Nice Journal - Spring 2011 - 8

There were no children at school on Wednesday, 30th, and the day started overcast and dull so we did not get as early a start as we had hoped to make. However we still got to do our usual morning and get out to the tram in time to arrive in the old town around 11am. This gave Lisa an hour to shop for soap, oranges, salt, pepper and Spigol on our way through Cour Saleya and Vieux Nice on our way to Perry's.

We didn't stop for drinks but headed off almost at once to the far side of the port to the Barque Bleu for lunch. 

Plaster Figures

As we reached the top of the port we paused briefly to admire two plaster figures high up on an apartment  balcony - a kind of three-dimensional trompe-l'oeil.

The weather was still uncertain so we ate inside. Lisa had a grilled aubergine starter as a main course, Perry had moules Siciliennes (in a sauce with tomatoes) and I had Rigatoni in a gorgonzola and cream sauce. The wine was a Coteaux d'Aix en Provence red, very tasty! For dessert, Lisa had coffee ice-cream (not as tasty as yesterday's, she reported), Perry had a lemon meringue pie with a huge mass of meringue topping and I had yet another tiramisu. After coffee we walked up to the colonnade to take a taxi to the Musée Masena.

Musée Masena is housed in what was the home of the mayor of Nice until Napoleon III decided it would make a good home for some spare paintings he had lying around. The villa has recently been restored and the state rooms on the ground floor are worth seeing in their own right for their beautiful decoration. On the upper floor the emphasis is on the art works and the objects associated with the carnival at Nice.

We spent a good two hours looking at the contents and then, after a brief call at the gift shop for a couple of books, we caught a bus back to Seguranne and walked down to Foresta.

We did not stay long at Perry's but soon took our leave and made our way back to Garibaldi where we had a croque monsieur each at the Civette de Garibaldi brasserie. Lisa had a couple of glasses of rosé and I had a beer. We sat on the pavement in the late evening sun and found the atmosphere very much to our liking. Eventually we headed for the tram home.

At the supermarket yesterday evening I had bought all the makings for a repeat of our Soup de Poissons supper so we did not need to shop tonight and headed straight back to the apartment.

The soup was every bit as tasty as before and just as much fun. Definitely a winner in the bang for your bucks stakes! We opened a bottle of rosé that Perry had given us but it was undistinguished stuff so Lisa did not drink more than a couple of glasses.

After dinner we spent a little time preparing the anti-snoring device with which I'd been issued at Papworth. Lisa went to bed soon after that but I stayed up to write in this journal and finish the wine, which became a lot more tasty as it warmed up. Finally I fitted the device and joined Lisa on bed.