Things You Have to See in Nice!

John and I have a "master list" of all the places we take people who come to visit. Usually, due to time, we have to pick and choose where go. Luckily, when my parents came to visit, we had plenty of time to see just about everything. So, while I'm telling you about their visit, I'm also going to share the master list! ( You know, in case you want to visit and I'm not here to show you around.)

First things first- Nice Flower Market 

This market is right in the old town of Nice and in the summer is covered in tourists. (Word of advice- never visit the south of France in July or August.) We went on a beautiful Saturday morning when it was busy and bustling- full of locals buying their flowers and veggies for the weekend. 

This is my Dad- trying a sundried tomato. I don't think he was very impressed... and (below) some yummy fresh figs. (Which I had never seen before I moved to France. Fig Newton was my knowledge of a fig.. )

Second on the list! The Chateau. Formerly a citadel, chateau, church... It overlooks Nice and offers the best views of the city and the port of Nice. 

3rd- Fenocchio. The World's Best Ice Cream. Ever. Bar-None. End of Story. If you visit Nice for no other reason- come for the ice cream. It is family owned by Italians and they make all of their own ice creams in flavors ranging from mint chocolate to amaretto to tomato basil. And I have never tasted a bad flavor. 

 

One of the 4 cases of flavors. 

Just look at these happy faces! They prove my point. 

4th- The Russian Church. It was built by the last Czar of Russia and he never saw it completed. The Russian Aristocracy liked to come to Nice for the winter so they needed a church to worship in while they visited. It is beautiful, inside and out, and houses some of the most amazing icons I have ever seen.

5th spot on our list! The Archeological Museum and the Matisse Museum.

John and I really enjoy both spots and always, always take people to the archeological site. While there are "Roman Ruins" everywhere here, the site is well preserved with 2 different roman baths (below) and a 5th century church. 

6th-

Antibes. It is pretty tourist-y.. and can be really English but we still love this town. Antibes is a small, seaside, resort town that Pablo Picasso lived in for a period and used as his muse. Cute and vibrant, it is really the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon wandering around. Which we tried to do.. but the 8 foot waves and crazy wind wouldn't let us. 

Number 7 and last on our list for today- Luceram (or any of the surrounding perched villages.) Luceram is our favorite of the perched villages because it still feels live. Many of the villages you visit feel very... dead.. There are no restaurants, boulangeries, or stores of any kind. Luceram has stores, a library, 2 or  restaurants and even a couple of schools. If you feel like driving a little bit farther over the mountain- go to Piera Cava. This small resort town is not very well known and has the best lookout point we've found. The view will take your breath away. 

Luceram

Piera Cava. And, if you decide to stop here, you might get to see a cute French goat!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week! 

And, if you would like to see a few more pictures from the recent trip, here are the links! Don't worry.. I'll fill you in on everything else we did! 

Shutterfly

Facebook

Facebook Album 2

Rain.

Today is my Monday. Yesterday was a holiday in France so John was off for a long weekend. Don't get excited. We didn't do anything fun this weekend. It rained. And rained. And rained. I don't think I have ever seen it rain like this here. John, Sadie and I were all completely stir crazy and it's France so OF COURSE nothing was open. My biggest pet peeve about this country, besides the lack of public restrooms, is the fact that nothing is open on the weekends!

Anyways. Since we didn't have anything to do, I cooked.

Saturday: I made bread pudding and a chickpea curry. ( not sharing that recipe..I will be finding a new one! But the bread pudding... oh man. It. Is. Gooooood.) 

Sunday: Nothing too special.. some homemade biscuits. 

Monday: I was really running out of things to do.. So, I made Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookies, Corn chowder, and Cheddar and Chive quick bread muffins.(Recipe for both later!) 

Today: No rain!
Tomorrow: More about our trip! All pictures are edited so get ready!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, full-of-candy Halloween!

A Preview

I am working on pictures this morning.. and afternoon.. and tomorrow.. and the next day... until they are finished but thought I would give you a little preview of what we saw and did. More later!

The Market in Nice. 

Sadie thought about buying some spices... 

My wonderful family! 

We had some crazy weather while Mom and Dad were here. This is in Antibes- just down the road from Nice where the waves were around 8 feet tall. Incredible!

I hate it when Vacation ends..

Well everyone, I'm back. I am not sure how excited am about that though... For the past two weeks, my parents have been visiting. The first week was spent in Nice and the surrounding areas. Last week we all went to Venice and then hopped on a boat to sail around the Mediterranean. It was WONDERFUL. Mom, Dad, John and I all had a wonderful time and saw some amazing sights. 

This morning, my Mom and Dad hopped back on a plane to the US, John went back to work, and now.. all I have is my laundry (oh MY is it a lot of laundry), photo editing, and trying to get back into a routine. 

It's a lonely day. :-) 

Be looking for pictures in the next week! It's going to be a long process- there are a lot of them!

Hiatus

Sorry everyone! I will be taking a blog hiatus for the next 2 weeks. 

I'll have lots to tell you about when I get back though! 

Make this!

It will make all of your salads taste better. I promise. 

This is the other recipe that I knocked out of the "To Try" folder on Wednesday. My basil was starting to look a little crazy and I had a couple of shallots that needed to be used as well. It is so good. That's all I can say for it. If you don't believe me... make it and prove me wrong. Or, believe me and make it. The point here is that you must try this salad dressing. 

I am already dreaming of my next salad.

Basil Vinaigrette
 And I didn't change a thing, it's just that perfect Simplyrecipes.com

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Basil leaves
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Mix all ingredients well and allow to sit for at least a couple of hours in the fridge. So good. Enjoy! 


- This can be mixed in a food processor. I don't have one of those, so I didn't use it.