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Un Coup de Foudre - Falling in Love with France in 8 Days

Un Coup de Foudre - Falling in Love with France in 8 Days

Old Jan 28th, 2015, 10:00 AM
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Un Coup de Foudre - Falling in Love with France in 8 Days

I decided to do a trip report on my first visit to France (Nice, Cannes, and Paris) in fall 2014. Since so many trip reports have assisted me, hopefully this will be helpful for first time travelers, and bring some enjoyable nostalgia for long time visitors who know the myriad charms and appeal of this country.

Let me start by setting the scene of my first few minutes in Paris:

After a TGV from Cannes, and arrival at Gare de Lyon, I figure out what metro line I need to get to Pyramides. I'll pick up my museum pass first before meeting the apartment owner. I climb the stairs to Rue des Pyramides, and surface for my first true views of Paris, filled with blue skies and bold (Haussmann?) architecture. I breathe in; nothing comes out. Grandeur. Beauty. Stately. Strong lines. Windows. Sunlight on warm, light stone. I'm reduced to simple adjectives and nouns, fragments of ideas since I am so overwhelmed by it all. I exhale and it's a laugh. Not a belly laugh, but a laugh of amazement, excitement with maybe a hint of hysteria. This is Paris, I am here, finally. But because this is Paris, I bring my laugh to a low pitch out of politeness. (As a native New Yorker, if I wanted to laugh like a hyena I would have no compunctions about doing so in the street, and most wouldn't look twice: we've all seen and heard stranger). I'm not prepared for this. I've been to cities and towns gorgeously situated (Cape Town, San Francisco, Positano) and cities with beauty woven throughout the area (Kyoto, London, Damascus), but I've never been so smacked in the face by urban beauty, and for the first time when I returned to New York, I was disappointed by our own cityscape, and really missing the aesthetics of Parisian architecture.

By the time I was getting my proverbial socks knocked off in Paris, I had spent 6 nights in Nice and Cannes already. I had liked, admired, and enjoyed much in the Côte d'Azur, and was feeling very fondly about France. But coming out of the subway in Paris, I was struck by that legendary coup de foudre. If it wasn't truly love, just all of symptoms, I swore that I'd forsake all other travel destinations and gladly spend all my time in the future getting to know Paris and France better, get past her pretty facade and get to know her personality, quirks, idiosyncratic behavior. (Granted, I clearly lied to myself as I heard the call of Iceland and am heading there in March, so much for monogamy). But the infatuation with Paris was immediate and powerful, something I could barely mentally process in the moment, and all the emotions and thoughts were compressed into a laugh of disbelief and wonder.

PLANNING - HOW DID I GET HERE

In an ideal world, I might have spent these days in late September early October all in Paris with a few day trips. But instead, I had a work conference in Cannes Monday through Wednesday. I knew I had to be back in the office the following Monday to follow up with work generated from the conference, so I was limited to adding on a bit of time ahead of the event, and a bit of time after. Approaching things logically based on flight availability, I decided on:

-fly overnight from JFK to Nice on Delta nonstop
-2 nights in Nice
-train to Cannes for the conference
-4 nights in Cannes
-TGV to Paris, arrive in Paris at 1:30 PM
-3 nights in Paris
-fly CDG to JFK on Sunday, land evening JFK

I'd get a taste of the Côte d'Azur before time in Paris. I was hopeful that by giving my French language abilities a strenuous workout in the south (plus some reminder lessons for a month before the trip at home), by the time I made it to Paris, my skills would not be muscular, but perhaps be mildly capable and eager for the exercise.

I planned very little Nice: I gave myself a decent sense of what was located where in the city and how far away other towns were by train, but had nothing concretely lined up outside of a Saturday lunch in Menton at Mirazur. I knew I wanted one great fine dining experience, and the combined effect of its ranking as the #11 restaurant in the world according to some random list (The World's 50 Best Restaurants), and a Relais & Chateaux gift card, I made reservations two months in advance.

Paris I knew that with limited time and unlimited beauty and sights, I'd have to focus and edit. Since I wouldn't arrive until 1:30 PM, I planned to pick up my Museum Pass, which I ordered more for convenience than cost saving (though I did wind up saving more than I thought), and head to my apartment on Rue de Grenelle in the 7th. I'm big on having an idea of what is where, so I signed up for a night bike tour of the city for my first night, and trusted that my inherent sense of direction could retain location information for the next few days of discovery.

Museums were easy. I had been enamored with the idea of Paris as a small child, reading "Linnea in Monet's Garden", a children's book that is beautifully illustrated and completely excited my mind about art, Impressionism, Monet, and Paris, and stuck with me 20+ years later. For parents planning visits to Paris with kids, I would highly recommend the book as a gateway, to get your children interested in or intrigued by art in advance. So with Monet as the focal point, I honed in on Musée Marmottan, Musée d'Orsay, and of course Musée de l'Orangerie. (I clearly must make a return visit in summer for the sole purpose of a day trip to Giverny to see the waterlilies in bloom). No Louvre - too big with too little time to do its wonders justice, and many of the other museums I had interest in would also hold until next time.

Other than that, in Paris I was planning to embrace my inner flâneuse and wander around, which I did, and then some. My feet were usually aching by end of day, but it was almost always worth the pain.

So with the plans set, it was time to fly. Allons-y!

Coming up - Nice - I underrated the city in advance, shame on me (but future Nice goers, I'll tell you why I was so delighted with Nice, and hopefully you will plan better than I did.)
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Old Jan 28th, 2015, 11:44 AM
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Welcome to the club of we France Lovers.
I hope you tasted the Socca while in Nice.
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Old Jan 28th, 2015, 02:02 PM
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I feel the same way about Paris - it takes my breath away leaving me giddy with happiness. Very good TR start! Looking forward to reading more.
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Old Jan 28th, 2015, 04:44 PM
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Great start.. Sign me up for the duration!
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Old Jan 28th, 2015, 05:24 PM
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Looking forward to your trip report!
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 01:02 AM
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I'm another who's going to enjoy your travels! Di
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 05:31 AM
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Sign me on, please.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 06:33 AM
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Ah, a new love - ain't it grand? What a great start - loved hearing your first impressions, and looking forward to more.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 10:08 AM
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Thanks everyone for signing on! It definitely encourages me to continue on, and deliver on some decent reporting and writing.

cigalechanta - while it burned my fingers, socca was entirely worth the pain.

And now we arrive in Nice...

Arriving on the overnight flight, I woke up slightly groggy but managed to look out the window on the descent. I'm taken by surprise to see the boldly jutting crags of the Maritime Alps, the brown masses providing a backdrop for, cities, towns and light blue coves of Mediterranean. I knew about the Southern Alps, but couldn't picture the landscape in advance, and flying over the folded hills sloping into the sea awakened my excitement and imagination while landing.

Not being quite ready to use public transportation, I opted for a taxi to take me to Hotel Massena, a smaller, four star property that seemed well located to the train station, the promenade, and Vieux Nice. The driver, Niçois born and raised, and I engaged in some light conversation in French, and to my growing pleasure and lessening unease, I found I could understand most of the things he was saying and had command enough to reply in some grammatically acceptable way. If I could avoid a need for le subjonctif, which is incredibly useful but I can never really remember how to conjugate, I would be set!

We drove slowly from airport to hotel, taking about 25 minutes, but being ensconced in the back of the cab made it hard for me to observe and absorb specific sights or get a sense of direction. What I did absorb was the warming sun of the Côte d'Azur, the blue skies and heat of late September, the palms flanking the roads on either side. A smile tugged at my face. I had no preconceived notions of Nice, no strong expectation of love/admiration prior to arrival, I had reserved all of my presumptions for Paris. Caught off guard and open, the weather would be the city's first tool of seduction: I would fall victim to others as the day wore on.

Deposited at my hotel, I was efficiently checked in by reception and plopped my bags down in a deluxe room. Hotel Massena is a bit Spartan in appearance, but there was a relatively comfortable bed, a spacious bathroom, and some besides tables for stacking my books: I'd do just fine here.

Giving myself no time to think about jetlag, I struck out to explore the city at once. The merits of my hotel's location were made clear as I walked a block to Place Massena, a square that showed off examples of Nice's most gorgeous qualities, which she has in spades. The buildings were a riot of color, red ochre, cowslip yellow, salmon-terracotta, typically trimmed with creams and mint green window shutters. The colors contrasted the chessboard sidewalks, and the blue skies overhead were punctuated by odd poles with molds of men at the top. The tram ran through the square, along with bikers, businessmen, families, and fellow tourists.

Walking out of Place Massena, I intended to head to Vieux Nice first. Instead I was drawn in for a bit to the park on Promenade du Paillon. On either side of Place Massena, this particular public area was home to metal, modern sculptures that resembled thin watermelon rinds balancing. It also featured some truly fantastic fountains: in the heat and light the water created a mist effect that delighted most passers by, and encouraged children to play and engage (and me to take quite a few photos).

I then decided to wander aimlessly through la Vieille Ville, and I do: the labyrinth of yellowed buildings and homes interspersed with more bright colors of buildings, windows, shutters, flowers was easy to get lost in. Nice has only been part of France since 1860, and the alleyways and construction of old town do speak of significant Italian influence. I scoped out storefronts and restaurants, and fully intend to return to one promising smelling place for dinner. I'm also the type to completely fall for a view, so as soon as I hit a steep staircase, I climbed without knowing exactly what I'd find other than some kind of vantage point. The result was to arrive in Nice's Cimitière du Chateau, which housed its deceased in splendid fashion. Marble mausoleums and tombs with stone statues of angels and saints all came with a prime hilltop view of the city below it, inspiring solemn reflection and appreciation from the living that wandered the rows of graves. Looking more closely, the Italian-French connection becomes even more clear: every third or fourth surname on the headstones seems to originate from Italy.

I retreated from the Cimitière in a new direction, taking the slow path that cars and the scenic sightseeing train use, and meet the sea at the bottom. A stroll to Nice's protected harbor leads to my mini adventure at the lighthouse. In fact, upon reflection the adventure aspect was physically low, but high mentally and emotionally, as the minimal people, weathered, sun-kissed stone and a clear day push me into a reverie. I see Mercedes, scanning the horizon for the sighting of sails, of Edmond Dantes. And though I know I will not make it to Marseille this trip, I feel spiritually connected with one of my favorite books, looking out over the Mediterranean.

I glided back towards the center of town along the Promenade d'Anglais, taking my first stab at being a true flâneuse and succeeding fairly well. The beaches are not packed like high season, but there are plenty of people basking in the sun and enjoying the cool water today. I walked down the Promenade, past the beachfront restaurants and clubs and grand dame hotels like Hotel Negresco, and the sunny atmosphere seemed infectious, with most everyone smiling and laughing and at play.

I walked for about three to four hours at this point, definitely creating some blisters (should have broken these shoes in first!) so I return to the hotel, shower and change, and again make my way to the Vieille Ville for dinner. I wound up at Le Bistrot d'Antoine, which made for excellent people watching and a delicious early-ish dinner (was so hungry from all the walking) of risotto and and a glass of rosé from Provence (bien sur!). I'd typically not indulge on dessert, but in a littly cranny between Place Halle Aux Herbs and Rue Masconait, I became enthralled by the vision of the Fenocchio Glacier. With Italian influences all around me, there's no harm in sampling some gelato, is there? Salted caramel butter sounds both familiar and French, and it is as decadent and delicious as I could have asked for. I strolled back to the Promenade, sat on a bench, and people watched and enjoyed the gelato immensely.

I took the long way back to Place Massena, again climbing the slopes to Cimitière du Chateau, rewarded with a fantastic sunset over the city. Then it's back to the Place Massena area, where I watch the little men on poles glow neon green, blue, red and purple in the night. It's a quirky ending to a fabulous day. Nice has a wonderful big city feel combined with resort town and quaint, charming Vieille Ville chock full of Italian influence. I didn't even penetrate the culture offerings, I was so taken by absorbing the atmosphere through some kind of walking osmosis. Nice had put a spell upon me, and I went to sleep content and eager for sunrise, for there was so much more to feel and explore ahead.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 10:49 AM
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I am enthralled by your excellent narrative skills - love your reference to one of my favorite books - it evoked the sadness that I felt then when I was reading the book.. Your trip report is such a joy to read, thank you!! I am taking copious notes for our (first) trip to France in June which will commence in Nice for a couple of days.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 09:24 PM
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I too had absolutely no expectations for Nice; like you, I was absolutely enchanted with this city!
One of my favourite pass times was sitting on the promenade and watching the sunset and passing parade of interesting people and activities. Di
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 04:36 AM
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milaedg - In my mind, I've designed a "Comte de Monte Cristo" highlights itinerary, which would take in Rome (where the Count makes his appearance and meets Albert), Venice (since the Carnival at Rome no longer exists, get in the spirit with the Venetian counterpart), Marseille with of course a daytrip to the Château d'If, and end in Paris. And in an ideal world, be part of a scientific expedition that gets you onto Monte Cristo island as well! Even if you don't make it to Marseille, you'll be stirred by seeing these characters' beginnings on the Med. Have a wonderful first trip!

di2315 - I ended up on the promenade multiple times to people watch (and eat more gelato). The city is so relaxing, and yet so very diverse and dynamic, it's a very cool combination.
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 06:09 AM
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My first day in Nice ended, and day two on the Côte d'Azur would see me make daytrips to two other Mediterranean resort cities, Monaco and Menton...

Saturday morning arrived, and I was a bit late to stir (it had been hard to get to sleep at a reasonable hour because of the jetlag, and waking up was a bit more difficult than I anticipated). I managed to get a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, the offerings at Hotel Massena were nothing special, but provided all the necessary things (eggs, fruit, cheese, croissants, tea) that I required to get me through a morning.

I walked northwest on Avenue Jean Médecin to the Gare de Nice Ville, the main train station, and prepared to get on the next train to Monaco at 9:56 AM. Here is a piece of advice for anyone planning daytrips on Saturdays between September and April: research the football matches of the day in the area you are in, and what time they kick off. Because I was completely unprepared for the very interesting experience of riding the rails with rowdy football fans. OGC Nice was to play AS Monaco at Monaco, so we'd be sharing the train together the whole way. I'm not unprepared for crowded trains in general - repeated 7:45 AM commutes on New York City's 2 train will make you mentally numb to the sardines in a can feeling. While I've visited Europe before, I've never been to a football match or commuted with any fans, and I know that in general, football fandom is said to rival the most dedicated fans of US college and professional sports. The fans of OGC Nice - whom I got to know by virtue of being crushed together with standing on the packed 25 minute long ride - were everything I thought they'd be, and perhaps more. They were all seemingly between the ages of 14 and 30, they are overwhelmingly male, with a few female fans dotting the trains, and they were highly enthusiastic (and in most cases already inebriated). They had enough songs for their beloved club to fill an entire CD, so they never ran out of material during the entire journey. The lack of coordination meant that I heard varying groups begin different songs at the same time, leading to a disjointed but spirited polyphony. I could only pick up certain words, but either the opposing team or someone else was habitually referred to as une salope, which did not faze me as I've heard considerably worse from Eagles fans at Giants games before, and the Nice-Monaco rivalry is apparently quite fierce in football, this game being part of the Derby de la Côte d'Azur.

When we disembarked, the fans proved their devotion and insanity By proceeding to leap upon the seats on the platform and redouble their efforts to sing their fight songs as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. It bordered on a scene from a musical, and I giggled slightly thinking that newsboy caps would be broken out and coordinated dance moves would follow. Instead, fans set off sparklers and small fireworks in the crimson colors of OGC Nice. Monacan (is that the demonym for Monaco? It looks all sorts of wrong and sounds worse) riot police gathered in groups and walked purposefully towards the largest pack of fans with the fireworks. I didn't stick around to see what the confrontation looked like, but I'm oddly happy to have been part of such an experience. And it was certainly the most exciting part of my visit to Monaco.

Monaco... It was kind of a letdown to be honest, though part of my feelings for the country are due to my lack of planning and limited time. Superficially, it has the trappings of the rest of the Côte d'Azur, but in my admittedly cursory visit, it lacked palpable charm and beauty, and felt like a rich people's sterile version of a French resort city. The most noticeable point of differentiation was the reduced amount of dog excrement on the sidewalk, which while welcome to spend more time looking up and around and not sharing with looking down, somehow underlined the odd sterility of the country.

I didn't get to the casino (not particularly interested) nor to the Oceanographic museum (too little time), but I did spend some time walking the harbor, where the Monaco Yacht Show was taking place, which provided some nice photo opportunities, and strolling through the various little gardens sprinkled through the city. If I had arrived earlier, perhaps I would have liked the city more with time to engage in more of its main sights, but I felt no call or pull to the place. And while I chose to go to Monaco mainly because it was a logical stop to then resume travel to Menton, I might have been better served by opting to take the bus to Èze instead, which I did have interest in.

I did not read the fine print in my guidebook that said that there were trains running from Monaco to Menton every 20 minutes, except on Saturdays and Sundays. So I arrived at the Monaco train station at exactly 11:25, and a train did not come until 12:43. I called Mirazur and let them know I was delayed, which they said would be no problem and they'd be happy to accommodate me at 1:15 PM. The train ride was quiet and sparsely populated, and after a quick taxi ride from Menton station into the hills east and north of the main city, I had arrived at my fine dining experience of the trip.

Mirazur had a fine, modern looking dining room, which was perfect because most tables were perched at floor to ceiling windows, so all of the emphasis was on the spectacular views of the hills, the Mediterranean, and the ruddy city of Menton in the distance. Service was uniformly excellent and accommodating, and heard waiters speaking Italian, French, German and Spanish to various other tables in the dining room to make things as easy as possible for their guests. The view and exemplary service were just extras: I had come for a fantastic meal, and was not to be disappointed. (Note that what follows is some rhapsodizing about food, which not everyone is into.)

I began with three amuse bouche, followed quickly by a succulent, fresh oyster in apple juice dressed with crema, tapioca, and fresh green apple slices. It goes perfectly with my two glasses of white wine, and I cannot remember the varietal or whether it was Italian or French, but it was light and refreshing with some minerality, and paired nicely throughout the meal.

A loaf of bread followed, accompanied by a Pablo Neruda poem that was exceedingly apt once I'd tried it and felt instantly contented, it was so warm and rich. I also tried the a la carte piece of raisin and anise bread, a dark black slice that tasted like a fresh shot of ouzo and woke me up out of my contentment, eager for more flavors.

The mini salad followed: hidden, juicy pieces of lobster, gigantic raspberries, beetroot and capers and a light little sauce I barely noticed but worked overtime to tie all of the flavors together.

I moved firmly into seafood with calamari strips lightly grilled in a Piedmontese sauce, followed by monkfish and caramelized Jerusalem artichokes. The fish was very well prepared, the Jerusalem artichokes creamy and smooth, and the accompanying succotash and toasted shells provided an earthy, nutty compliment, so that when I ate a bit all of the elements at once, I felt as though I was eating the sea and the mountains in a single bite.

Throughout the meal, I was charmed by the blue of the sea, and the yellow dragonflies as large as hummingbirds flirting and diving outside the window. Between my meal and dessert, I opted for a cheese course, which made it easy to spread on bread, eat, and observe the natural beauty. Dining at Mirazur is a calming, most immersive experience, and while I typically do prefer sharing a meal and some conversation with another person, to be solo at Mirazur is a special treat.

Dessert arrived, featuring saffron cream and an orange custard base, sprinkled with carmelized orange rind and almond. A box of lemony petit madeleines followed, along with an arrangement of chocolate as sticks, leaves, rocks, a beautiful plate of edible nature. It was a four hour celebration of gastronomy, and with my Relais & Chateaux gift card, I needed only cover my glass of wine and cheese plate.

I was swollen with happiness, contentment, and well, food, but managed to walk it off down the sloping hillside to the Promenade du Soleil, where I watched Menton zoom in as I walked towards the city, fully enjoying the September sunshine beating on my face. The beaches here were slightly more crowded than Nice, and there was a large play area and trampoline on the sand, making it very family friendly. Of course, it was Saturday, so more tourists and locals would likely be enjoying outdoor pleasures today. The Italian influences entwine tightly with the French and Provençal ones here, the lemon products like limoncello and lemon imagery taking beyond its connection to Liguria to my time spent in Positano in May 2013. Menton's inner labyrinth of streets is smaller and slightly more claustrophobic than Nice's, and I found it slightly less charming due to a heavy inundation of tourists groups navigating the alleys at the same time I did. But I did find it beautiful, scenic, and appreciated the locally sourced products and storefronts.

Back on the train to Nice, and a few stragglers from the OGC Nice - AS Monaco game embarked back to Nice as well (Nice had won the match, so everyone seemed happy, subdued, and slightly hungover, which made for a quieter return trip).

I knew after my meal at Mirazur, I would not be especially hungry for dinner. But I did take the opportunity to try some socca, and that plus gelato and another stroll down the Promenade d'Anglais capped off a fairly excellent day, even with the dead down time in Monaco. Tomorrow, I would have some early morning time for Nice again, but then needed to make my way to Cannes, where I'd have one free day ahead of my work conference.
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 08:32 AM
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I have Mirazur planned for a trip in September so I was more than happy to read your rhapsody! Sounds like a perfect length of time for a lunch on vacation. Thanks for the detail.

Keep it coming...
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 03:06 PM
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I am positively salivating over that meal! Will you be posting any photos?
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 04:27 PM
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I love your writing. Please give us more...
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Old Jan 31st, 2015, 06:23 AM
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YankyGal - it was a sublime experience, you will very much enjoy it!

Dee_Dee - I'm still working on building some kind of Tumblr with words type blog/website, it's in progress but I haven't quite worked out if it has the message and look I want exactly. But I do have some select photos from Nice and Monaco/Menton up. I'll never be a person who posts all of my photos because I take oodles and then narrow down to the best of the batch.

http://inspiredexplorer.com/nice-med-charming-city/
http://inspiredexplorer.com/nice-min...menton-monaco/

A compressed version of my time in Cannes is next, which I'll finish later today, and then onto Paris!
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Old Jan 31st, 2015, 06:50 AM
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My DH and I made Nice and Menton bases for area exploration so I'm very much enjoying your trips. We, however, missed Mirazur--it sounded miraculous. Kindly clarify: "A loaf of bread followed, accompanied by a Pablo Neruda poem..."!
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Old Jan 31st, 2015, 07:28 AM
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Hi TDudette - they actually bring out the loaf of bread on its own wooden board, along with a small dish of oil, and a little, almost wax paper printout of Pablo Neruda's "Bread" poem. I thought it was mildly odd at first, until I ate the bread, which is absolutely ode worthy.

Mirazur send you home with the poem, the menu you selected for the day, and a large Madeleine, so now I have the bread poem scrapbooked with photos from Menton.

There's a visual of the bread in that bottom link if I'm still not making it very clear.
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Old Jan 31st, 2015, 08:00 AM
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Gotcha! A friend of mine just visited Neruda home named for his wife's hair so the name popped out:

http://santiagotourist.com/the-houses-of-neruda/

I'll look for his bread poem.
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