sequess

I turned 50 in August and on my birthday I found out I'd be leaving for France on September 1st for 2 weeks. Part of the trip was planned: a group of friends would all meet in Nice for a birthday celebration. The remaining part of the trip was left for me to plan(I enjoy the planning aspect so this was a pleasure). Our traveling schedule was somewhat determined by the actual celebration and people's arrival in Nice.
Four of us met at JFK (I flew from California) to fly the Delta non-stop flight to Nice. My S.O. and I were in Business Elite so the flight was fairly pleasant for us. I took "No Jet Lag" and Melatonin which I have found seem to work for me.
We arrived in Nice on Saturday morning and took a cab to out hotel. We stayed at Le Hotel Grimaldi (www.le-grimaldi.com) and I could fill a book with nice things to say about this hotel. Over the course of the trip I stayed in 3 different rooms and saw several others and they were all nice. Even the smaller rooms are plenty roomy and the bathrooms are modern and well equipped including l'Occitane bath products. We like to eat breakfast at our hotels for the convenience even though it's not the most cost effective thing to do and the Grimaldi breakfast is a pretty good one. But the best thing about the hotel is its staff. They are more knowledeable and efficient than most concierges at 5-star hotels. They know all about restaurants, entertainment, tours etc.
Our first dinner in Nice was at Kei's Passion and it was one of our favorite meals. The chef/owner is Japanese so the French cuisine has an Asian influence and the results are remarkable.
We found that many restaurants in Nice are closed on Sunday night but someone suggested we go to Ville de Sienne in the old town. Their food is Italian influenced and their specialty is rabbit cooked in a wood-fired oven. We enjoyed that and also loved their chocolate mousse which proved to be our favorite of the trip.
Monday night we went to the well-known restaurant La Merenda. The owner/chef was formerly the chef at the starred restaurant at Hotel Negresco but decided he wanted to do something more simple. The place is tiny and everyone sits on stools. The food is very old-fashioned Nicoise cuisine and very delicious.
While in Nice we also visited the Contemporary Art Museum, the Matisse Museum and the Chagall Museum. The city is beautiful and the market at Cours Saleya is wonderful and fun to see.

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After several days in Nice we wented a car to see some other areas.
The first place we went was Aix en Provence. On our way there we stopped to see the Abbaye du Thoronet which is a 12th century Cistercian abbey. It is located in an isolated valley and very interesting to see.
The drive to Aix was not difficult and we arrived in the early afternoon. We stayed at the Hotel Cezanne(www.hotelaix.com). We had "luxury" category rooms at 140 euros per night. These rooms were a little larger than the standard rooms. Our room and bath were spacious. The bed was very comfortable with what appeared to be new bed coverings. One morning we the water was not hot enough in the shower but the other times it was fine. The hotel breakfast here was probably the best of any of our hotels. The staff of the hotel was friendly and helpful.
The hotel is located just a short walk from the Cours Mirabeau.

Our first night in Aix we had a nice dinner at La Chimere Cafe. They have a fixed price menu that is quite reasonable and the food was very good. We sat on the main floor but it appeared that the downstairs might be a more attractive place to sit.

Aix is a lovely town to wander around and enjoy the scenery. Cafe life is a big part of the atmosphere there and we had lunch at Les Deux Garcons-the most celebrated of the city's many cafes.

We took a day trip from Aix to the Chateauneuf du Pape area. There we were able to have a private tour and tasting at the Chateau de Beaucastel winery. The owners are partners in the California winery Tablas Creek of which I'm a wine club member. This was an interesting and special treat for us. On our way back we stopped in Avignon for lunch and to look around a little. It started raining while we were there so our viewing of Avignon was somewhat limited.

When we returned to Aix we did some more wandering and little shopping.
That night we had dinner at an interesting place called Le Passage. It is a big space on 3-levels containing a main dining area, a cocktail lounge type area and even a place where they conduct cooking classes. Our food was all good and it had more of a modern slant.

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After Aix our next stop was the charming village of Cassis. Probably the only dissappointment of the trip is that when we were in Cassis the weather was rainy and the waters were rough so the boats weren't going to the Calanques and we had hoped to do that.

Our hotel in Cassis was the Royal Cottage(www.royal-cottage.com). Our rate there was 135 euros per night. The hotel is just up the hill from the main part of town and some of the rooms have nice views and there is a pretty pool area. The hotel itself is rather generic and without much charm. The rooms were fine but the bathroom amenities were limited (just the squeeze type soap instead of bath products). Breakfast was just rolls, a piece of fruit and packaged yogurt.

We had a nice dinner at Nino right on the port. Our table overlooked the port and was a pleasant vantage point.

Because of the bad weather we didn't get to enjoy Cassis as much as I'd hoped but it is a charming little place.

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...and continuing...
We left Cassis and headed for Cap d'Antibes. Along the way we stopped in Vallauris to see the museum-mainly to see the chapel with Picasso's Le Guarre et Le Paix. This was worth the stop! I really enjoyed seeing this and there is an English language description of the chapel paintings which is very helpful.
Our hotel in Cap d'Antibes was the Hotel la Gardiole & la Garoupe (www.hotel-lagaroupe-gardiole.com). Our room rate here was 140 euros per night. The outside of the hotel is fairly attractive in that it's 2 villas side by side and there is a swimming pool. The reception area and the halls are rather dreary. Our room had a patio and 2 big windows. The bathroom was on the smallish side but adequate. Breakfast was pretty good and served in a large room with an enclosed courtyard. If I had it to do over again I'd probably stay in Antibes where there is more to do. Since the hotel is in a residential area (albeit a very lovely one) we had to drive to everything we wanted to do.

We visited the Picasso Museum in Antibes which is an excellent museum both for the artwork and the breathtaking setting. The old town area of Antibes is very charming and interesting. We spent some time just looking around.

We had dinner at Le Brulot in Antibes which is an old fashioned type place and very popular. Many of the dishes are cooked in a wood-fired oven. Our meals were all good.

I took a couple of walks around Cap d'Antibes and it is very beautiful. There are some amazing villas in the area.

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Onward...
After Antibes we returned to Nice but we made a couple of stops on the way. First we went to Biot to see the glass factory and then to take a look at the old town village which is very charming. Then we had lunch in Cagnes sur Mer and then visited the Renior Museum. This is where Renior spent the last years of his life and the setting itself is interesting to see plus there are 10 or 11 Renior paintings on view.
We got back to Nice and the Hotel Grimaldi early Saturday afternoon. Some of the other people attending the birthday celebration arrived that day so our group was beginning to swell. One friend and I walked to the olive oil store, Alziari for me to buy some olive oil for myself and to bring home to friends. We also went to get some chocolates at the very appealing store, Auer.

That evening for dinner we went to Zucca Magica. This is a vegetarian restaurant which is quite well-known. There is no menu--they just bring you the food of the day as well as wine. It is a 5-course meal and by the 3rd course I was full! The food was delicious but very rich and filling. The place is small with a festive atmosphere and the servers were extremely friendly.

On Sunday we explored old town some more and bought a painting in one of the galleries there. We had a raw seafood lunch at the Grand Cafe Turin and then ice cream at Fennochio.

By Sunday evening our group had grown to 16 people. The staff at the hotel made reservations for us to have dinner at Brasserie Flo. This turned out to be the perfect choice for our group. The place is large, attractive and serves good food. It is in an old theatre. The kitchen is on the old stage and covered in glass with a curtain pulled back so you can see the chefs scurring about. Everyone enjoyed their food and had a good time as well.

Since we hadn't seen Cannes on Monday 6 of us drove there to check it out and have lunch. We ate at the beach club of the Carlton Hotel which we enjoyed very much.

Monday night was the birthday celebration at the excellent Luc Salsedo restaurant. There were 22 people in attendance. We had the restaurant to ourselves. The food was excellent. Luc worked for Alain Ducasse before striking out on his own. The evening was a festive one with friends singing, reading poems and giving toasts. I was extremely touched that so many people had made such an effort to celebrate my birthday.

The celebration continued on Tuesday. We had a private bus take us to St. Paul de Vence where we visited the remarkable museum Fondation Maeght. This is one of the most outstanding museums I've ever seen. The sculpture garden alone is worth a trip plus the exhibits in the museum of major contemporary artists is amazing. The setting itself is also magnificent.

After the museum we went to the elegant and charming hotel Le St. Paul for lunch. We had a private room and on each table we had menus printed just for our lunch. The food was amazing!
After lunch we wandered around the charming village for an hour or so and then got on the bus and visited the Matisse chapel in Vence before returning to Nice.
That evening most of the group had dinner at l'Escalinada where we had a long table outside. The food was fine but didn't quite measure up to some of our recent meals.

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Finally...
Eight of us left Nice on Wednesday to stay at St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Here we stayed at Hotel Brise Marine (www.hotel-brisemarine.com). Our rooms here were 150 euros for rooms with balcony and 135 euros for those with no balcony. I had become a little worried about this hotel because although most reviews had been good someone had written a really bad report both here and on Trip Advisor. But it turned out fine. Although it's no luxury hotel the setting is magnificent. All our rooms were spacious with large, modern baths. The rooms with sea views were obviously the best but the ones without looked onto a pleasant patio area. Breakfast was good and served on a patio overlooking the water. The hotel is just around the corner from the nice beach, Plage Paloma. My only warning about this hotel would be that there is no lift and no bellman so you will have to carry your bags up some steps.

We loved Cap Ferrat! It is extremely beautiful and there are some great places to walk.
Our first night there we drove to Villafranche sur Mer for dinner. Some others from the group were staying there and we all met for dinner at l'Oursin Bleu. This is a rather elegant place right on the waterfront. The food was very good and well presented but the service was extremely slow even by French standards. Nevertheless we enjoyed our meal.
Thursday we drove to Eze and enjoyed seeing it. It is a charming village with wonderful views. From there we went to La Turbie where we had lunch and saw the Roman monument Ttophees des Alpes.

That evening we drove to Monaco and had dinner at Cafe de Paris and looked around Monte Carlo a bit. I was glad I saw it but it was not one of my favorite places. It all seemed a little sterile or something.

Friday was our last day and we drove to Menton in the morning to see its old town and market. We got some food at the market to have with a bottle of wine on the hotel's patio later. That evening we had dinner at Capitaine Cook with is right down the street from our hotel. It's sort of an old-fashioned place with a pleasant courtyard for dining.
We left Saturday morning with wonderful memories.

Judy

Great report, sequess!
We have an appointment next month for a tour and tasting at Chateau de Beaucastel. Our daughter, who is joining us for the trip, was in a high school exchange program with Pierre Perrin 15 years ago. We started drinking their wines after we met Pierre and are very excited to visit the winery!
Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday celebration!

Underhill

What a fine report--I love all the details. It will go into my file for next year, as you mention some places that we haven't been to. Thanks very much.

Underhill

I wonder whether the Brasserie Flo is in the theater that was once Jacques Maximin's restaurant after he left the Negresco?

sequess

Judy, you'll probably really get the royal treatment at Beaucastel! We were given our tour by a guy named Fabrice who was quite a character and has been a sommelier at some top restaurants including for Guy Savoy.
I'm not sure if the space where Brasserie Flo is had a previous incarnation (besides being a theatre).

MelissaHI

What a delightful report, and a delightful way to celebrate your 50th! I hope it's not another 10 years before you celebrate in such a grand, special way.