[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
September 25 - Ansouis to Nice
We had accomplished everything we hoped to on our "inspection trip" to Ansouis. And so it was time to pack it all up again and hit the road, this time to Nice. The French Riviera sounds rather romantic -- and I suppose it is -- but Nice itself has always seemed rather old and tired to me.
However, it was the best choice to get a good train fare to Italy, so we will spend the night and catch a 10am train to Pisa via Genoa, arriving around 5pm. That's about the same time it would take to drive it. The train should be a lot more relaxing ... and probably about the same price. The Italian autostrada are good roads but the tolls add up quickly and with gas at $8+ a gallon, they are not always the best option. At the least it will be an interesting change of pace for us.
So while Nice was not necessarily a destination, we thought we should see at least some of it while we were here, so we jumped on the streetcar for the short ride to the Vielle Village -- Old Village -- the original part of the town. To me the old parts of cities are always the most authentic (and the most interesting) and so it was in Nice. We wandered the narrow streets, split a pizza and enjoyed a few cold beers in the piazza in front of the cathedral ... even picked up a few wee gifties for the folks at home.
With a big breakfast and a late lunch, neither of us could get very excited about dinner, so I made a two-block field trip to the Monoprix market for an in-room picnic. It proved to be exactly the right choice ... and so endeth another day.
© 2008 Restaurant Doctor