The Nomadic Joys (TNJ): Travel Diary - Southern France November 2015

Hi readers,

This time the travel itch took us to the south of France . I had always and really always wished to visit France and not the stereotype Paris trip but more inland and distant, blame it on my nomadic soul, the distant and unknown always pulls me, the ´Fernweh' as it is known is what I am a victim of. So for the 5 day vacation that my husband had we got lucky with some good deals on airtickets to Marseille and then our Hotel in Nice, rest was for me to plan. Marseille is the third most populated city in France and I, the wandered prefer to travel and see less populated places. So upon landing in Marseille, as how we usually do, we picked up a car from one of the rental services at the airport and headed to Nice which is about 200 Kms away but a central point to lot of places in French Riviera (Cannes, Antibes, St. Tropez etc.) also widely known as Côte d'Azur, the Italian villages on the border and Monaco (one of the smallest countries in the world).

View of 'Promende des Anglais' from our room's balcony (Radisson Blu / Nice)

Upon reaching Nice late on Sunday evening we rested a while and headed for a dinner at the hotel's restaurant which is listed as top 3 in the region and I am now vouching for that. A sumptuous meal of roasted chicken on bed of vegetables and polenta for me and a beef salad for the husband with a red wine from the region was perfection to me in taste, presentation and flavours. This holiday I couldn't be bothered to even consider the calorie count cause I was in France so I did let myself go all out on eating desserts mostly at the dinner times and in between when I couldn't resist the urge upon coming across the beautiful artisan baker boutiques ( I dare not call them 'shops').

Let us begin this chapter in my travel diary with this gorgeous meal and a provencal red

Day 1: On the first morning we headed to the old town of Nice called the 'Vieux Ville' to the see the small winding streets, the cathedral and the typical al fresco cafes and the very popular flee market that takes place only on Mondays. This half days visit to Nice's old town was just so much fun. I couldn't get enough of the stuff on sale in the flee market from vintage clothes, accessories, cookware, paintings, quirky curios, statement furniture pieces, Knick knacks, it was like a treasure hunt that I could have so indulged and lost my way in but with the limited time and your man who doesn't find shopping worth the time I have saved that act of letting myself go in such markets for another day !! Through the winding streets of old town we walked up to the hill to enjoy some gorgeous views of the port and the city and ended the walk downhill with a stop for Ice-cream at Fennocchio which more of an institution now since it is a family run business and has been around for ages and serves a mind boggling array of the most unusual of flavours. My choice of the day was Lavender and I loved it while husband enjoyed some cappuccino.

View of Nice from the old town's hilltop

A beautiful store selling soaps and other products made with locally produced lavender and other inngredients

Later, we drove up to the city of Eze which was about 30 minutes drive through the hills. The medieval village of Eze provides beautiful panoramic views of the sea from its hilltop and is littered with charming restaurants and cafes and also the perfume factory 'Fragonard' where we had a tour of the factory to learn more about how their perfumes are made and then bought some from the in-house shop. In the evening after changing and refreshing, we headed back into the Vieux ville for dinner and the scene there was up-beat with people enjoying their drinks and food at streets lined with restaurants that come into action with the onset of Dusk. We just walked around in the old streets lit with dim yellow lamps, reading various menus which are usually on display outside the Restaurants for one to choose and enter and settled for this place called 'Chez Acchiardo' which was highly recommended on the social media and we got a table for two in their second room where usually, if you don't make a reservation in advance, you may find a place in. We ordered the plat du jour or the days special which was some pork stew with local rice and another one was Fish baked with some fresh tomato basil sauce accompanied with some rose wine. The dinner to us was just above average and to us it spoke nothing of local cooking methods or flavours or even presentation for that matter. Nevertheless, it was a day well spent.

Fragonard Perfume Factory (Eze)

Equipment used in making perfumes

My pick - Etoile Eau de Parfum

Start of old town square (Nice)

Palais du Justice (Nice)

Day 2: I woke up early and headed to the promenade for a morning run catching up on some shots for sun-rise and people making their way early on the beach for some fishing and setting up their base for the sunny day ahead of them.

Shots of the sea in wee hours of dawn at Promenade des Anglais (Nice)

Hotel Negresco (Nice) A place of history and grandeur

Set up those goals before the world starts to crowd

This was going to be a long day driving to Menton, Ventimiglia, Bordighera, Monaco and back. We started a drive towards French-Italian border towards the city of Menton (about 30 kms away) and took the inside route instead of the highway so that we could enjoy the drive and stop where we felt like and it was such a delight this place with gorgeous promenade, sun, blue waters, sea side cafes and some big stores on the other side. We stopped here for bit of shopping and drinks and I just loved the colours and background and chic aura that this city had. From here on we drove across the border of France, driving into Italy where first of the stops for the Italian feel is the place called Ventimiglia (about 11 Kms from Menton), again it started to look the Italianish rustic with some actual street side cafes and lot of Pizza and Pasta places.

taken during the drive to Menton

Menton

Coconut and pineapple mocktail at the Menton beach side bar

Loving the sun

The view up from where I was sitting

Heading further we made our stop at Bordighera (another 7 Kms ahead). This really was more inland, less touristic, more ground level Italian perhaps, since we tried speaking with a people at a few restaurants and they just knew Italian. After walking around for a while we decided to have lunch at a beach-side restaurant cause this offered some splendid views of the sea and the guy managing it spoke English, not to forget the food turned out to be delicious (Home made Pasta with Calamari topped with tomato sauce). After chilling out, soaking in the beauty of this place we started driving towards Monaco. The drive to Monaco and out towards Nice from Monaco is one of its kind. They have made this amazing bridge connecting the mountains straight out with no winding hills to drive on and it saves much of the time and makes for a really cool drive, comes with a bit of toll charges but that's totally worth the experience. Monaco is a sovereign state, the second smallest and most densely populated country in the world and if you are driving into this place you have to be up-tight cause the space is an issue with all the inclines and curves and narrow roads, it can take a bit of an effort and time until one gets a hang of it. We just drove around the city center which looked uber-chic and then parked in one of the neighbourhoods to walk around the Prince's Palace and did notice the tall buildings all around us but got some wonderful views of the port from the distance.

The view from the bar we had lunch at (Bordighera Italy)

walking the streets of Bordighera

Train station Bordighera

This one shot inside at the restaurant in Boridghera

Monaco's port in distance

The many buildings of Monaco

Monaco's Prince's palace in distance on the hill/ clearly a crowded packed city

On this last evening in the Riviera, we we landed up one more time in the old city of Nice, determined to find an interesting place for dining and upon much walking around found the place 'Le Tire Bouchon'. We had not come across this name on any recommendation list but liked that they had a very limited menu with dishes you could count on fingers and a statement saying they use best and freshest of the local produce. This was beyond doubt the next best meal we had in Riviera in all the terms of taste, flavours, presentation. I would recommend it hands down to anyone who's there. I had some nice big Prawns on a bed of black rice with a salad and husband enjoyed braised wild pork served with their staple salad. We ended this meal with some decadent Crème brûlée and Cheese cake and oh my god this was a heavenly meal.

Day 3: Comes Wednesday and we leave Nice and Riviera to drive towards Aix-en-Provence, a city about 25 kms from Marseille but the center point into the Provence region of France. Here we stayed with a French family who were such generous hosts and gave us ample information on the must visit villages of Provence.

Driving to Aix

Vineyards on the way

We headed out late in the afternoon into the old city of Aix and I cant even begin to tell you how hip, amazing and lively this place was. Aix being a university town has a lot of young population and you understand this the moment you step into this area called 'Cours Mirabeau' which is the starting point into the old town, a main boulevard lined with trees, beautiful houses on on side and cafes, bars on the other and the place is throbbing with young people and their spirit. I fell in love with this area, gallivanting I explored adorable boutiques, artisan bakeries, bars, art shops. To sum it up, its a heaven for people who love shopping, art, exploring new designers and all of that in a very vintage backdrop of old buildings, charm of cobblestoned streets, al fresco cafes and a crowd that was young, free and happy to be there. I tried coffee flavoured macaroons at Pauls (another famous Artisan baker) and sat down for a coffee in the square surrounded by the old-world allure amongst the locals social hangout spot, fountain in the corner (Aix is famous for its numerous fountains). This was the day of Diwali in India so we decided to have an Indian dinner in the old square at the place called 'Maharaja' and it turned out to be a perfect Indian meal.

shopping haven set up in the streets of old town in Aix

Fountains in old town, Aix is famous for its numerous fountains

Yum goodies

Delicacies at Paul, I had the coffee flavoured macaroon here

Loved this shop that had some quirky prints on display

Streets in old town Aix at night....the picture describes only an iota of how mystical and charming it looks at night

Day 4: We set out on a drive in Provence's Luberon Natural Regional Park (Parc Naturel Régional du Lubéron). This was one of the best parts of my trip to Provence. This region is a UNESCO listed region and has numerous centuries old villages set in the mountains offering the beautiful views of the valleys, surrounding villages and mountains in Provence. To me this was nothing short of a dreamland, we drove frome one village to another, making stops for breakfast, coffee, walks, clicks and just letting my soul sink into the mystical aura. These villages have some really unique art galleries of painters and artists, boutiques, street side cafes, local cuisine with truffles, lavender, cheese and local wine. The weather was our friend in this trip and sun shone with all its glory and warmth. First stop was made at the village of Cadenet for a few clicks and a short walk in the village and next was in Lourmarin for some brunch of Omlette Ratatouille and Spaghetti Bolognese loaded with some cream and cheese and delicious creamy cappuccino. We then walked a bit more in the streets that were spilling history, beauty and colours and art and I stopped for something to satisfy my craving for sweet at the village bakers and it was terribly hard to decide from the spread the shop had, I wish I could try them all !! Next stop was Bonnieux, again a small really small village before we reached Gordes. Gordes has been listed as most beautiful village of France on various travel publications. The village stands atop the hill with gorgeous views of the valley when walking through 16th-century Château de Gordes. Next we headed to Ménerbes and I loved it for its cute French village charm, a small village shop from where I got my lavender for baking cakes and cookies and using in my tea along with some French mustard and bread sticks topped with sesame and flax seeds. These villages have probably a handful of residents cause I bumped into same people while walking around and these are such small villages that even the weather report for the day is written for everyone to see on the blackboard in the village center. Cuteness overloaded !! I dream of living someday in such a place and opening my boutique or a little bistro there. Lastly, we went to Lacoste, I guess this one was really the smallest of all but a hub for lot of artists as this is where the SCAD Savannah college of arts and design is. I noticed lot of art galleries behind small doors and saw art pieces, paintings, abstract pieces at display there. These were perhaps the studios of the students studying there works. I couldn't stop but wonder what a wonderful setting this must be for the ones wishing to learn more on their form art surrounded with serene pastoral views, painted timber doors, distant from the world running wild in the commercial senses. How much I wished at that moment to go back in time, be 1 decade younger and then come here to live as a student Sigh !!!

Cadenet

Streets of Cadenet

Deco Inspo

Lourmarin

See the clothing boutique on the street

Our brunch in Lourmarin

Something of a dream store in a dream location

Let some art adorn the walls outside

After brunch, lets feed the sweet tooth

Happy eating but that blue timber door though :D

The world where signboards continue to look like that, heaven

Ah those winding alleys, where do they lead, wonder wonder !!

shabby chic , vintage, gorgeousness on the streets

peek-a-boo at artworks in Lacoste

Bonnieux

moving closer to spiritual goals

Streets of Gordes

Chic boutique in Gordes

View of the valley from the palace in Gordes

A Church in Gordes that pulled me in

True indeed Life is beautiful

My picks French Mustard, Lavender for baking and cooking, and breadsticks

Artwork inside a studio

That lucky dog

Those Colours

We always find them

Where weather for the day is still handwritten

Imagine being in a world that you can only read about, imagine and create in your mind

Marvel at these pretty facades

Bistros, restaurants, art galleries are placed in nooks of the villages for the wanderers to discover and indulge in and the golden sunny days, lush green moutains, pleasant weather, fountains adorning the village squares make for romantic rustic perfection that we can only imagine in our dreams.

I can describe these villages as the perfect inspiration for the ones seeking to develop their creative side, these are perhaps the whimsies of artists, painters, poets and creative minds and no wonder that some of the famous names of art world had either come from this region or spent a time of their life here. These places would make an artist out of a scientist too.

I have so much more to say and write but I think it has already been too long a post for many to read, most of the readers would just scroll through it but I'm writing this for me and to minutely describe and remember all that my eyes saw and my soul is so greatful for.

Heading back to Aix that evening, we settled in for some Moroccon cuisine at dinner time at 'Le Riad' and were overwhelmed by the huge portions but nevertheless a delicious meal.