My very deepest thanks to all the Fodorites who answered my messages. You certainly made my trip most enjoyable.
We flew Air France from Boston to Paris and then on to Nice. No problem with wooden circular knitting needles. We were patted down on our return in both Paris and Nice airports. Very thorough security.
Arrived in Nice and left for St. Paul de Vence. We took Underhill's suggestion and stayed at LeHameau for four days. It couldn't have been lovelier. Xavier and Lucie were perfect hosts and most accomodating. We stayed in a lovely attached building to the main house in Room 11 on second floor. A twin bedded room with a small extra room with a single bed. There were just two of us. The view from one window wasthe lovelypool area and the other of St. Paul de Vence which is a short uphill walk from Le Hameau. We left for St. Paul de Vence and
stopped in Le Colombe D'Or hoping to see the artwork but were told that lunch service was over and we were not welcome if we were not staying there. We went across the street to Cafe La Place and had the alayws wonderful sandwich of jambon and fromage. Washed it down with yummy biere pression while we watched a boule match. Wander through the streets ofSt. Paul. Gorgeous views and charming people. Went back to Le Hameau and drove to Fondation Maeght. Just about closing time so we walked around the beautiful grounds.
Spectacular setting for wonderful sculpture and beautiful trees and plants. We bought
cheese, wine and bread in marche and dined by the pool at Le Hameau.
Next day we had a date to meet our cooking teacher RosaJackson at Cours Saleya at 9:30.We met at a cafe and then went throught market with her. She pointed out different foods of this area and bought the cookingclass supplies from her favorite vendors. We left the market and then stopped ather favorite charcuterie(La poulette) and wine store just a few storesaway.Both these stores are two minutes from the market. Her assistant Kathryn Tomasetti met us at the market and took the ingredients to Rosa's
apartment to perpare for our arrival.
We also stopped at Espuno bakery for bread and a wonderful snack..swiss chard and rice tart. Lovely pastry and yummy snack.(We later had a similar snack in Vieux Nice but was made with zucchini. Hope to duplicate both these treats. Went to Rosa's apartment and made Brandade of Cod, delicious potatoes,
haricot vertes and poached pears and pear sorbet. All in her charming kitchen. It was fabulous.Rosa does either one or four day cooking classes. She is a well known food writer for Time Out. Her website is petitfarcis.com. Her assistant Kathryn does art tours in this area. Her website is www.azurarttours.com. We finished about three in the afternoon.(Just a note Restaurant Gesu has been recommended on this forum but has changed owners and not very good at this point.) We shopped around and then had a latesupper at La Merenda. Wonderful tiny Nicois restaurant. Make reservations. Only seats about 24 people. Not open on weekends.
Thursday... had breakfast at Le Hameau and went to Vence to see Chapelle du Rosaire espace Matisse(0493580326). Only open Tues and Thurs between 10 and 11:30 and 2:30 and four. It is one of the most inspiring dramaticplaces I have ever been. It was a rainy day but the blue, green and yellow stained glass windows shone with beauty. Tha simple Matisse drawings of the stations of the cross are overwhelmingly beautiful The preparatory drawings are shown in the gallery.Don't miss this if you are in the vicinity.
Left Vence for Tourettes sur loop. Cigelchanta recommneded this town in response to my request for artisans and crafters. Tourttes is fabulous.A darling medieval village to roam around and visit wonderful shops. The doorways, the jasmine growing everywhere, the nooks and crannies of the residences and views were all unbelieveable. Went to Cafe Sport across from little parking area for deliciouspan bagnat.We always seem to be ready to eat when restaurants were closing. We did stop along the road from Vence to Tourettes in great boulangerie for late snack of wonderful quiche and brioche. The food is all lovely and delicious. We arrived in Grasse and went on the Fragonard tour. I would say..skip the whole thing. Grasse is not attractive althought theride there is. The tour is disappointing. You are assigned to a salesperson who stays with you until you leave the building. It was getting dark and it doesn't seem like a very safe place. Please note what the Hertz rep in Grasse (we parked there forawhile) told us. All rental cars numbers end in 60. Young hoodlums on Vespas can ride up beside your car at a traffic light. They look into the car to see if you have pressedthe "lock all doors" button and will open the door if you have not. Be certain tolock your doors while driving at all times.
Friday.We left on the A8 for the renowned Ventimiglia. It was about 45 minutes from Nice. Lots of vendors with a huge diversity. Cheese and sausages, lovely Italian leather, awful clothing,toys, shoes etc. Lots of Pashminas at about 10-15 euros. We got a kick out of it and bought the best Reggiano Parmigiano we have ever eaten. We returned to France along the Bas Corniche. Stopped in Menton and didn't feel it was as beautiful as described.Parked in Monaco in the port area. Gorgeous yachts and expensive shopping. Went To Beaulieu sur mer for dinner by the port. The African Queen was only restaurant with customers so we chose to eat there. Simple Salad Nicois and pizza. Drove back to St. Paul on N7. Must add that we always stopped at McDonald's drive through for tea on our way home. Mickey D's is thrivingin France.
Saturday. We sadly left Le Hameau because it was so charming. Can't wait to return. We travelled the D952 across the verdon canyon to Moustiers Ste. Marie. Spectacular views and before Moustiers we saw Lac St. Croix.Turquoise blue with few rafters and swimmers. A view to behold. We arrived in Moustiers and hoped to go to Les Santons but it was closed. We inquired about a restaurant and went to Clerissy. Simple plain Nicois salad and nice staff. Very reasonable and down the street from Isabella Merlat..........a fabulous artist with a lovely gallery. We visited some of the lovely faience shops and then drove over to our hotel to check in. I made a reservation at La Bastide du Paradou through the Noaille.com who reassured me that we would have a twin bedded room(Travelling with a friend). The owner did not have such room but offered us each our wn room at the twin room rate. He couldn't have been nicer. Clean simple rooms for 115 euros. Even fake rose petals on the beds. We left to go to the Bastide du Moustiers. We arrived at the gated La Bastide and told the receptionist that we would like to have a drink and she welcomed us. You may not have alcohol unless dining there so we opted to visit the beautiful gardens, property and gift shop and then have tea in the bar area.Thank you Cigelchanta for recommending the gift shop. We had a lovely visit and the staff was more than welcoming. There is no question that if one can afford to stay here the experience would be wonderful It's on my list for the future. Alain Ducasse should be so proud.
Sunday Drove back along the D952 at the recommendation of the garage attendant. We drove down to Cannes(forget about it) and along the shorline to Antibes. We parked at the port and saw the most magnificent yachts ever. Went to old town to have Moules marniere. Drove along coast to Nice and checked into the wonderful Le Grimaldi. We found a parking place across the street from the front door of the hotel but a garage is literally around the corner. Le Grimaldi is actually two hotels joined by a courtyard. We were shown to a lovely large room with walk in shower and huge bathtub. The church across the street was lit up and a beautiful site from our balcony. The staff was exceptional and helpful. We went to Rue Massena area for a light supper. Lots of acivity but mostly pizza places. We ate an unremarable salad and pasta dinner and reurned to Le Grimaldi.
Monday... Our last day, flight tomorrrow am. Went to flea market on Cours Saleya( a ten minute walk). It was raining so we expected fewer vendors. It was just OK. Then walked aroung Old Nice..Mondays are quiet because most of the stores are closed. Had hoped to visit great olive oil storeon the corner of Rue Collet but they were serving lunch.Bought some nice inexpensive scarves at Le Tamaris at 11 Rue Collet. The salesgirl said they would be moving "down the street" in the near future. They had great looking gloves also. Found our way to Place Massena and did the Rue Paradis shops and ended up at Galeries Lafayette. Returned to hotel to finish our bread, wine, olive and cheese stash for dinner. Packed our bags.
Tueaday. Arrived at Nice airport early. Flew intoterminal F in Paris and had to get to terminal E for return flight to Boston. We assumed that all the wonderful airport stores would be there to peruse during ourfour hour layover. Terminal E only has a Bakery Paul,two other food places and magazine store. Do your perusing in the other terminal beforehand. Flight home was relaxing with allour wonderful memories of an enjoyable trip. Thanks for all your help.Sorry about the run on words.. trouble with my computer. Debbie

Great report Debbie. I gather you never tried back at Colombe D'Or? I know they can be off putting if you're not staying there.

For anyone wanting Rosa's website, it's here. Sounds like fun

http://www.petitfarcis.com/

Thanks for this report - some helpful info there!

Thanks for the report, I think I was right behind you on the Cote d' Azur.
Didn't you love Le Grimaldi?

Except I do like Cannes for some reason, maybe it is the light.

Glad you liked Le Hameau! It's really a lovely and charming place to stay.

We thought about having lunch at La Colombe d'Or but changed our mind when no one seemed at all interested in showing us to a table.

Neither of the two variations about Petite Farcis work.

Has this site worked for others? I looked around in google and didn't find much neither.

Blackduff

very weird. here's what the page I found says
Find this page online at: http://www.petitsfarcis.com/nice-coo...s/prices.shtml
Prices for Cooking Classes and Market Tours in Nice
Posted Thursday, April 8, 2004

Les Petits Farcis market classes are small and friendly, with no more than six participants. Classes are available year-round, every day of the week except Monday.

Market tour, cooking class and four-course lunch
9.30am-3pm
200 euros per person

Market tour, cooking class, four-course lunch and afternoon gourmet food walk
9.30am-6pm
290 euros per person

Market tour, gourmet food walk and olive oil tasting with lunch
10am-2pm
150 euros per person

Afernoon gourmet food walk
3-6pm
100 euros per person

Saturday or Sunday early morning market tour with tasting breakfast
8-11am
120 euros per person

Meet the producers tour
9am-5pm
290 euros per person (includes transport by car and lunch)


* Discounts are available for groups of four or more and families. If you would like to bring any additional guests (including young children) for any part of the program, please contact us beforehand to see if this will be possible on the day of your class and what the charge will be. Les Petit Farcis' kitchen can accommodate no more than six people in addition to the teacher and her assistant.

A minimum of two people is required for a class or tour to take place. Please book at least two weeks in advance; last-minute requests may be accommodated if your visit coincides with an existing class. Payment may be made by cash, check (in major currencies), or credit card (via PayPal). A 50 per cent deposit is required at the time of booking; the remaining 50 per cent is due on the day of the class.

Les Petits Farcis
7 rue du Jésus
06300 Nice
Tel: 33 (0) 6 81 67 41 22

We came in through the garden side of Columbe d'Or and planned to have a drink at the bar. There were 2 or 3 people in there. The same thing happened. They acted as if we weren't even there, so we finally left.

The first URLs were spelled wrong. They were spelled as <b>petit</b> but the last link had a &quot;S&quot; after petit. It worked with www.petitsfarcis.com .

blackduff