Vieux Nice is nice
After a night of gut stuffing action, I slept and woke up bright and early. 8am to be exact. In the summer, the sun's out very early in the morning, 4am. To quash every ounce of pre-excitement jitters, I stood in the balcony and started taking scenery and the flowers from the balcony. To further relieve myself of all sort of laziness, I started a regime of push-ups in the balcony which typically and true enough lasted for a day, that day.
The itinerary for that day was Vieux Nice. A cache for all things rustic and bohemian. I was seriously hoping that it wasn't just another tourist trap which was chock-full of tacky I Heart NY, or Singapore is a FINE city, or any other smart-mouthed, trying-too-hard to be catchy t-shirt which screams tasteless. So i crossed my fingers and prayed.
I closed my eyes and went into deep thought in the car and when I opened I somehow, in some weird disruption of the time-space continuum managed to teleport into this warm and aromatic Greek restaurant which was located close to the Gare or train station. No we were not served naked men with washboard abs or women in togas that exposed their left breast, but instead by a pleasant lady who redefines the meaning of punk. Rauny was here before and he took helm. We ordered the meal with alot of meat and I for one was jubilant. Meat!
First came the appetizers which was typically eaten with pita and we were typical people so we ate typically with typical pita.
There you have it, a smorgasbord of an appetizer. All sorts of both savoury and unsavoury chutnies, dips, creams, yoghurt and a cheese-filled samosa. Initially, I was a little bit disappointed. I was thinking, we gave you the responsibility and you valiantly captained this ship and now you're feeding us like grubby sailors with yoghurt and bread. Boy, was I displeased but I sucked up all courage and gobbled like a grubby sailor suffering from scurvy.
Suddenly, all I heard was a voila and I was astound.
Meat cuts and meat types of all shapes and sizes. I see lamb shanks, lamb on a skewer, grilled chicken on a bed of tomato rice, skewered chicken pieces, more lamb on couscous. Boy was I in paradise. This was what I was looking for, the meats in France.
That was a little digression and I should get on with the monologuing of my trip.
I have never been to that many countries with restored old towns nor have I traveled much for that matter, but one step into Vieux Nice and I was astonished. Astonished by its sheer beauty as a district. Nice is a little city in the South of France and acts as a haven for big wigs and hot shot moguls deciding to leave the fast pace of the city and seek solace in a quiet and more forgiving environment. It shies away from the bigger and more cosmopolitan cities and thus retains that old world charm. Its typical European and by that I mean southern French, Provencal architecture was something to gawk at. The bohemian culture that bites you at first glance was something that you cannot experience by reading a book nor looking at pictures. The feeling was like shopping in a large Sunday market (but only cleaner and less smelly compared to those wet markets in Bedok) among happy people enjoying the sun during the peak of the summer holidays.
The cobblestone roads and and the narrow streets transported you to, like what many gamers would say, cs_italy Yes, that very famous Counter-Strike map we used to glue ourselves to the monitor during our teenage years.
I couldn't help but take a few pictures.
The sights was something to brag about but the company was undeniable enjoyable. After roaming aimlessly soaking up the sights, we caught up with Farah and Farid or Smaap which he is affectionately called by his peers for some gelato.
Gelato stands in Nice were abound. Every street corner and at every turn, you would catch a glimpse of a happily-ran gelato stand. It was a Mecca for the soaring summer temperatures in Nice. It was required by any soul who needed to seek comfort away from the blazing temperatures of the summer sun. It was pure hedonism on my part. I was or rather I am a gelato buff. Back in Singapore, on every Tuesday, I would try my very best to make use of that 50% off for waffles at Gelare. Aside from that, we picked Fennochio for it was THE gelato stand and the rest was just run-of-the-mill.
Fennochio on the left in Vieux Nice! and for dessert..
Voila, 8 flavours in a bowl.
Next, the dinner date under the stars in St. Laurent Du Var.
The itinerary for that day was Vieux Nice. A cache for all things rustic and bohemian. I was seriously hoping that it wasn't just another tourist trap which was chock-full of tacky I Heart NY, or Singapore is a FINE city, or any other smart-mouthed, trying-too-hard to be catchy t-shirt which screams tasteless. So i crossed my fingers and prayed.
I closed my eyes and went into deep thought in the car and when I opened I somehow, in some weird disruption of the time-space continuum managed to teleport into this warm and aromatic Greek restaurant which was located close to the Gare or train station. No we were not served naked men with washboard abs or women in togas that exposed their left breast, but instead by a pleasant lady who redefines the meaning of punk. Rauny was here before and he took helm. We ordered the meal with alot of meat and I for one was jubilant. Meat!
First came the appetizers which was typically eaten with pita and we were typical people so we ate typically with typical pita.
There you have it, a smorgasbord of an appetizer. All sorts of both savoury and unsavoury chutnies, dips, creams, yoghurt and a cheese-filled samosa. Initially, I was a little bit disappointed. I was thinking, we gave you the responsibility and you valiantly captained this ship and now you're feeding us like grubby sailors with yoghurt and bread. Boy, was I displeased but I sucked up all courage and gobbled like a grubby sailor suffering from scurvy.
Suddenly, all I heard was a voila and I was astound.
Meat cuts and meat types of all shapes and sizes. I see lamb shanks, lamb on a skewer, grilled chicken on a bed of tomato rice, skewered chicken pieces, more lamb on couscous. Boy was I in paradise. This was what I was looking for, the meats in France.That was a little digression and I should get on with the monologuing of my trip.
I have never been to that many countries with restored old towns nor have I traveled much for that matter, but one step into Vieux Nice and I was astonished. Astonished by its sheer beauty as a district. Nice is a little city in the South of France and acts as a haven for big wigs and hot shot moguls deciding to leave the fast pace of the city and seek solace in a quiet and more forgiving environment. It shies away from the bigger and more cosmopolitan cities and thus retains that old world charm. Its typical European and by that I mean southern French, Provencal architecture was something to gawk at. The bohemian culture that bites you at first glance was something that you cannot experience by reading a book nor looking at pictures. The feeling was like shopping in a large Sunday market (but only cleaner and less smelly compared to those wet markets in Bedok) among happy people enjoying the sun during the peak of the summer holidays.
The cobblestone roads and and the narrow streets transported you to, like what many gamers would say, cs_italy Yes, that very famous Counter-Strike map we used to glue ourselves to the monitor during our teenage years.
I couldn't help but take a few pictures.
The sights was something to brag about but the company was undeniable enjoyable. After roaming aimlessly soaking up the sights, we caught up with Farah and Farid or Smaap which he is affectionately called by his peers for some gelato.
Gelato stands in Nice were abound. Every street corner and at every turn, you would catch a glimpse of a happily-ran gelato stand. It was a Mecca for the soaring summer temperatures in Nice. It was required by any soul who needed to seek comfort away from the blazing temperatures of the summer sun. It was pure hedonism on my part. I was or rather I am a gelato buff. Back in Singapore, on every Tuesday, I would try my very best to make use of that 50% off for waffles at Gelare. Aside from that, we picked Fennochio for it was THE gelato stand and the rest was just run-of-the-mill.
Fennochio on the left in Vieux Nice! and for dessert..
Voila, 8 flavours in a bowl.
Next, the dinner date under the stars in St. Laurent Du Var.
posted by dihays at 7:36 AM
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