First, the hotels…

Nice: La Pérouse

The last time we stayed at the La Pérouse the hotel was still a 3* Best Western affiliate and a good buy for the money, especially as we were upgraded to a deluxe room with sea view by virtue of belonging to the now-defunct Club France.

This time we paid 280€ for a superior double and were quite disappointed in both the size and the fittings of the bedroom. The room was Paris-size small; when we asked to see other rooms we were told that none at our price level was available. The room was small enough that when my husband was working at the desk there was no room for me to get past him (aside from crawling over the bed). The marble bathroom was also on the small side. The furniture in the bedroom was quite tired, and the bed was extremely hard.

The good thing about the hotel is the location and the peacefulness, not to mention the spectacular views from our balcony and the sun terrace above--my husband had a great view of the Mediterranean while he rode an exercise bike in the fitness room.

A major difficulty in the hotel, however, as it is built into the cliff below the château ruins, is that getting around inside requires going up and down assorted stairs. There are four steps up from the street into the lobby; getting to the pool and restaurant requires dealing with a long flight of stairs. Navigating through the hotel’s many corridors and sets of elevators also requires a fair amount of walking, but at least that route is flat.

The hotel staff were very pleasant and helpful, and our room-service breakfast for one was more than enough for two. But given the room quality for price, we’ll stay elsewhere in the future.

Mercure Promenade des Anglais

This hotel shares walls with the Le Meridien and Casino Ruhl, along the Promenade des Anglais. A narrow street (easy to miss if you’re in a car) alongside has assorted shops, cafés, and restaurants and leads to a main shopping street. The hotel is located just 3 blocks from the Cours Saléya and is very close to the pretty little Parc Prince Albert, with its antique carrousel.

Our room with a sea view was very pleasant and comfortable. We had a queen-sized bed AND a twin, which was great for working on luggage, and a good-sized bathroom with new fittings. The room’s walls were orange, with blue curtains and azure painted furniture. From the bed I could look out at the sea, and the room was very quiet because of one set of window/doors on the inside and another leading to the balcony. We got an excellent rate (190 Euros for the room and 2 buffet breakfasts for the price of one).

Hilton Roissy

We spent our last night in France at the airport Hilton; the internet rate was for a room on the executive floor. Our comfortable room had a decent bed and a stall shower in addition to the long bathtub; there was a coffee-maker and even a yoga mat to accompany an in-house TV program.

The club lounge provided sandwiches and snacks in the late afternoon, along with assorted beverages. About 6:00 p.m. the drinks trolley came out, including, to my DH’s delight, pastis—and a large assortment of both hot and cold appetizers, enough that we didn’t need dinner. The buffet breakfast was copious and excellent—no need for lunch!

The only problem was that a hotel representative told my DH over the phone that the shuttle didn’t stop at terminal 2F, which it certainly did. We spent well over an hour trudging from one place to the next until we finally found the right spot for a pick-up.

Welcome back!! I was under the weather the last few days and worried I missed your report. I stayed once at the Perouse and mine overlooked the air shaft The best think I remember was having breakfast uder a lemon tree and plucked three that I brought home. They tasted almost like grapefruit. How was the weather?

Ah...the weather! Before our arrival it was cool and rainy. When we landed the sun was out, and it stayed out the entire time we were there; people were out enjoying the beaches and swimming in the Mediterranean. After we left the rain returned.

Paris had been cool and cloudy, but when we arrived on Monday afternoon the clouds vanished and the sun stayed out until we left.

What can I say? The weather gods always seem to smile upon us, but it's a double-edged sword, as we prefer cool weather!

We flew from San Francisco to Dallas/Fort Worth so that we could be on a wide-bodied plane for the entire trip. That worked very well, although our hope for one of the planes with the new business-class configuration (flat-bed seats) was not fulfilled. Nonetheless, we blessed upgrades for the added comfort; I could never have managed with my bad knee in coach. The food was excellent—we had read that American Airlines had increased its budget for meals, and the improvement was evident.

At the dreaded CDG airport our plane parked way out on the tarmac. The rest of the passengers descended one of those nasty staircase things; I walked off the plane onto a “room” that could be raised and then lowered and then was met by a wheelchair pusher, a very nice guy who took me and my husband to Terminal 2F (a bright, modern place with a variety of shops), got us checked in for our connecting flight to Nice, and then found us seats.

On this trip I decided to imagine how life would be if I were permanently disabled, and the first thing I noticed was how people treat someone in a wheelchair—my first attendant chatted to me, while the second one ignored me and spoke only to my husband. Interesting.

I was lifted up to the plane for Nice, and we were off. Before we left our friends in Grasse had told us that we hoped the weather would change, as they’d had cold and rain. When we landed in Nice the sun was out, we could see people lying on the beach, and the weather was hot. It stayed that way for our entire 1-1/2 weeks, much to the amazement of the locals. But that’s our weather luck—because, of course, we prefer cool weather, having grown up in and around San Francisco.

I’ve posted above about our first hotel, the La Pérouse. Its location is the main plus, as it’s only about a long block from the Cours Saléya. Our room had a great view from the balcony, straight out across the rooftops of adjacent building to the Mediterranean, and off to the right right down the Promenade des Anglais. It was like seeing a Dufy painting.

After unpacking and having a rest we headed over to Vieux Nice and had a good dinner at Spaghettissimo, followed by our usual gelatos: cassis for moi and chocolate-chip-mint for the DH. Then back to our room and blessed bed, which proved to be rock hard.

More to come if you're still with me.

Yep, we're still with you and dying to hear the rest of your report. It's sad but true that 'you can never go home again'.


We returned to Plainsance, near Albi after a wonderful stay in a dear little inn with a magnificant owner/chef. We stayed in the same garden room, which was indeed the 'same room'. The three years between stays, had not been kind to the furniture or the cracks in the tile in the bathroom, or the tired mattress and pillows. The young chef, now a father, apparently had burnt out and his menus confirmed that. So, I know how disappointed you and your DH must have been.

Thanks for sharing with us. We missed your posts while you were gone.

We too miss Club France, we got some wonderful perks by belonging.

Nina

i'm happy to see you do a trip report. We wer all waiting. I hope your kne is feeling better. I KNOW what it's like.

Nina, do you mean Plaisance? We love that tiny village and stay at Les Magnolias, a lovely hotel. When the chef/owner died, the wife with a toddler fouind it too much to handle alone and sold it to some Germans. We returned and found an amusing talented chef and we had the same room when requested.

Looking forward to more Underhill - my friends were near Nice two weeks ago celebrating her 60th staying in a villa they hired. They were able to do Monte Carlo, Cannes, St.Tropez etc., as day trips.
Its over 25 years since I was last there so will be reading your report with great interest!

The following day, Friday, we had breakfast near the Cours Saléya at our favorite, Le Pain Quotidien, then did a bit of shopping. I discovered that two of my favorite shops along the main street leading to the Cours Saléya had disappeared, one having been replaced by a very expensive men’s clothing store. But in Vieux Nice the excellent, not-very-expensive fabric store along the rue du Marché was still there; I bought a tablecloth and a lightweight cell-phone holder.

We had lunch at L’Ecurie, a good restaurant (also on the rue du March&eacute featuring Niçoise and Italian cuisine. Bob had excellent mussels done in a sauce with crème fraîche, saffron, and chives: yum! Those were accompanied by a pile of luscious frites, piping hot. I behaved myself and had a mesclun salad with large garlic croutons, a bit of chèvre, and some other veggies.

Then came the excitement! On our way back to the hotel we stopped across from the Palais de Justice to get some money from a Crédit Mutuel ATM. The thing promptly ate Bob’s card and then decided re-boot itself continually for 40 minutes. Meanwhile I went into the bank and asked the person at the desk about retrieving the card; he replied that it could not be done until the following day. Why? Who knows? So back at the hotel we exchanged a $20 bill just to have some cash.

The following morning we had breakfast (23 Euros, but it was enough for two) on our balcony, which was lovely. Then off we went again to Crédit Mutuel, only to be told that we would need to return the following day; evidently that was when the only person in the world who could open the ATM machine and get back our card would be there. Fortunately Bob asked whether the office would be open on a Saturday—the following day—and was told that oh no! It would not be. So we gave up.

I returned to the hotel while Bob went to pick up our rental at Europecar. I waited. I had the porter take our luggage down to the lobby and waited some more so as to be ready when Bob pulled up, as parking outside the hotel is not an easy matter. The porter and I began to worry as time went on without a car and driver.

Finally the telephone rang at the desk; it was Bob, saying he needed his passport. It was in my handbag. I gave him the number, he gave it to the clerk, and that seemed okay. But then she said he needed the actual passport and we would need to return with it.

Bob was, however, able to collect the car, and them me and the luggage. We drove back to the Europecar office and actually found a temporary parking place (just across the street from the police office). Bob stayed with the car and I went to the office, where a sign indicated hours of 8 to 2:30. We arrived at 2:05 to find the office closed. I banged on the door, and finally someone appeared and had me slide the passport through the space between two doors. Once it was copied, off we went.

We drove along the coast, having a wonderful view of the sea on one side and the construction on the other side of the road around Cagnes-sur-Mer. Nothing appeared to have changed since we saw the mess in 2004.

We stopped for a quick lunch at a café in an aire along the autoroute to Cannes, then headed for Grasse. All went well until we tried to follow the directions given by the owner of the B&B at which we were to stay. We kept getting lost; the map provided didn’t help, and we had to call the owner several times until we finally found the landmark stadium and got onto the road for the B&B.

We drove up an extremely steep driveway, passing several houses, until we reached the top and the Bastide des Oliviers. The web site showed a very attractive property, but one never knows about pictures. In this case, however, the reality was even better. Our ground-floor room was quite large and beautifully decorated, with a king-sized bed and a sofa. The bathroom had a tub, with a separate shower room, and along the corridor leading to our room was a series of closets with louvre doors. Great storage, especially as we were staying for 8 days. When Bob used the remote control to turn on the television set he discovered that the set turned to face him. It didn’t say “Good afternoon, Bob,” but that was the effect.

The owners were elegant, charming people who spoke good English but were willing to let me converse in French. They had had the house built (he owned a construction firm before retirement) three years ago as a B&B, but last spring both developed severe health problems, leading to a decision to move near Paris to be closer to their children. We were, it turned out, their next-to-last visitors. That was bad news for us, as we immediately had planned a return visit—and I know some of you reading this report would have loved staying there.

We went to our friends’ home that evening for a delicious dinner of quail and eggplant baked with figs and started catching up on news. One of our friends drove in front of us back to the Bastide so we wouldn’t get lost in the dark. Good idea!

The next morning we had breakfast in the pretty dining room, beginning with Cavaillon melon. The came cereal, yogurt (the yummy kind in the glass jars), bread, and miniature croissants, pains au chocolat, and raisin pastries—accompanied by jams and marmalade, then a big pot of tea. Perfection.

Cigalechanta, I am in shock. Yes it was Les Magnolias. He was a young man, what happened?

We stayed in the garden room both times. The first time they had no children, and when we returned the baby was maybe one or two years old. They were lovely people and his cooking was inspired during our first stay. I will never forget his escargot ragout.

We were there for about five days the first time, 1993 or 1994, and could hardly wait to return. The first time we pulled up to the inn, DH saw a new Alfa Romeo (our marque), the model that he was hoping they would eventually sell in America, and he knew he was 'home'. It was the chef/owner's car and even though our French is limited and he spoke no English, they managed to have a few car conversations.

Perhaps he was ill during our second visit, because the spirit just wasn't there. They both worked very hard and were very gracious hosts.

Our first visit was as close to perfection as we will ever get. No matter where we were, we made a point to return there every night for dinner, not wanting to miss a morsel. DH is a breakfast eater and each moring they prepared a lovely, filling breakfast for him.

I am so sorry about what happened, he was a genius in the kitchen, and a warm smiling person that made us feel so welcome.


I still have the signed menu that he gave me on the first trip. We always thought that we would return, but now I am not so sure.

Nina

Jean, I'm enjoying reading about your trip; both great content and writing style!

Underhill, sorry I didn't mean to highjack your wonderful report.

Cigalechanta, Plainance was a typo. If you want to tell me more, you can email me at [email protected]., if not thank you for letting me know.


Our disappoint and shock, if and when we returned, would have put a huge damper on our stay there. All together, we spent about 10 days with them.

Nina

Hi, Underhill.Enjoying your report as it washes ashore in waves...Funny how the snafus along the way often crytallize among the more memorable moments of our trips. I would have been highly exasperated by your disppearing credit card and your car rental situation involving the absent passport, and I can just imagine the frustration! Glad that things worked out eventually....Sounds like a lovely itinerary....
letour

Nice simile, letour.

It was a good thing I had done most of my necessary shopping the two previous days. Saturday morning I sat down too fast on the pretty, low lady’s-chair in our bedroom and felt the muscle behind my left knee give in the same spot I’d injured on the Danube cruise last December. Woe! Mme. des Oliviers gave me ice (the Bastide’s refrigerator is an American side-by-side with an icemaker, Americans and Australians loving ice) and a towel, and I sat and nursed the pain for a while before it was time to head out to meet one of our friends.

With her we spent some time in the pedestrian area of Grasse, hunting for santons (no luck) and a perfume bottle (found a lovely one). Afterwards we went back to her home, an 18th-century mas, for lunch. Our friend is a superb cook, but for lunch we had the only French food other than andouille sausage that I don’t like: boudin noir, which is pigs’ blood. Yuck!

After lunch we drove through the hills above Grasse to Opio to visit the olive mill there, which has an excellent assortment of local products. There I finally found olive-oil bath gel, along with tapenades both black and green and local olive oil—the mill is where our friends take their olive crop for processing. The oil is delicious, almost as good as that to be found in Nyons (and not much of anywhere else, alas). Back to the mas for another fine meal with our friend and her partner, just returned from a business trip.

We returned to our B&B and only got lost once along the way, but it was on a rather creepy, dark road that cost us about half an hour of driving time. Oh well.

You are a trooper

If you want to see our wonderful B&B, look here:

http://bastide-oliviers.com/spw/bo/

Jean, glad to hear you made it through your trip safe, sound and well fed.

When I broke my ankle in Mexico, the wheelchair attendant parked me about 3" from a pillar FACING it. I agree, it's like you don't exist if you're in a wheelchair. My face was at just the right level for people's purses and backpacks to whack me.

The bastide looks lovely, and I know I'll never get my husband to willingly drive around the hills above Grasse again. (Not since I yelled 'stop' in the middle of an intersection when I wasn't sure which road to take).

The bastide is indeed lovely; makes me want to pack my bags and take off!

A question: how did you like having your base for 8 days in that part of France? I ask b/c I love the Luberon and Vaucluse and just wonder how you would compare this more southern area for day trips, sightseeing, charming villages, etc.?

Very charming, La Bastide! Do they have a piscine? I'm interested too in how you liked Grasse as a home base.
letour

Underhill, this is a gentle and elegant report. I admire the way you handled those setbacks with the ATM card and the car rental. Attitude goes a long way in coping with frustrations.

I share, by the way, your aversion to andouille sausage and boudin noir.

Looking forward to reading the rest.

Anselm