The Wanderer’s Guide to Nice, France

wan·der·lust

The first thing we did when we got to Nice was get settled into our hotel, which was nice and quite spacious!  Aside from the creepy clown painting on the wall, the rooms were a nice size and had windows that opened up to the street so we could see what was going on around us and yell and wave at each other out of our windows. As usual, I was starving and needed food STAT (I get very hangry!)  We found a cute café for lunch and proceeded to get slightly tipsy as we were ecstatic to be in France.  I had a nondescript chicken Caesar salad, but my friend took a chance on a tuna quiche that sounds like it shouldn’t work.  It was awesome and made me slightly sad that I had been so vanilla with my choice of lunch.  I will be recreating that sometime-I hope to do it justice!

Also, can we talk about how beautiful that St. Germain glass is?!  I’m happy to say after months of searching, my friend spotted them in Chicago and I am now the proud owner of two.

It was just a short walk to the Promenade des Anglais and the ocean. AHHHHHHHHH…

The palm trees!  The colors!  The Mediterranean!

They are literally just flowers everywhere in Nice, like these violets just growing beside the sidewalk.  I was enthralled immediately!  When were in the south of France in April and it was cloudy most of the time we were there, but the weather was still beautiful.We went to the top of Castle Hill for sweeping views of the cityscape and Mediterranean.  I didn’t get any pictures, but there are ruins from the original castle that dates back to the 11th century!  I love history.

From Castle Hill, you can see beautiful views from atop the cliff of the port, ocean, boats and the beautiful colors of the buildings.

Okay, so obviously whenever I travel, I must go to the grocery stores and markets in wherever I am.  I do this in any city in visit, whether it’s in the U.S. or abroad.  The outdoor market in Nice DID NOT DISAPPOINT.  Prepare for flower overload.The lemons in Menton, a town east of Nice on the border of Italy, are world-famous.  I didn’t capture any of those, but I did get to see these beauties.

This is actually what my dreams are made of…peonies…everywhere.  Just me laying in a field of peonies. 

Side note: I also loooooove hydrangeas!Now let’s pause for a minute and admire the perfection of these berries.  How can I ever go on?!  I miss the markets of France the most.Obviously, it’s France so we must have an obligatory adorable, fancy bakery picture too! THIS RESTAURANT.  I highly recommend a visit to La Merenda.  It’s a tiny restaurant with a tiny menu with one chef, one sous-chef and a server.  I had the most life-changing pesto pasta here, which I will never in my life forget.  It was a homemade basil pasta dough with the best pesto I’ve ever had.  I could have just ordered bowls and bowls of that, but I had some other food I can’t remember and the most amazing desserts: chocolate mousse, lemon tart and some other stuff that I again can’t remember.  It’s not like I’m a food blogger or anything.We also wandered down the streets of Nice at night and stumbled upon an acclaimed gelateria Fenocchio.  I, of course, failed to take a picture again, but believe me when I tell you that the rhubarb gelato is one of the best things you will ever taste.

We also took a day trip to Monaco, and hopped into Italy for some Aperol spritz’s and pasta…no big deal.

We hiked (literally, it’s a giant hill) up to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, where we again found sweeping views of the city, the palace and the beginning location of the Grand Prix race.

From Monaco, we hopped the train to go into Italy.  The first city to stop at was Ventimiglia (any relation to Milo??); it probably wasn’t the ideal town to truly experience Italy, but we found a couple cute places to shop, eat and drink.  We got to people watch, and sat next to an adorable older Italian couple (think 60’s) who were taking the day in and enjoying a few Aperol spritz’s together.  #goalsPasta with fresh porcini mushrooms with a view of the Mediterranean…not bad.The only crepe I had at a cute little breakfast spot close to the market.  Seriously, I’m disappointed in myself, but I have plans to go back to France as much as possible.

Now to say goodbye to one of the most magical experiences of my life.  Goodbye, Nice.  I’ll see you again.