A SUNDAY OUTING TO THE ITALIAN RIVIERA
Italy is just up the road and easily accessible. It takes about 40 minutes to get there from Nice on the A8 motorway. There is hardly any traffic on Sunday and there is no border control to go through as you cross into Italy. As you cross the border you arrive on the Italian Riviera. […]
SAMPLING WINES FROM UNKNOWN REGIONS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE
Whites ‘Jurançon Sec,’ Chateau Jolys 2012 This wine won a gold medal in December’s International Challenge Award. It is a wine that is really only consumed in the South of France. The grape is Roussane. It is often used for blending. These grapes are in the main used to make dessert wines and it bears […]
JELLYFISH ETIQUETTE
If you were to take a straw poll of all the different conversations taking place on the beaches across the Côte D’Azur every summer, it is fairly likely that around a third of these chit chats between friends and family would involve the following discussion: “Are there any jellyfish in the water?”. So you can […]
WHAT’S GOING ON BELOW THE SURFACE
There is a rich marine life on the beaches along the Cotes D’Azur. I know this only too well, having gone out on Saturday straight after coming back from the beach, only to have a good friend pick bits of seaweed off my feet later that night. I also almost stepped on a sea urchin […]
PROTESTS IN FRANCE
France has witnessed a number of violent incidents in the last couple of months. Last month the Mayor of Nice banned foreign flags in the city after celebrations of Algeria’s victory in the World Cup turned violent. The ban stayed in place until the end of the World cup. This Sunday saw a pro-Palestinian march […]
HOW TO GET AN ALL OVER TAN
A few years ago a friend of mine translated the following conversation he had just overheard on the beach. An Italian woman was explaining to her husband and his friend that, contrary to popular belief, the best way to get an all over tan was to stay in one position, as that way your sides, […]
TRAIN DES PIGNES
The ‘Train des Pignes’ has been meandering through the French countryside for over 100 years. It connects Nice to Digne les Bains in the Alpes. Pignes means pine in French. Some say the train was given its name as it chugged along so slowly that passengers could pick pine cones from the track and jump […]
FÊTE DE LA MUSIQUE
–Opera, a very loud techno beat and a Bono sound-a-like all at the same time? It must be Fête de la Musique The brain child of President Mitterrand – yes even with his two families he had time to come up with this – and since adopted by many European countries, Fête de la Musique […]
10 THINGS TO DO IN NICE
1. Eat breakfast at Le Coin Quotidien – this gem at the end of Cours Saleya has the best breakfast menu by far in the old town. Hungry early risers sit at long wooden tables laden with goodies. Just be careful you don’t get so comfortable that you stay all day. 2. Soak up the atmosphere in […]