Saturday evening I spend catching up on emails, some work, washing and watching some television while Sunday is henceforth to be known as Dumb Dumber Dumbest day. I get up at what I thought was 09:15 and it turns out to be 07:15 – no problem I sit on the balcony reading the two newspapers I bought yesterday (yes of course they were in English) drinking my morning coffee. A new experiment for breakfast, bacon and goats cheese on a cracker biscuit – highly recommended. Next I plug the iron into my power board and blow the fuse on my universal plug and of course being Sunday that is problematic – but I carry two so that wasn’t too bad.
At 12:30 I head up to Grasse which is thirty minutes away only to find what I had already known but forgot, that the Tour de France will be passing through in 1½ hours and of course I have forgotten my camera – DUH! Anyway I have some boisson froid in a bar while watching the Tour on TV and go outside when the riders come whizzing by capturing some images on my iPhone. Quite exciting but I have no idea who was leading! An afternoon schmooze around Grasse and back to the hotel to watch the back end of the Wimbledon final - one set all when I arrive. I watch the end of the tennis, losing a small amount betting on it, while eating some food I had accumulated.
Monday morning and I managed to sleep in quite late 09:30. I readied myself and went up to Grasse and La Bastide St Antoine, a Michelin one star restaurant which was simply superb. The Jacque Chibois Restaurant was part of a guesthouse where rooms cost from €300 to €1000 Euros a night. I have discovered, partly in discussions with Adam and Nina, that Michelin Restaurants for lunch are a good proposition. This lunch was €59 set price for four courses while dinner was €120 fixed price or €190 degustation.
The surroundings were superb being set in a garden overlooking the beautiful valleys below. The Amuse Bouche came and it was a big enough portion that I began to wonder how that could be the entrée I had ordered!! But for entrée I chose the crab salad risotto with an amazing bisque sauce. I should say however that my cough which has now lasted for almost four weeks has taken its toll on my sense of taste and smell but I could taste enough to know how simply delightful it was. For mains I went Coquille St Jacques which were very nice but not exceptional and after the three cheese plate with salad I had the most beautiful Soufflé with a lovely texture and taste. The combination of food and surroundings were intoxicating. Of course I forgot my camera but My Iphone camera seems to have captured the moment – even the website has charm.
http://www.jacques-chibois.com/uk/navigation.htm
I didn’t get back to the resort/hotel till 16:00 after which, yes folks, I had a swim – after all I had brought my swimming costume with me and had not yet used it so now was the chance. After a dinner at the local Chinois/Thai it was an early night.
When I booked at Mandelieu I contacted Laurent, the Uni Student I had met a few weeks earlier. I had asked him where I should go. He proposed the same deal – I buy him dinner and he would act as my guide for the day. He probably did better this time as I had booked a Michelin one star restaurant for dinner but it sounded like a reasonable deal – and it sure was.
We went to Grasse to exchange some tablecloths I had previously bought. He then took me to a village called Cabris.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/cabris/cabris.htm
This village sites 550 metres above the Riviera and is described as: perched like an eagles nest the village's ancient houses fan out around the ruins of the feudal château. The view from the esplanade of château over the Var and towards Italy is really worth a detour! Take a walk around it's streets and you'll come across artists and crafts persons specialising in olive wood products, stained glass or Provençal santon decoration.... the village of Cabris is not just an extremely pretty Provençal village, it's also a pleasant meeting place! Interestingly the village lay empty for 150 years after a plague and was then reinhabited.
Then we went to Gourdon a lovely village where we did the tour of the Castle, one of the few in the southern part of France after Louis 14th ordered them all to be destroyed. The Russian tour guide speaking fluent French at the speed of sound made for a tough go but Laurent translated much of it and she did give some commentary in English just for me.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/gourdon/gourdon.htm
We had lunch here at a restaurant perched over the rocks and it was extremely pleasant especially as it was not overflowing with tourists.
Finally we went to Tourrettes Sur Loup which was recommended to me by Vivien.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/tourtlou/tourtlou.htm
In the historic centre of the village, there are more than 30 artists' workshops, galleries and crafts workshops. There are painting, sculptures, fabrics, jewellery and pottery and much more. It is another one of these towns where your mind casts itself back to what life must have been like centuries ago with the narrow streets, invaders and other threats etc.
We have a break at the hotel and head off to dinner around 19:30. Well Le Bacon, a speciality seafood restaurant proved to be the most expensive restaurant I have ever been to and was also a somewhat disappointing restaurant. Situated on the Cap d’Antibes the ambiance, outlook over the entire Riviera and service were, as one would expect, exceptional. The prices were even more exceptional – fish from $A120-$A160 a dish which was 500gms while Bouillabaisse Started at $A160 and went up to $A220 if you wanted Langoustines (crayfish in it). Laurent was a little embarrassed and ordered an entrée of seafood Ravioli which looked great while I had a fish soup with rouille which was excellent and quite filling. The rouille were a series of small crackers onto which one rubbed fresh garlic cloves and then added a type of aioli and put into the soup. Laurent pointed out this is normally eaten with grated cheese which he asked for and which certainly added flavour. We then shared a fresh foigras which was supposed to come with a glass of Pinot Gris which they forgot and which they kindly credited me with €4 – I can only imagine how much it would have cost if I ordered another glass – I am guessing not €4. Anyway the experience was excellent.
We moved on to Juan Les Pins where Laurent took me to a café where he previously worked called Pam Pam which had Brazilian music, singers and dancers which were very entertaining and added an incredible buzz to a simple dessert. Juan Les Pins is a lovely place in a glitzy type of way. Lots of nicely appointed shops open till very late in the evening, lots of restaurants and cafes on palm lined street but without the artificial glamour of Cannes. I drop Laurent off at Cannes station where he has left his motor scooter and get back to the hotel about 01:00 feeling awesomely tired.
I must say it was enjoyable spending a day with a local, there is so much to be learned and which one would not understand without some explanation. Apart from that he was very articulate and exceptionally well read on world events – we even had a debate on Burkha or no Burkha, a raging debate in France where the government wants to ban the full Burkha. He very much favours it while I do not but we won’t go there in this forum.
Next morning I gather up my last load of washing which is now dry and finish packing – of course I didn’t leave it to the last minute. Instead of checking out at 12:00 and heading for the airport I decide to leave at 09:30, spend the next four hours mooching and then go to the airport. Good move as there were huge traffic problems all the way to Nice. I went to a small village called Biot in which there are many glass artists. There I went into a number of galleries and under different circumstances I may have bought something but was too into getting home to think about schlepping something made of glass. I wind up in Nice around 12:30 where I have lunch, fill up and return the car and arrive at the airport. Damn – I get the bus from T2 to T1 only to find there are no trolleys. I schlep my luggage to the check-in counter and find nobody waiting so I check in with my 35 kgs (nothing said) and head through immigration and security to sit at a bar and relax for the 90 minutes before the flight.
All in all I had a great time. I managed to visit a large number of small villages, all of which seem to have their own identities. Spending two weeks at the bridge catching up with some good (and some not so good) friends and spending a week with Michael and Vivien all added to the pleasure.
My French is certainly not bad and I can manage in most situations. I can generally understand 60%-80% of the menus except at the more technical Michelin establishments.
I have a plan in my mind for next year but not having arrived home from this trip, that will have to wait for another time. BUT…..if anybody is interested in sharing a house in Provence for two weeks next year with an agenda of some fine dining, lots of village and market visits and some excellent home cooked meals with the freshest produce imaginable then please contact me – a clue there somewhere I guess.
I managed four seats between Nice and Dubai and slept a little. I took a room in the airport hotel for six hours and slept for five of those, the result of which I was awake for most of the 14 hours in a packed A380 between Dubai and Sydney.
Well, that’s all for this blog so Abientot and kisses on both cheeks French style
XXXD
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