Millers' Time

I got up and started getting things ready to pack. Did a small load of clothes and hung them on the terrace to dry. Wrote my blog about the day before.

Started to cook some eggs that the guys had left. I was going to soft boil them so put on a pan of water. I kept checking it and it seemed to take forever. I put a lid on it to speed it up. Still no boil. Finally I realized the light was out and the stove wasn’t working. I emailed and texted the guys but it was middle of the night for them. So I ate some yogurt.

I decided to go to the Promenade for lunch and sit in the sun. It was another great day. I went to Queenie, the same cafe we had gone to on my first day for wine.

I ordered the Salade Queenie which had duck gizzards, smoked breast, and foie gras. It was served with actual toast, not baguettes! It was really good but had just a few too many green peppers for my taste.

I know most of you won’t think it looks or sounds good, but I really enjoyed it. The gizzards were very tender, the duck breast was silky smooth and not over-smoked, and the fois gras, was wonderful!

I wanted to go back to a store I had seen the day before to get a tablecloth after Courtney had measured ours for me. So I walked all along the Promenade then cut up to Old Town. I finally found the one restaurant I had been looking for and was hoping to get a reservation for that night, but it was closed! Supposed to have been open from 12:00 – 2:30! Oh, well.

I found the store and bought a tablecloth with some flowers and bees! Frankie had told me that there was a region of France that is represented by bees. I thought that would be very fitting for my table.

Went back to the apartment and packed most of my stuff, then sat in the sun for the last time on the terrace. I am going to miss the warm weather and view from that terrace!

I did some research for a place to eat dinner and found some great reviews for one that was very close, L’Antica. I got there fairly early but wanted to make sure I could get a table and also to be home early since I was leaving in the morning.

There were a few people outside but no one inside. I was seated close to an open wood burning cooking fireplace. The waiter gave me a menu then pointed to one on a small piece of slate and indicated that those items were cooked on the wood fire. Well that decided it for me!

When he came back he told me about several of the meats and said the pork dish was very good, so I went with that.

Another table of 3 was seated, and a couple of women came in and ordered a bottle of wine and sat outside. Many people prefer outside because they can smoke.

There was a waiter, a bar tender (who also delivered drinks outside), and two chefs in the kitchen. The waiter came out with a tray with my pork on it, asked me how I wanted it, and proceeded to cook it on the fireplace.

I can’t imagine how he would be able to handle that along with everything else when it got busy. And, they had 2 tables set up for 6, and a couple of 4-tops ready. People started arriving for those tables before I left.

He brought my meal to me. There was the pork and an herb salad with hazelnuts on a wooden plate, a big bowl of frites, and a basket of baguettes. The pork, salad and frites were all great. I didn’t touch the baguettes. It was all very simple but very good and the perfect ending meal for my time in Nice.

Oh, and I actually ordered dessert. He brought over a plate with about six items on it and I had the caramel one. It was almost like cheesecake in a nut tart shell. Also, very good.

I returned to the apartment and read for a while then went to bed. The beautiful full moon was rising over the city.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

It was a cloudy day with a possibility of rain so I thought it would be a good day to go to the Modern Art Museum. I guess I am not a huge modern art fan. Some of the things were good but others were rather bizarre.

Sometimes the best things are are just there. This was the view from the top floor of the museum.

After that, I sauntered through Old Town again. I happened upon a cathedral so went in. A Museum and a Cathedral both in the same day! I had said I wasn’t really here for either but figured I had to do at least one of each!

I hadn’t eaten yet so stopped at Socca Therese in the Cours Saleya market and got a psper cone of socca to eat as I walked around. I also stopped at a stall that had cheeses and sausages and got some chorizo slices for later.

I walked back to the apartment and went a different way and ended up backtracking a bit but saw lots of that part of town.

A few hours later, I decided to get some lunch and went next door to Chez Faty. It is a Portuguese woman and her French husband who run it. It is only open in morning and afternoon.

It was pretty interesting since they didn’t speak any English and I don’t speak French.

Her: Fish? (she did say that in English)
Me: No. Plat du jour?
Her: Fish, salad, omelet
Me: Salad
Her: Nicoise?
Me: Oui
Him: Omelet? (and he started naming off kinds of omelet)
Me: Fromage

The omelet came very quickly and had a samll salad on the plate too. Not Nicoise, though. The omelet was tasty, the bread was the most like trashy white bread that I have had since I’ve been here. Like something you would get in the grocery at home called French Bread.

Pretty soon the wife left, and I am thinking, they must be getting ready to close since she is the cook. I finished my wine and paid, then left. They were still open an hour or so later when I went to the corner store.

One of the other things you see all the time on the streets is people walking around clutching a baguette, or three or four. I stopped down the street and bought one to go with my lentil soup. It was very good. So was the soup!

Lentil Soup ala Robin

Lardons
Onions
Carrots
Leeks
Thyme
Green Lentils
Small jar of Arribiata (spicy) Tomato Sauce
Chicken broth (homemade, of course!)
Leftover Chicken

Fry lardons then saute diced vegetables in the bacon grease. Add broth and thyme. Bring to a boil and add lentils. Lower to simmer and cook 20 minutes, add tomato sauce. Serve with fresh baguette from corner boulangerie! Bon Appétit!

I decided on Tuesday to take the tramway all the way to one end, will do the other way another time. I went the furthest from my normal stop towards Hôpital Pasteur.

I am not sure how long it took, maybe half an hour or so to the end. I got off and wandered around a bit. It was mostly residential with a few boulangeries, of course.

I got back on the tram and got off again at Saint Roch. There was a market going on there so I wandered around it. Then I walked around for a while.

There are a lot of parks here and they always have children playing in them being watched by their parent. There was a small one at this stop just full of kids. Many riding their little 2 wheeled toys. There were also jungle gyms to play on. The thing I noticed that they have tried to correct in the US is that all the big toys were on cement or asphalt.

After a while, I got back on the tram and took it to Garibaldi Square. I again walked for blocks all around the area, further than the previous stops since there were more shops and restaurants to look at.

One of the things you see everywhere are dogs. They are on the streets, trams, in restaurants, and probably stores. And where there are dogs, there is dog shit. You don’t see anyone with little doggie bags on their leashes and you have to constantly watch where you walk or you will step in it.

I was walking behind 2 women. One of them was carrying a little French bulldog and another dog was walking with them. I was keeping a close eye on the dog and was just getting ready to pass when I saw it dribbling runny poop, just as one of the women stepped in the bigger pile and slid. I had to keep on walking so as not to start laughing but then I caught a whiff and gagged. Just another common scene on the street.

There are also people begging, but not as many as on the streets of Seattle. Usually they are sitting on the sidewalk, back against a building, with a little cup or hat out. They don’t typically say anything but there are usually a few small coins. Most of them also have dogs.

While Frankie assured me that smoking in France is the same per capita as in the US, I find it hard to believe. I know there are more than Seattle, maybe not more than in some of the Southern tobacco growing states. Even though you aren’t supposed to smoke in restaurants, they all have outdoor covered areas where people sit and smoke. Maybe all the wine and walking make up for the smoking.

There are always lots of people walking everywhere. Even though there are cars lining every street along with motorcycles, and there is a lot of traffic everywhere, there are still always walkers.

I had read and heard that the French didn’t wear jeans or tennis shoes and dressed up more than we do, but not in Nice. There are people wearing jeans everywhere, also a lot of flats not high heels. Maybe because it is a vacation city they dress more casually.

I decided to stop for lunch at the restaurant we hadn’t been able to get into Saturday night, Comptoir Central Electrique. There were only a few people there, but it might have been a bit early for lunch for the French.

I ordered a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad with mesclun. I thought the menu said something about berries and truffles too, but was sure.

I smelled the truffles as soon as it was set down before me. There was a large, heirloom tomato and a good sized ball of mozzarella with shave truffles on top. There were some berries (black and raspberry?) that were separated into individual seeds. Mesclun with a tiny bit of dill and sea salt along the side of the plate. It was a taste sensation that melded perfectly together.

After lunch, I wandered through old town again then head to the mall, Nicetoile. It is a four story mall with a lot of the same brand stores as in the states. I walked around every floor and into some stores but bought nothing. I have very little luggage space so am not going to be doing much souvenir shopping unless it is small or flat!

After that, I headed back to the apartment. It was another nice, warm day so I sat in the sun again and read.

I did make my chicken stock and then had leftovers for dinner. I thought I might do more lunching out and eating in both here and in Italy.