At first glance Nice looks rather like Brighton. The same long promenade

lined with large ugly Edwardian buildings on the sea front. It does have some charms worth

visiting though.

We arrived in the afternoon, and as we flew over the hills surrounding the

town, we could see thousands of swimming pools, reflected as bright blue spots.

The temperature was mild and sunny, so we had high hopes for the stay.

We had an overpriced coffee in a bistro and met my daughter and son-in-law outside

Macdonalds in the "Promenade des Anglaises." They steered us towards the

old town which is full of narrow lanes between tall decrepit looking buildings.There were

some interesting Nicoise restaurants there, but empty at 8pm. We found out that

they tend to eat late there.

Still, it was no problem as the market place is lined with a number of

restaurants specialising in fish, shellfish and local dishes.

"Le Grand Bleu" was our first choice and after waiting about half an hour

for a table, we got in.

The a la carte menu was a bit prohibitive, but the "carte du jour" was good

value. You get three courses for 95 francs.

Louise and I both started with oysters, raw and cooked, with grilled fish

and fillet steak respectively for the main course.

The wine was excellent, can't remember which one, but it was from the Loire

valley. We found that wines are only a little cheaper than they are in London.

On Saturday, we woke up to glorious sunshine, but it was not as warm as

Friday. There was a strong wind blowing down from the

snow-covered mountains around, dropping the temperature dramatically.

We had breakfast with "the kids" in their flat and they drove us east,

stopping off at a mountain village called Eze.

It is a tiny place built like a rabbit warren with fabulous views over the

Cote d'Azur. Many of the houses double as shops selling herbs, jewellery,

objects made from olive wood etc... It's a pretty place and worth a visit.

As we were so close (about 5km), we decided to go on to Monaco. The kids

mindful of the prices there, brought a picnic box and we sat on the harbour

side eating pear tart and drinking apple juice.

The wind was very strong there too.

Naturally we went on to Monte Carlo and looked briefly into the Casino.

We thought about going in further, but they have rules about what and who

can come in. You have to leave all sorts of things in the cloakroom, so we just

looked at the red marble columns in the lobby and retreated. We looked

for the posers outside the coffee shops, but they are either a dying breed,

or, more likely, fair weather exhibitionists. There were a few, and they did

look laughable.

The kids invited us to a meal back at their place, but knowing V was

planning on doing a lasagne, we impolitely declined.

We didn't come out to France to eat canteen food! We went to another fish

restaurant in the market place called "La Criee."

It was a bit more expensive( 125FF), but had a larger choice. We ordered a

red wine with the meal, but had to send it back it was so sharp. They didn't

complain as we were told to expect, and brought out a lovely light red in it's place.

More oysters plus mussels this time. It was a good meal and the clientele

were mostly locals. Quite friendly too.

Sunday was like Saturday, cold and windy. We headed west this time,

stopping at Antibes for much of the day.

Antibes is possibly the nicest place on the Cote d'Azur. It is still an old

town without extensive rebuilding. The streets are narrow and the houses

very rural looking and not over cared for. We came to a spot which I think

was the communal washing place. It was a rectangular pool with a stream

running through it and sloping sides. A packet of Persil nearby makes me sure

that is what it was for. Drinking coffee outside one of the cafes was memorable,

because the sun was grilling us on one side, while the wind was chilling us on the other.

Another strange memory was of peering over the sea wall in Antibes.

On the sea side of the wall was a projection with two steps and a hole in

the middle. Can you imagine anyone wanting to perch 6 metres above the sea for a crap?

To end our sight seeing, V took us on to Juan les Pins where there was a

local re enactment of Napoleonic battles.

Cannes was the last stop on the tour and probably the last place I would

want to return to. It is a tarty looking dump.

There are a number of good Vietnamese restaurants in Nice. The food is laid

out for all to see and is very cheap,even by London standards.

We took the kids there and we all pigged out.

On our last day there, Louise and I explored the town on our own. The kids

had to prepare to return to London the next day for a fortnight.

As we got up late, we couldn't find a cafe serving croissants, but we did

get some from a street kiosk. They were heavenly.

We shopped for a while, but spent very little really. The wine was too

expensive to be worth carrying back and not much else appealed.

I did buy some dried sausage, nougat and some fantastic fresh dates.

Whilst in the supermarche, my mobile went off.

I thought it was my daughter, but it turned out ot be a former colleague who

wanted a work reference. It would have to happen.

The French do have a reputation for terrible driving and for disregarding

traffic laws, which is fully deserved.

Double parking at traffic lights is not uncommon. We were amused to see all

the customers rush to the cafe front to see the police tow away

a car that was illegally parked. It was such an unusual sight.

La Criee was so good we returned for lunch, this time meeting a pleasant

local couple and spying a woman who had an apricot dyed poodle with her.

Hygeine does not play a significant role here. Dogs sit at the tables

and sometimes staff smoke in the restaurant kitchens.

We discovered late in the trip, that creme brulee here is

not the same animal we get in Britain. The one we had

in "La Criee" was exquisite. One to dream of.