Nice - Wednesday 16 August

We had agreed today that each couple would do their own thing. The Barrows were keen to visit the important art galleries and museums, and we would play it by ear. After a slow start to the day, we headed off at 10:15am and caught the (packed) tram to the Cathedral stop, from where we made our way into the old town for a more comprehensive and casual-paced wander around than the other day. It was very pleasant, although the crowds of tourists gradually built as time went on. We went as far as Place Garibaldi, then turned back and enjoyed a brief, quiet stop at the Fenocchio ice cream stand in Place Rossetti (a Rick Steve's recommendation) - salted caramel for me, pistachio for David. Wandering through the narrow streets amongst the people, we would occasionally see a patrol of soldiers, carrying what I guess were rifles or even machine guns.







We worked our way over to the market area, and David ordered a crusty filled roll (he's loving the bread here), and I ordered a slice of socca. It was way better than the one I had yesterday - crisper and about three times the quantity. Mind you, I had applied what we had all learnt from Ingrid - always be generous with a friendly "bonjour", and you will get much better service. We then had quenched our thirst in the Waka Bar, a Kiwi-owned bar, but no sign of other Kiwis there today.





Next we finished walking along the market area, across Place Masséna, and further along the lovely promenade, all the way to the Garden of Albert I. This was the pick-up point for the 'Noddy'/Tourist train. I was generously ushered into the disabled section (I hadn't said a word, the walking stick was apparently evidence enough) the journey was just over an hour and took us though some other streets in the old town, and then a different route up to the top of the 'castle' rock for a slightly higher viewpoint than we had enjoyed the other day. Certainly the history of this rock outcrop is long and interesting, with Louis IV eventually having the castle destroyed.



Back down on the promenade after the tour, we headed to the bar we had a drink at last night, where David enjoyed a beer, and I had a glass of rosé. Back at the hotel, I reformatted and updated some blog posts on the hotel iMac in the foyer (it's proving to be very frustrating on the iPad), and the Barrows wandered in slightly after us. On Jan's suggestion, we adjourned to the sundeck on the hotel's rooftop. It was very pleasant, with a gentle breeze on this supposedly 27C day (David saw it showing 32C on a sign earlier).

The hotel kindly phoned to make a 7:30pm dinner reservation for us at Mon Petit Cafe, just along the road, and then we headed out to our favourite bar, Le Liber'tea. The waiters there love us Kiwis and we have lots of banter. The service is excellent. I have been enjoying their piña coladas!

In complete and utter contrast to our previous dinner at Restaurant Davia, our meals and experience at Mon Petit (next door to the former) were a world apart. Alison, Ross and Liz would have loved this gourmet meal - the service was outstanding, and the meals were superb. David enjoyed a sea bass with black rice (with a curry flavour), and I enjoyed three gluten-free courses (with little treasures in between. I'll leave the photos to tell the story...). There may be a delay in posting those on the blog, but they're on Facebook already. All in all, a very enjoyable and memorable evening.