds subside, it could be rescued tonight but who knows.  The owner was nowhere in sight, just the police making sure that nobody did anything stupid like get between the boat and the rocks.

The sun is now setting and the wind has died a little with it, but the surf continues to crash.

And so ends another wonderful day in paradise.

Thanks for reading and please comment, 

The Unabashed Liberal