A Tourist in My Own City
I was super lucky to have two friends come visit me in February and the beginning of March! It was so great to see them and also let me be a tourist in Nice.
My friend Isabelle came right after i got back from Paris so we both were wiped from our long journeys. The first day she was here, we caught up in the afternoon over a charcuterie board and some beers for apéro and santé-ed to what would be a great, few days together in the South of France.
We put the [cute] in charcuterie!
She had already visited me in Paris so I was super excited to show her around the Riviera since it is so different than the north. The next morning, we slept in a bit before heading to lunch. We wandered around Old Town a bit, trying to decide where to eat before choosing a spot just off Cours Saleya (a Nice central spot!). We ordered a half liter of rosé and she decided on the daube niçoise for her first lunch in Nice! I had a tartine that screamed Mediterranean with an olive spread and roasted red peppers .... can you say Miam???
Olive all this food!
We walked around Old Town some more before grabbing a baguette and groceries for a homemade dinner and some sunglasses (sadly my ones from study abroad broke during lunch, luckily I live 15 min from a Monoprix!)
Our next stop was Chez Maître Pierre for their killer almond croissants (and a little photo shoot bien sûr, since we both are wicked foodies). We enjoyed these flaky pastries by the ocean on the Promenade since it was a lovely day and Isabelle was used to the East Coast météo. We tried to climb the castle hill for sunset but unfortunately, the park was closing just as we got there. Instead we headed to the #iloveNice sign which was fun since I had never been either!
A classic French petit déjeuner of brioche, baguette and jam put us both in a good mood for another day of fun! We were fueled and ready for a walk to the port, with a stop along the way for socca and pissaladière to have a goûter of niçoise food! We had a blast looking at all the boats and enjoying the sun on the Mediterranean as we caught up.
Let me tell you a-boat our day ...
Our next stop was the Colline de Chateau - a first for both of us. 214 steps later and we had a great panorama of the Baie des Anges and Vieux Nice. Since we didn’t really have lunch, we snagged an outdoor table at Marinette Kitchen for an afternoon snack which included fondant au chocolat and a cute heart shaped cookie ... just in time for Valentines Day!
Don't go chasing waterfalls!
Dinner was delayed a bit as there was a wait for Les Amoreux aka the best (and heart shaped) pizza in Nice. We weren’t too upset since we enjoyed apéro on the Promenade with a killer sunset. Dinner was delish, as per usual and we went to bed feeling full.
Isabelle’s last day here was Valentine’s Day and I had heard of a food festival happening a few towns over in Antibes, so after a morning Nutellacino (yes you heard right it’s a cappuccino with Nutella) we hopped on the train for about 20 minutes. The food festival was a blast! It was so fun to walk around (and taste) all the different booths of cheese, chocolate, meats and even wine! Since it was Valentine’s Day I treated myself to some truffle cheese (and Mel & Katie too!). Even thought it was pricey (€16!!) it was possibly the best cheese I have ever eaten! We had some time to kill after the festival, so we walked along the Antibes ramparts and beach and grabbed a beer in the sunshine.
Everyday I'm trufflin'
Isabelle grabbed the bus to head to the airport to vamos a Spain, and I grabbed a nap after a whirlwind of a fun few days.
My other friend Kristen came to visit after break and since she had never been to France, I had a lot of things to show her in a little time!
She flew in late Thursday night and i met her at my apartment with Hallie (since Katie and I were dog moms for the week). Friday morning, we slept in (after all this was a long weekend for her!) before she, Katie, and I walked to Chez Maitre Pierre for her first ever french croissant! We split an almond-chocolate croissant and pissaladière for a true mélange of French and niçoise foods. We walked through Old Town and were about to head to the port when I remembered that I saw a new bubble tea store that we were about to walk past. Since the three of us love boba, we stopped in for a drink to go and continued on our way.
We had fun tea-ing all the best parts of Nice!
Katie hadn’t been to the port yet, so it was a fun afternoon of pictures and relaxing on the Promenade before apéro and a sunset. I hadn’t been to Movida for the sunset views and let me tell you, nothing pairs better with a bottle of rosé than good friends, conversation, and the sun setting over the sea.
Dinner was French little plates at Lavomatique for some traditional, but unique French food. It was super tasty and I had been saying I wanted to go for a few months now. Friends are the perfect excuse!
If you like it then you should've put a [wing] on it!
Before we headed out to Carnaval the next morning, Kristen had to have a French crêpe ... or two! We treated ourselves to some Fenocchio (hooray for it being open again!) and bought some gnocchi for a homemade dinner. Since Nice is just across the border, we get the best of both worlds with French and Italian cuisine!
After a night of Carnaval fun, we took it easy and had a little beach pique-nique of socca, macarons and some cheese! A perfect last day in France for Kristen!
we had some [berry] good meals this weekend
As fun as it is to be a “local” in Nice, it’s been a blast getting to do (and eat!) all the classic niçoise touristy things!
À la prochaine,
Lele