Thursday morning I was up earlier and ready to go for a walk by 9:30. I decided to go see the Russian Orthodox Church, Cathédrale Russe. It was in the opposite direction of the main part of town and, therefore, in an area I hadn’t explored. I managed to find it easily but was surprised to find it was totally covered. The gate was also closed. There might have been another one somewhere else, but I didn’t think of looking until later.

Cathédrale Russe Incognito!

I decided to walk down along the Promenade since it was such a nice day. Then I wandered through the streets by the apartment before stopping at the boulangerie where I had picked up my baguette the day before. I got a pastry with saucisse (sausage.) The pastry was very flaky but the sausage was like a hot dog. Looked like one and tasted like one. Oh well, hot dog for breakfast.

I returned to the apartment and finished reading, The Boys in the Boat. It is the story of the University of Washington crew team that won the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Very good read. I highly recommend it.

I did a little research and decided to head back to Old Town for lunch. There were a couple of places I was looking for and finally stumbled across one of them, Olivera. It was a very small cafe that was fairly full and only a large table for 5 available. However, all the restaurants have outdoor tables and I said I would be happy to sit there. Especially since it was stifling hot inside.

The owner is very garrulous and brought out a menu and asked me if I wanted hot or cold. I said hot and he explained several menu items. I decided on the pumpkin lasagne.

The restaurant also sells olive oil and you can order it online. He brought out a basket of bread with a bowl and bottle of olive oil. He poured some of the olive oil into the small bowl and told me where it came from. I didn’t catch it and said I wasn’t familiar with the area. He said it was where Van Gogh was from.

When he brought the lasagne, he had 2 bottles of olive oil. Both from the same olive trees, one green oil and the other black oil. He poured one kind on half of the lasagne and the other on the other half. The green was more assertive and I appreciated it more.

The lasagne was good. Carmelized pumpkin and onions for a filling, along with some chard mixed into the cheese. By the end of it, however, I was wanting some texture besides smooth.

Pumpkin Lasagne at Olivera

I asked for my check a bit later when he checked on me as some people were leaving. I waited and waited. People watching was fun but after a while I had seen many of the same people at least twice. I had looked in several times and saw him always talking to people. Finally, the door opened and some people were leaving and he saw me and was like, Oops. I said, forgot me didn’t you? Yes, he had!

While I had been waiting I noticed a bicycle straight across from me. It was cute and had a little basket on the back.

Not sure if you can read it but it is a Mercedes Benz bike! Who knew?!

I went back to the apartment and sat in the sun reading again. Frankie and Don had bought a pizza and it was still in the fridge so I decided I should have it for dinner. I added my chorizo sausage, some onions, and red pepper. The crust was not the best but it was okay.

I watched a movie, High Society, with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. They have pencil sketches of her, Sophia Loren, Catherine Daneuve, and Princess Diana on the living room wall so have movies with all of them (except Di.)

The Girls

One more day in Nice then I am off to Florence on Saturday morning. I am ready to move on to a new place and new adventures.