cheska15

On Tuesday after what seemed a long train trip (5 hrs) we arrived in beautiful Bordeaux.I was desperate for a long walk, and was pretty happy to get 9 ks in despite not arriving to late afternoon.

Wednesday we spent walking around looking at Notre Dame Cathedral and I particularly loved the colours of some of the pillars. Soft pinks, greens all with patterns. The clock tower is lovely and well worth a photo.

As it was very cold in the shade, so we picked somewhere in the sun to have lunch. Sadly it was one of the worst meals we have had in the four months of being in France. I ordered lamb chops well done, and they were just about raw and still cold inside. The pavlova dessert was stale meringue that flew if the plate when trying to cut with a spoon. Oh well you can’t have a great meal all the time. I wasn’t feeling all that great either so maybe that had an impact as well. Still managed a 13 k walk and was back in the hotel by 5 pm where I rested for the remainder of the day.

Today we had a fabulous English breakfast. The bacon was beautiful and the fried eggs cooked perfectly. The owner of the Breakfast Club was very welcoming, and at a total of €28 it was worth the money. Probably the same price as we pay in trendy cafes in Australia but much more food and better quality.

We then walked to La Cite du Vin through Chartrons. This is a lovely area with very trendy shops, a cathedral of course. We then walked along the renovated port area with all the lovely eateries along the way. It was a very enjoyable walk.

I would like to say firstly that we are not wine connoisseurs, and don’t have to know everything about the product. While La Cite du Vin is interesting, after about half an hour my eyes started to glaze over. There are lots of interactive displays, and the building is stunning. After you have been through the building, your ticket purchase allows one glass of wine up on the 8th floor. The view is nice enough however, at €20 pp I would only recommend if you were fascinated by wine.

We are staying at the Hilton Garden Hotel ( 3ks from the town centre and€420 for 4 nights) directly opposite the food hall La Boca. It is a great concept. We tried Tapas on the first night and although not the freshest we have had they were ok. The person working there was so friendly and helpful it was worth the €20 including 4 glasses of wine. Tonight we popped in for a snack as we are still full from breakfast. The nachos with guacamole was different. Not your normal nachos with cheese, salsa, beans etc. Basically corn chips, with mashed avocado. We then tried the spring rolls. I had a picture in my head of Asian spring rolls. Wrong, as they were sushi. Lovely and fresh though. All washed down with lovely French champagne and at €10 for a 250ml glass well worth it.

Our total walk today was 15 ks. Tomorrow we hope to do a tour of the Opera House. I have taken note of a recommendation on another post regarding Bordeaux, and a few of you suggested Le Saint Georges for a meal, and we are hoping to get there for lunch.

Bordeaux is a really lovely city with very elegant architecture, and the weather is lovely despite a little breeze, and being so cool.

kerouac

The "raw" spring rolls are called rouleaux de printemps. The little deep fried spring rolls are called by their North Vietnamese name "nem." What's funny is that even though in southern Vietnam the name is "chả giň" so many French tourists in Saigon ask for nem that the term is now well known in the south. The alternate French language name is pâté impérial.

cheska15

We have arrived back in Nimes, after really enjoying the time in Bordeaux. We did eat at Le Saint Georges and enjoyed talking to one of the staff who had worked in Australia. A nice meal of a plate of tapas food as entree, then we both had salads, a bottle of wine, and dessert. Really enjoyed sitting in the sun

We wanted to do a tour of the Opera House as it is such a beautiful building. Sadly we left it too late to book, and there were not any available places for Thursday and Friday

Learnt another valuable lesson this week, and that was to read hotel policies before booking. This time I didn’t and was surprised to learn that the Hilton Garden holds a €50 deposit, and it takes about seven days to get the refund. I have never seen a hotel do that before. While the hotel was lovely it is probably too far out for a lot of people. We didn’t mind the 3k walk into town. The closest tram was about 1k away from the hotel, and we didn’t see any buses.

We have time to wash our clothes, have a few days of light eating then off to Nice and Menton next week. Hopefully tomorrow we can get to the markets early as I am craving linguine with garlic prawns.My husband cooks this dish perfectly. Also have a very nice bottle of Prosecco in the fridge, so perhaps the light eating will start on Monday.

Hoping to hear that Australia has had a decent amount of rain without causing floods. Fingers crossed

TDudette

I'm looking forward to reading about your Nice and Menton visit! Here is one of my favorite old town Menton views:


And here is a nearby view:

cheska15

TDudette wow thanks for sharing. We are really looking forward to visiting Nice and the lemon festival in Menton

gooster

Oh, you are heading to the Fete du Citron! Enjoy. And the Nice Carnival theme this year is a bit more lighthearted... the Roi de la Mode (The King of Fashion with Karl Lagerfeld a focus).

cheska15

We have had a relatively quiet few days with being around home
As we had no food in the house we went to the market on Sunday, and purchased a couple of days supplies, that included a chicken (€12), salad stuff and vegetables (€4) It will be the last chicken for awhile as even though it was fabulous and had two meals from it, my husband maybe over chicken by now. It is not his favourite meat, and I may have been pushing my luck by cooking it probably once a fortnight. It is my favourite though. Of course if I was a good cook like most of you on here I would have done something with the carcass, but I didn’t. It still amazes me that we can buy all these things for the total of €16 and get a couple of meals out of the ingredients. This would not happen in Australia.

As we are going to Nice on Friday, there are a couple of things that we must take as I am a light sleeper and need a room completely dark.
These are
Pegs to hold the curtains together so the light doesn’t come into the room. If I forget as a last resort will use the coat hanger for trousers, or sectioning clips that I use for my hair.
ziplock plastic bags
Masking tape to cover all the on/ off buttons that shine in the dark.
I will often throw a poncho or coat over the television to stop the power light shining as you can’t pull the plug out of the TV sets.
Is there anything like this that you must take when you go travelling. I would love to hear of them.
My husband is quite supportive of taking these items, even if he thinks it is weird. Happy wife happy life so the saying goes.

I would be grateful for any restaurant recommendations that you may have for Nice. Not Michelin star, good averaged price places would be great. Thanks

kerouac

It is weird, but harmless.

I can't imagine paying 12 euros for a chicken. I generally pay no more than 6 euros and would absolutely not go above 8 euros. It would cause me to become a vegetarian.

Adelaidean

Cheska, I am often surprised at the low cost and easy access of quality food in Germany and France. Australia is comparatively expensive and we don’t have those wonderful street vendors selling farm produce, but have to drive to a small town farmers market or visit a big city market. Water, transport, drought/flood/ heat, electricity, cost of land, wages, etc part of our many factors driving up prices, and many of our farmers are struggling to survive (we are not adequately supporting dairy farming in South Australia for example)
One of the wonderful experiences in Tasmania, given its cool climate and agricultural successes is the food culture, great organically grown produce and driving through the Huon valley buying crisp apples and eating local produce at little towns was just perfect.

gooster

I think you will find it a bit more expensive in Nice, but overall I too am amazed at the low cost of most foods. There are a few exceptions, of course.

For Nice restaurants, you might try Bar des Oiseux (italian-leaning) or Comptoir du Marche or Bistrot d'Antoine (french), La Merenda (nicois). Of the beach restaurants open right now, le Galet is considered better but le Beau Rivage is quite fine. Generally avoid the restos on the main pedestrian zone (Rue Massena), the side streets are better. Same with the old town, except its the main squares that are challenging. This time of year, restaurants on La Fourchette/The Fork offer deals, and its not just tourist places on the app. If you have something in particular you are seeking, just ask.

jacooper

Cheska, I can’t sleep with either light or noise, so I use silk eye masks and earplugs. I get the eye masks from Ebay - they aren’t expensive.

In Brisbane I can go to the local shopping centre and buy a chicken, vegetables and salad which will last us two days for the equivalent of €16. So France doesn’t sound any cheaper than Australia to me.

cheska15

In Brisbane I can go to the local shopping centre and buy a chicken, vegetables and salad which will last us two days for the equivalent of €16. So France doesn’t sound any cheaper than Australia to me.

We couldn’t buy this food of this quality in Canberra for the cost here. Even the farmers markets in Canberra are not that good or cheap. I don’t find France particularly cheap, just far better quality.
I notice when eating out if you have the plat de jour that is a lot cheaper than eating out in Aus. Even with a couple of glasses of wine.

Adelaidean My Mum used to visit Canberra and couldn’t believe the lack of quality produce. How I miss the Adelaide Central Market. We were in Tassie in March and did notice the high quality food.

Kerouac Thanks for your comments. When we are in Paris I will take note of the cost of meat etc. Where do you buy your food from.

Gooster thank you for the restaurant tips. No doubt I will send an emergency post if needed. 😁

StCirq

I have no clue about the costs of food in Australia, but I know that our food costs in France are considerably less than they were in the USA, and food is a big item in our budget. The only problem is that everything is so enticing that we buy too much.

Cheska, I'm sure kerouac can steer you to great places to purchase foodstuffs in Paris, but I have just completed an exhaustive search for markets and delis and restaurants for our upcoming trip to Paris that focuses on ethnic (mainly Asian of all kinds, Middle Eastern, African, and Jewish - because these are things we can't get here) cuisines and made a list. Almost all are in the Belleville/Ménilmontant/Marais areas. Some are old favorites and some are new places to try. They are all inexpensive. If you'd like any suggestions, I'd be happy to offer them.

cheska15

StCirq I will happily take recommendations for any type of multicultural food. Love it all.

gooster

@cheska if you are seeking out something to buy and take back, as far as multicultural foodstuff, there may be a few suggestions in Nice as well. What area are you staying in?

rhon

I think it depends on what you buy. We find some things cheaper and some things dearer. In France, we buy things that are not readily available where we live eg duck, rabbit, pintade, wonderful smoked sausages from the Jura, fresh sardines, so it is hard to compare. Creme fraiche is quite expensive here and I looked at croissants in a bakery yesterday and they are twice the price. And fromage blanc is not available here. We do not tend to buy a lot of lamb, beef or pork in France, rather a lot of duck, chicken, fish, sausages of all sorts. We did have some lovely lamb chops last trip which were a different cut from what we get here.

I like the way some veges such as fennel and leeks are priced by the kilo in France and not by the piece as here in Australia. Fruit and veges are dear at the moment because of the ongoing effects of the drought, then the fires, and now all the rain that is falling, especially along the east coast.

Cheska, you must really suffer on the long flights. I use an eyemask when we are flying which helps a little, but I still do not sleep well on planes.

Have fun in Nice. We have not been there.

jacooper

Cheska, just so anyone who intends to visit Australia thinks food is terribly expensive here, we can buy a very GOOD QUALITY chicken, vegatables and salad ingredients in our local shopping centre for less than €16. I’ve been to France several times and I didn’t think quality basic foods were any cheaper than in Brisbane.

cheska15

jacooper eveything is more expensive in Canberra.

rhon I do suffer from jetlag, and have tried everything. I now accept that I will have severe jet lag and stop stressing about not sleeping. Taking magnesium tablets has helped as well.
We go out to eat fish as my husband isn’t that keen. I love seafood except for mussels and oysters.

gooster I won’t be taking anything back yet still love the types of speciality shops with all different things. We are staying at the Nice Excellsior Centre ville avenue durante.

I was very excited yesterday as it was the first day since October that I could reduce how much clothing I wore. It was a beautiful clear sunny day and I walked into town without my big coat on. The mornings are also lighter. My favourite time of the day is around 7.00 am sitting outside drinking coffee, and listening to the world wake up.

YankyGal

Cheska, I looked at my Nice notes from a trip a couple years ago, but we did a lot of eating in (and I forgot to mention the tomato and lemon tart I made on the “what to cook...” thread - yum). We had two very nice lunches at A Casseta (Corsican) and la Vigna, neither of which you should cross town for, but if you happen to be in neighborhood, good choices. I will say we were likely swayed by the fact that la Vigna was located IN our apartment building and we sat outside on a beautiful sunny day. But I can still taste the very simple, very fresh fish soup.

We love the market on Cours Saleya - flowers, of course, but also good socca from the vendor at the most eastern end (she may be gone or moved, of course) and wonderful produce. This is also where I bought a pepper mill with black pepper I had never heard of at the time (Voatsiperifery from Madagascar) and fell in love with it. In fact, my husband and I joke that we are black pepper snobs now, ha ha - I have found it in NY since. But heads up, it’s pricey.

Chez Pipo may be touristy, but we enjoyed it a lot.

That’s all I have for now. Have a great trip and enjoy the festival!

StCirq

Cheska, here's the list I mentioned of ethnic foods. It's a little scattershot - not all info for each place, just what I need to note for our purposes - but you might get some ideas from it.Cham Cuisine Syrienne, 57 rue de Belleville (falafel, shwarma)



Wenzhou Chez Alex, 24 rue de Belleville (Chinese, closed jeudi)



Ravioli Nord-est, 11 rue Civiale - dumplings!



Saigon Sandwich, 8 rue de la Présentation L-S, 10-5; bahn mi



Pavillon aux Pivoines, 21 rue des Couronnes, Mar-D, 12-3, 7:30-10:30



Dinapoli, 7 boul. de Belleville, 10-7 every day - Tunisien



Spécialités Antillaises, 16 boul. de Belleville, Mar-S, 10-7; D, 10-midi)



Le Châlet Ottoman, 42 rue Ménilmontant - wood-fired kebabs, Turkish



Le Mezze du Chef, 80 rue Ménilmontant, M-V 9-minuit; S+D 9-2, Turkish



Morry’s, 1 rue de Charonne, deli



Florence Kahn, 24 rue des Ecouffes, bagels, pastrami



Ari’s Bagels, 8 rue Beaurepaire



Mo’s Bagels, 31, rue Louis Blanc

I"m also compiling a list of vintage shops if that's of interest.