DAY 48 - WED 4/17 - Nice & Cap Ferrat

It's Wednesday and already our fifth day on the Cote D'Azur. It has warmed up considerably from Paris, although the weather reports indicate that Paris is also warming...we just hit a very cold spell there.

We set our alarm for an early rise so we could go into Beaulieu for cafes first and then return westward to Nice and get to the Marche aux Fleurs (Flower Market) before it closes at mid-day.

This is the lovely market in Beaulieu...everything you need...

and this is a 'regular' at the Gran Caffe, always sporting a stunning Ralph Lauren outfit...

On the way to Nice we passed the gigantic boats in the port, and arrived in Nice before 11am.  We put the car in a garage in the center of town right near the Flower Market...so civilized...Nice has huge traffic problems and we don't want to risk getting a "contravention", a parking ticket. 

As we enter the market area in Place Cours Saleya there are already hundreds of strollers, shoppers and tourists from many countries crowding the congested area. It doesn't seem as sumptuous as we remember it was years ago.  

    

  

There were some street artists...

    

But only one Socca maker...we remembered there were several all around the piazza (that's the chick pea flour crepe made on the street that Nice is known for).  We weren't hungry but we just had to order one for old times sake...it was OK, but again not like we had remembered it to be.  Things change...

    

    

    

We then left the Marche and walked over to the very wide promenade which stretches for several kilometers along the beach called Promenade des Anglais...this is to Nice what the boardwalk is to Coney Island, or the promenade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Everyone is drawn here for what the Italians would call a 'Passagiata,' a stroll to see and be seen. There are hundreds of people walking, biking, roller blading, skate boarding, jogging, meeting, and snacking. 

    

    

We strolled past huge hotels, the biggest and most famous the Negresco, a landmark in Nice (now unless you are a guest you cannot go in to look around at the over the top design), and lovely old ornate apartment buildings, and a Casino.

    

 

  

There are also charming outdoor restaurants on the water side of the Promenade which sprawl directly on to the beach, with sofas for relaxing comfort and luxury...how sophisticated!!

 

  

It's approaching 1:30 and we are now hungry. While Marty yearns to return to one of the restaurants near the flower market for a bit of nostalgia, Jill decides, since the weather is so surprisingly beautiful today, that we should take asvantage and eat in one of the finer beach restaurants...we choose the Plage Beau Rivage. It's immaculate (having just opened last weekend for the season), upscale, has a great menu and it sits right on the beach with white tablecloths, waiters in suits, and huge market umbrellas for sun protection...How elegant and civilized! Just like Coney Island!  It's a lovely spot and we enjoyed our favorite Salade Nicoise and a cool bear. The sights on the promenade are amazing and hundreds more seem to add onto the traffic flow by the minute. 

 

Of course everything in Nice is in view of the famous, and infamous very rocky beach, as well as the sun bathers, all shapes and sizes and ages...many topless (with or without work done).  It's all pretty natural here, what French beaches are known for...ooooooh la la!.......ouch!!

    

    

After lunch, we walked off our delicious meal back up on the promenade for a while and then found the garage, payed the bill and drove to St. Jean Cap Ferrat, a gorgeous hill town and port just next to Beaulieu. Jill is searching for a noted eponomous restaurant at Paloma Beach. The narrow windy roads make it difficult to watch for road signs and the occasional oncoming vehicle. We pass Paloma Beach but double back and then find it (no sign for the restaurant, of course). The restaurant is reached via a very steep long ancient stone staircase about 100 feet straight down.,,you have to really want to go there. We go all the way down only to find out that they are closing (lunchtime is over) and they don't open for dinners until end of May...that is their season. So we climb back up the steps and decide that we'll return another day for lunch. It really is a hidden and spectacular spot! And who knows what eye candy we'll see there during the day on the beach in front!

After we found Paloma Beach, we went back into the little village center of Cap Ferrat at the marina of St. Jean on the port. 

It is charming, with art galleries, studios, hundreds of beautiful, mostly sail boats, quite a few huge yachts, and of course several restaurants. 

We decide this is the place for dinner. We check them all out and decide on the nicest looking one which specializes in shellfish, but also has lots of other fish specialties, called La Cabane de l'ecailler, meaning 'the fish scaler's hut.' 

It's early for dinner, so we sit outside on the terrasse for a drink. At the outside shell fish bar we end up talking to a guy who is all decked out in a dark chefs jacket with what look like military stripes all around his collar, his name and titles embroidered on the front. He turns out to be Marcel Lesoille, a restaurant consultant and chef helping to get this restaurant started and hopefully help it earn a Michelin Star, what every chef in France aspires to. He has worked with many world-renowned chefs around the world and actually has the official title of, get this, 'Champion du monde et recordman d'ouverture d'huitres' which loosely translated means 'world champion and record holder oyster shucker.'  Notice all the stripes on his collar, for which he was very proud...evidently it's a BIG deal!

Marcel is engaging, funny and energetic and immediately takes a liking to us offering fresh oysters and bulots for tasting...all in French...he speaks no English.

We're sold and make a dinner reservation for 8 o'clock. What we did not know at the time is that this beautiful restaurant in one of the worlds most beautiful locations opened for the first time five days ago and we are essentially guinea pigs during the break-in. No matter as the owner and entire staff hustle their nuts off for the many diners there and for us and we get personal with many of them. The owner went to Thailand to find wood for the fabulous bar and furniture (giant pre-deceased hardwood trees) and he even fileted our sea bass for us right at the table. 

Although the service was somewhat frustrating due to the staff shortage, we thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience and the food was excellent. Then a short drive back to BeauIeu and home.

Bonne nuit tout le monde.