A trip to the Cote d'Azure to eat butter and cheese

Nice, France

I love France. I love the pastry, I love the butter, and I love the French language. I especially love the south of France. It has been fifteen years since I last visited Nice during my study abroad program, and it has changed immensely. There is a new tram line that goes from the airport downtown. There are world-class museums and international events. You can eat really well inexpensively, or ball out on the city’s amazing restaurants. The large mansions painted in pops of pastel colors, with their alluring wide wood shutters, add so much charm to the city. I spent two long weekends under the sun on the Cote D’Azur and I felt as luxurious as the movie stars who grace the streets of Cannes.

Coffee and a Pastry

The coffee and pastry really couldn’t be much better than in France. The reason for this? The boulangerie (bakery). I forgot just how convenient a boulangerie is: you can have a breakfast quiche, a baguette sandwich, a beautiful tarte, or a decadent croissant for only a few euros. It’s a pauper’s delight and a perfect snack to take to the beach. Or, you might want to sit at a cafe and indulge in the simple traditional French breakfast of baguette with butter, jam, and coffee. Don’t stop at the boulangerie, though - head to one of the citi’s amazing patisserie (pastry shop). France is known for its decadent pastries. Most patisserie offer pastry “to go”, and you don’t want to miss out on a millefeuille from Canet or tarte aux citron from artisan chocolatier Jean Marc Regel.

Adventure

The coast along the French Riviera is stunningly gorgeous. There’s plenty to see if you walk along the Promenade des Anglais and check out the swimming spot past the port. But if you rent an e-bike, you can explore even further. We spent a day riding through Jean Cap Ferrat and gazing upon the houses of the rich and famous. Along the way, we stopped for a beautiful lunch in Villefranche Sur Mer at Cave Nature. Instead of visiting Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, we biked all the way around the peninsula and took another dip at Plage Paloma. I loved the feeling of this secret beach, its crystal clear water, and mountain views. Another day, we went to the Jardin Exotique d’Eze. This small botanical garden, filled with mostly arid plants like cacti, was in a gorgeous setting perched on a hill in Eze.

Culture

The Chagall Museum is France’s first museum dedicated to solely one artist. Chagall was born in Russia but lived in France for most of his life, and the museum hosts Chagall's “Biblical Message” paintings, each predicting scenes from the Bible, that were given to France as a gift from Chagall. I hired an awesome tour guide Cedrik: I’ve never met someone more passionate and eager to share all of his thoughts on philosophy and art! (Check out Cedrik’s YouTube channel here). We discussed impressionism, cubism, and a style I had never heard of before but was expressed throughout Chagall’s work: color and chromatics. It recalled the luxury of being a student in nearby Aix-en-Provence, and studying things for the sake of my interest, mostly French and Art.

Chagall was known for being a “nice guy”, and in his later life, he often donated paintings. The painting that inspired me the most was called “Adam and Eve Expelled from Paradise”. In the biblical story, Eve eats the “forbidden fruit” (which apparently was a pomegranate and not an apple), and she and Adam are then expelled. Instead of feeling shame, in Chagall’s interpretation, they are smiling. Chagall thinks that God does make mistakes, just like humans do, and that mistakes are ok. I love this interpretation. It encourages me to live life playfully, which is something I’m intent on doing!

Have you been to Nice, France? What were the great things you saw? I love the food in the south of France, there are some local dishes like socca, ratatouille, petit farcis (stuffed peppers), pissaladière, and pan bagnat are so nostalgic for me. Here are my favorite restaurants:

• Chez Pipo, a casual spot for authentic and delicious socca, a local chickpea pancake

• Lavomatique for dope cheese plates, wine, and upscale French food with bistro vibes

• Maido, a Japanese izakaya with cozy atmosphere and flavorful bites

And don’t forget:

• Buy my guide to Napoli

• Join my free journaling Meetup event this Sunday for the sturgeon full moon

• This is my 100th post! I am proud of myself for keeping at it! Thank you all for reading my work, it means so much to me.