Nice & Monaco
After five days in Avignon, we left early in the morning on the regional train to Nice, where we stayed the second half of our trip. This route hugged the coastline, so we had planned to stop in a beach town or two along the way. Unfortunately, our youngest son woke up with a stomach ache that morning; therefore, we decided to not tempt fate and rode straight through.
We bought a Eurail train pass for our trip since we were traveling by train exclusively, but it is also possible to buy individual tickets to each destination. Sometimes it is cheaper, sometimes it is not – so you just have to do some research based on your trip to figure out what is best. I used the French national train system app called OUI.sncf to look up individual ticket prices and departure options. I also like a travel app called Omio which compares train, bus, and flight prices side by side and marks which trips are fastest and cheapest. This makes it easy to find the best option for your time frame and budget.
Once we arrived at the Gare de Nice Ville train station, we took the city-wide tram to where we were staying in the Old Town, Vielle Ville. The tram is cheap and makes it super easy to get anywhere in the city. We rented an Airbnb apartment on a side street near the Fountain of the Sun, which was an ideal location. We were close to the beach, a variety of restaurants (many of which were on the same street), the daily farmers’ market, and within walking distance to Castle Hill.
Weaving through the narrow and ancient streets, we arrived at the apartment building whose facade was covered in aged stucco. We used the code to enter the foyer where there were a few bikes padlocked to the stairs just inside. The ceiling was low, forcing Toby to crouch down a little as we ascended to the 4th floor. There were pipes and wires running up the middle of the staircase; these modern amenities added more than a century after the building was originally constructed. Outside a door on the second floor was a Friends welcome mat, which was funny to see there.
The apartment was beautiful and newly renovated. It almost made us forget how old our surroundings were until we looked out of our bedroom window to see the rain running off of the antique terracotta roof tiles on the building next to us. Hanging over the alley was a maze of clotheslines, reminding us that we weren’t in Indiana anymore.
I really didn’t expect to like Nice as much as I did. We don’t take a lot of beach vacations because we would rather see historical sites and experience the more authentic culture of a place. Unfortunately a lot of popular beach destinations around the world try to offer what they think tourists would want, especially with food, rather than stay true to their roots. I was pleased to see that culture and history were both preserved in Nice while still offering a beautiful beach setting. It was truly the best of both worlds.
Nice is everything you think of when you imagine the French Riviera – beautiful, turquoise waters; grand hotels; rocky beaches; casinos; and lots of tourists. Luckily, our visit was during the Spring, so it wasn’t overly crowded. Toby and I both really dislike crowds and hot weather, so it was a perfect time for us to visit. The weather was absolutely gorgeous – high 60’s to low 70’s and mostly sunny.
On our first afternoon, we walked through the narrow, winding side streets of Old Town to the Promenade des Anglais. This famous walkway runs the length of the waterfront, separating the beach from hotels, cafes, and shops. One of the more notable hotels along this stretch is Le Negresco. For more than a century, this legendary hotel has hosted a multitude of celebrities the likes of Salvador Dalí and Elton John. Recognized as a National Historic Building by the French government, this coral and aqua beauty stands out among neighboring buildings.
Halfway through our stroll down the promenade, a group of bikers passed us and one of the ladies accidentally crashed her bicycle about a hundred yards away. Every single person near the scene stopped and immediately went over to see if the biker was okay. This really impressed me because it wasn’t just one or two people; everybody felt a shared responsibility to wait with her until she was able to get back on her bike and pedal away. I have always been impressed with the deep sense of community that the French possess.
We walked down the tall set of stairs to the beach below, which was even wider than the promenade above. Filled with large, smooth rocks in a calico of blues and grays, it was much different than any beach that I am used to visiting in the United States. That is also what made it so unique and picturesque. There were only a few people on the beach that day due to it being a little windy and the water being too cold for swimming. Toby and our youngest son enjoyed skipping the rocks across the sea while my parents and older kids explored the beach. I sat on the rocky shore to take in the fresh salt water air while relaxing and taking pictures of the surrounding Cote d’Azur beauty. It was quite soothing after a half day of travel.
Around every corner in France are pâtisserie and chocolate shops. You would think that this would lead to people being overweight since they are so prevalent, but the French know how to enjoy in moderation. It is not an everyday indulgence. The pastries are also made with whole ingredients like cultured-cream butter, non-GMO flour and cane sugar (as opposed to beet sugar). In fact, the European Union has some of the most stringent guidelines in the world for GMO foods while France has outlawed Roundup Ready products nationwide for both domestic and agricultural use. These regulations naturally translate into better tasting and healthier food.
Even though Toby is the one with the sweet tooth in our relationship, I love to see the beauty, color, and craftsmanship of pâtisserie displays. As a pastry chef, it inspires me to see the pride and quality of ingredients that go into these culinary masterpieces. My mom also loves sweets, so it was fun for us to buy an assortment of entremets, pâte à choux creations, and tarts to share back at our apartment which was thankfully stocked with a Nespresso machine. We never eat dessert without coffee. My mom taught me that.
On our second day in Nice, our youngest son still wasn’t feeling great so we took turns going to the famous Cours Saleya market in Old Town to check out all of the locally grown and crafted goodies. This daily market hosts flower and food vendors Tuesday through Sunday and antique vendors on Monday. It is designated as one of the country’s special markets by the National Council for the Culinary Arts and is definitely one of the better ones that we’ve visited.
The Cours Saleya market was filled with aisles of flowers, cured meats, cheese, fruits, vegetables, seafood, soaps and herbs. We bought some olives, fruit, fresh cheese, vegetables, salami, and bread to make sandwiches for lunch. I am an olive fanatic – green olives mostly. I can’t get enough of them. I credit my parents for this addiction as they both love olives, too. And the olives of the Mediterranean, the ones that are fresh and not canned nor imported, are the most buttery tasting, briny goodness ever imagined. I’ve yet to find any back home that compare.
Unlike Avignon, the food scene was very diverse in Nice. Within a block of our apartment were Thai, Indian, Italian, and Vietnamese restaurants among others. Toby was born in England and spent his early years growing up in Oxfordshire before moving to the States, so he was excited to find some British food nearby at a tiny café called The Fat Mermaid. The menu consisted of fish and chips along with other traditional English fare. It had maybe 20 seats total, but the food and service were excellent. The authenticity level was definitely Chippy worthy from the mushy peas to the battered and fried haddock. The blonde ale that Toby enjoyed from Blue Coast Brewing, a microbrewery located in Nice, paired perfectly. We have a sort of unhealthy obsession with the French soda, Orangina, too. When we looked back over our pictures, we laughed because there was an Orangina bottle in at least half of our food pictures (see dinner pictures above). It’s kind of like drinking Guiness in Ireland though. Yeh, you can get these beverages in America, but they just don’t seem to taste the same.
On our third morning in Nice, we boarded a regional train and headed for the tiny country of Monaco, which was the whole reason for our trip. Our oldest son is studying mechanical engineering and loves cars; therefore, he chose Monaco as the destination for his senior year trip. Upon arriving, we walked out of the train station and across the street to the marina at Port Hercule. It felt like we should have had Robin Leach narrating for us. I’ve never seen such an ostentatious display of wealth as we saw in Monaco – everywhere! We saw cars that were probably 10 times what our house cost and yachts that looked like cruise ships. One of the largest yachts in the world was docked there, belonging to a Russian oligarch. The rich and famous are drawn to Monaco because it is a tax haven where residents do not have to pay income nor business taxes and it shows.
Most of Monaco is built on hilltops so we did a lot of hiking that day. We followed the grand prix route up to the Casino de Monte-Carlo, made famous by James Bond movies. While the country is known for its casinos, I was surprised to learn that the citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble nor even enter the casinos unless they are working there. It seems only fair though since they already enjoy a tax free life. Only non-Monegasques who are 18 and older are allowed inside and proper attire is required. This mean no shorts, flip flops or tennis shoes are allowed inside and jackets are recommended in the evening, for which we were not prepared Even though I don’t really care to gamble, it would have been fun to go inside and look around. If I ever find myself in Monaco again, I will be sure to channel my inner Roger Moore and dress accordingly.
The casino is surrounded by shopping areas, but, like most things in Monaco, the stores are geared toward people with a lot of money. We passed Prada, Alexander McQueen, Cartier, and Dior to name a few. I think my last clothing purchase was either at Goodwill or from the clearance rack at Target, so the designer opulence was sort of lost on me. We tried to stay on higher ground on our way to the Royal Palace on the other side of the hilltop but ended up back down at Port Hercule where we started. This meant that we had to make that trek up the hillside again while pushing a stroller. I think I logged over 20,000 steps that day and I swear 80% of it was uphill, or at least it felt that way.
Even though our daughter speaks a conversational level of French and has no problem speaking with others on her own behalf, she reluctantly translates for us while traveling. Whenever we are in a lost in translation situation, we throw her right out front to figure it out for us. I guess that is why she is reluctant to help us. This time though, using some broken French on my part (and possibly an accidental Spanish word or two), I found out from a guy working nearby that there was an elevator that would take us a couple of stories to a hillside path which would save us some walking. The sidewalk snaked up the hillside, almost like Lombard street in San Francisco, but with much tighter curves. Even though it was quite a hike, the view of Monaco along with the harbor below was gorgeous and definitely worth the effort.
At the top of the hill are gardens leading to the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where many of the ruling Grimaldi family are buried, including Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace Kelly. The prince and princess of Monaco were also famously married in this cathedral in 1956 as the world watched. We were waiting out front for the rest of our group when we noticed a priest standing to the side of the building vaping, which we found comical. I guess even Catholic priests in Monaco vape now.
Just up the road sits the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, including the collection of royal cars. My parents and our older kids took a tour of the palace, but we stayed behind because our youngest was getting restless. Instead we found a little café outside of the palace courtyard to get him a snack and relax after walking for a few hours.
We ventured down the hillside to find a place to eat and passed a little playground en route, which we returned to after having a late lunch. Our older kids wanted to spend more time exploring the city, so we let them do that on their own while our youngest son played. After a couple of hours, we met back at the station and boarded the train to Nice. The view of the Mediterranean was so beautiful and serene as we made station stops along the way in sleepy, beachfront villages.
We opted to stay in and order Neapolitan style pizza that evening and play games since we were so exhausted. It is tradition in my family to play cards and games when we get together so we did this frequently in the evenings throughout our trip. Toby and I walked down to the corner to pick up the food and enjoyed a glass of rosé while we waited. The server also brought us some complimentary snacks of bruschetta and the most delicious fried cheese puffs. They were so good that I would have been happy just having more of those for dinner. Its weird how sometimes the food we remember the most on our trips isn’t the fancy stuff but little, unexpected snacks like this.
They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Well, the people of Provence drink rosé, and that is what we did. Provence is known for this style of wine, which is both widely produced and consumed throughout the region. The lightness of this chilled wine is perfect for the warmer climate and the rich, bold flavors of Mediterranean food for which Southern France is known. Unlike white wine, the skin of the grape is left on while it is mashed and allowed to stay in contact with the juice for a short time. It is removed before the fermentation process though, unlike with red wine where the grape skin is fermented with the juice. While I prefer drier rosés, there are many varietals that differ in levels of sweetness and color. Rosés usually have notes of melon, citrus and stone fruits flavors that are infused into the grapes through the surrounding terroir.
My parents offered to watch our youngest son so that Toby and I could have an evening alone on our trip, which we decided to take advantage of on our last night in Nice. We walked up to Castle Hill through the back streets of Old Town, taking us about 15 minutes to reach the top. It’s a gorgeous view of the city looking out over both the Promenade des Anglais and the old port on the opposite side. A large park space expands across the top of Castle Hill along with a waterfall facing toward the Mediterranean. We walked down the side of the hill facing the sea and along the promenade, where we found a café to sit and enjoy it just being the two of us. I can’t imagine ever going to Nice during the summer because of the crowds, but it was the perfect amount of people in the Spring. It was easy to walk around and easy to find a table, which I doubt would be the case during peak season.
Toby found a restaurant called La Cave du Fromager near our apartment that looked promising. There was a small bar on the street level with a couple of two tops, but not much else. We were escorted down to the cellar level where the main dining room was. It was seriously one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. With arched doorways made of old brick and stone, low lighting, and stucco walls, it felt like this place had a lot of history. The tables were close together as most are in Europe, but it was very cozy. We had to start off with a cheese plate being in a restaurant called the cheese maker’s cellar. There were bottles of wine everywhere but there wasn’t a wine menu. Instead the sommelier came to our table and suggested a few pairings based on the food we had chosen. I have to make so many decisions every day in my professional life, so I love when I go out to eat and the experts give us their recommendations. I would do this all of the time with food and drink if given the option.
Toby ordered the tartiflette as his main course that was served with dressed mesclun greens. Tartiflette is pretty much the French equivalent to our American mac and cheese – pure cheesy, starchy, comfort food goodness. It is absolute heaven, made with Reblochon cheese, potatoes, cream, white wine, onions, garlic, and bacon lardons. The acidity and crispness of the Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc that was chosen for us was the perfect companion to this rich dish. I had a version of coq au vin, which was delicious but I would have rather eaten all of the tartiflette. A huge fondue pot was delivered to the table right next to us after we had already ordered, making us immediately regret not ordering that. It was a perfect evening though and definitely not a place for young children, so we were thankful to my parents for giving us a break.
The next morning, we had to leave very early to catch our train back to Paris. My parents continued on to Germany with our oldest son for another week as we started our long journey home with the rest of our crew. I can’t say which part of the trip was my favorite because I appreciated each place for different reasons: the historic and traditional Provençal feel of Avignon; the old world, Mediterranean vibe of Nice; and the regalness and beauty of Monaco. It was definitely a worthwhile trip and one I would highly recommend, especially to those traveling with families.
Lavender Crème Brûlée
Crème brûlée is my favorite dessert to both make and to eat. In school, I studied Culinary Arts, not Baking. I started out as a line cook and was not comfortable at all with sweets. Making crème brûlée is more like cooking because the important part is done on the stove top and before it goes into the oven, which I think is why a lot of savory chefs like to make it. It wasn’t until Cake Designer and Pastry Chef extraordinaire Todd Kennedy, who is now based in NYC, took me under his wing and mentored me that I was brave enough to venture further into the world of pastries. While my repertoire is much broader now, I still return to this rich, custardy dessert as a comfort food. Lavender crème brûlée is my favorite variation and, since this aromatic herb grows abundantly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, it is the perfect recipe with which to end this series. Bon Appétit to all of my fellow wayfarers out there!
- 2 quarts heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp dried lavender buds
- 1 # cane sugar (divided in half)
- 20 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Water for water bath
- Extra sugar to brûlée
- Preheat conventional oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 degrees Celsius).
- In a large, heavy bottom sauce pan, bring heavy cream, dried lavender buds, and 1/2 # cane sugar to a low boil before removing from heat to rest for 5 minutes. This allows the flavor of the lavender to infuse throughout.
- While cream mixture is heating, whisk egg yolks, remaining 1/2# cane sugar, and vanilla extract in mixing bowl until they turn a shade lighter.
- Gradually ladle the cream mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper in the eggs. The eggs will cook if they are mixed in too quickly.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lavender buds.
- Fill 6 ounce ramekins with mixture and place ramekins in large baking dish.
- Place the baking dish on the top rack of the oven and pour the water into the baking dish until the water is half way up the outside of the ramekins. Be careful when pouring the water so that none of it gets inside of the ramekins.
- Bake 30-45 minutes or until set (will still be a tiny bit jiggly in the middle but will firm up in the refrigerator)
- Carefully remove the ramekins from water bath and chill them for 3-4 hours.
- When ready to serve, put a light, even layer of cane sugar* on top of the custard. Using a torch, hold it about 6 inches from surface and brûlée the surface, moving the torch around the ramekin, until the sugar caramelizes completely.
- Serve immediately.
*When making caramel or caramelizing sugar, it is important to use cane sugar instead of beet sugar. It is very difficult to get beet sugar to caramelize and is an inferior product for these applications.