Nice: Day 6 - Saint Jeannet, Pic de Courmettes

Day 6

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6

30/9 Day 6: Drive to Saint Jeanette --> Domaine des Courmettes --> Hike Pic de Courmettes

Costs

Food

(1) Lunch at Bar Tabac, Saint Jeannet - Orange juice EUR2,80; Pan Bagnat EUR6

The Story

30092022: Today, we will drive to our neighbour's wedding place in Domaine des Courmettes. Breakfast first like a Swede - bread with toppings of bell pepper and tomato slices and a banana plus brewed coffee. 

As we were still way ahead of time, we stopped by at another village - Saint Jeannet. I like to check the price of vegetables in small villages. 

Only one car can go through this lane. Also, this is not a one-way lane. I am not sure how the drivers do it but they are very skillful in maneuvring the cars in these narrow lanes.

Nice: Day 5 - Saint Paul de Vence, Gourdon

Day 5

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 5

29/9 Day 5: Bus to Saint Paul de Vence --> drive to Gourdon

Costs

(A) Transport 

(1) Bus to Saint Paul de Vence from Vence - EUR1,50 per person 

(2) Bus to Vence from Saint Paul de Vence - EUR1,50 per person

(B) Food

(1) Lunch at Saint Paul de Vence - Cold meat cut EUR19; 1 liter water EUR5

(2) Tea break at La Taverne Provencale, Gourdon - Cake of the day EUR6; Cappucino EUR3,90; Cafe viennois EUR4,50

(3) Dinner at Le Brasier, Vene - Salad with prawn EUR19 (mine); Salad with cheese EUR16 (his); Granini bottled drink - tomato flavour EUR3,90

(4) Grocery at Casino supermarket - EUR3,27 (red tomatoes 245g EUR0,61; bananas 600g EUR0,59; bell pepper 219g EUR1,27; 2 Michon bread EUR0,80) - for tomorrow's breakfast

The Story

29092022: Today, we take the bus to Saint Paul de Vence. Bus 400 comes frequent, and we did not have to wait long for our bus. We took the 9.35am bus and arrived within 1 hour.

The streets were narrow here and we are glad that we took the bus as we did not need to worry about parking and driving through the narrow streets. Not to mention that the French drivers do not drive within their designated lanes. 

Saint Paul de Vence is one of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera and is famous as an artist village. Some famous artists have been known to live here. We were lucky to be there on a weekday and probably early too as we did not see any tourists around. We managed to take photos along the empty lanes. The pebbled narrow lanes were pleasant to walk on but maybe not during winter if it ever snows. The village is quaint and I love how the village is built. Of course, the locals who live there would not see anything special of their village. I did not go in to any of the shops because they are selling souvenirs and commercial items. I prefer the exterior of the buildings.

This is a giant olive tree!

Nice: Day 4 - Vence, Tourrettes sur-loup

Day 4

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4
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28/9 Day 4: Rent car to drive to Vence. Stay in Vence for 2 nights. Drive to Tourrettes sur-loup.

Costs

(A) Transport and accommodation

(1) Car rental Sixt for 4 full days - SEK6403 with full insurance

(2) 2 nights in AirBnb in Vence for 2 persons - SEK1.094,13

(B) Food

(1) Breakfast at Les Délices de la République - Baguette EUR5,50; coffee EUR1,50

(2) Pastries at Les Délices de la République - Apple pie EUR2,15; tarte almond EUR3

(3) Vegetables (tomatoes and bananas) - EUR3,86

(4) Lunch at Vence - Veal meatballs spaghetti EUR16

(5) Dinner at Creperie Bretonne - Omelette ratatouille EUR12,80; Diabolo drink EUR4; 250ml sweet cider EUR5,30

(C) Souvenirs - from Le Panier Gourmand

(1) Olive oil from Nice - EUR19,95

(2) Ginger bread with marmalade - EUR6,95

The Story

28092022: The day started with our breakfast at the usual place but this time, not a breakfast set. Just a huge giant baguette and coffee. On our way back to our AirBnb to check out, we stopped at the vegetable shop that we visited yesterday to buy a beef tomato, a red bell pepper, some small tomatoes and bananas. 

Then, we took the tram to the train station to pick up our rented car that we booked with Sixt. Initially, we chose a small car but we got upgraded to a Citroen C4 which was a huge mistake! We did not realise being upgraded could be a hassle for us. We thought it would be worth the money. But it was not as the parking spots and driving lanes are really small. We were only smart after we realised that it was a tight squeeze to drive through our AirBnb's gate and through the winding roads up the mountains. Also, French drivers are reckless drivers and it would have been easier if we have stuck with our original car. While walking around Nice town yesterday, we saw that all cars have scratches so we bought a full insurance for the car so it is a bit costly to rent a car in Nice.

It was about a 30 minutes drive to Vence. The check-in at the Airbnb was 7pm but the owner allowed us to check-in early around 1pm when we arrived. We have our own place which is beside the owner's house. The owner has a lovely vegetable garden and I saw a lemon tree! I have always wanted a lemon tree and I even tried sowing its seed but nothing came out from it but just insects from the soil. 

As it was difficult to drive through the owner's gate, we parked outside as it was a private road. We hoped hard that no one scratches the car.

Nice: Day 3 - Cours Saleya market, ticking off 'must-try' food list

Day 3

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 3

27/9 Day 3: Cours Saleya market and ticking off my 'must-try' food list - Salad Nicoise and Pastis de Nice.

Costs

Food

(1) Breakfast set at Les Délices de la République - Two small pastries, coffee espresso and orange juice EUR5,65

(2) Lunch at Lou Trambalan - Salad Nicoise EUR14,90 (mine); Canne ponis EUR13 (his); coffee espresso EUR1,50

(3) Crepe at Le Kalice cafe - EUR5

(4) Dinner at La Giostra - Lamb shank EUR25 (very salty sauce), a glass of red wine EUR8,50 

The Story

27092022: Today morning started with a visit in a vegetable and fruit shop on the way to our breakfast place. I love stopping by at fruit and vegetable markets to see what the locals eat. I was so amazed by the size of the tomatoes they had - SO RED AND HUGE AND AFFORDABLE! We decided that we will buy these tomatoes tomorrow. 

Bell peppers were very cheap. Red ones for EUR2,95 per kg (SEK33/kg) and yellow ones for EUR3,50 per kg (SEK39/kg). We get cheap bell peppers during summer only for SEK29,95/kg if they are on discount. Otherwise red ones cost SEK79,90/kg and yellow ones cost SEK69,90/kg. Writing this makes my eyes go wide open!

Tomatoes - Beef tomatoes for EUR4,50/kg (SEK50/kg). Okay, I do not buy beef tomatoes because they are very expensive in Sweden. Even just normal red round small tomatoes cost SEK59,90/kg. During the summer, these cost SEK29,95/kg if they are on discount. Otherwise, plant your own.

The bananas were not so cheap here. EUR1,95 per kg. That is about SEK22 per kg in Sweden which is the price without discounts. I usually buy bananas when they are on discounted prices for e.g. SEK13,90 per kg. 

We passed by a bakery that sells macarons and in France, of course, one must buy macarons since it is a confection from France! 

We had breakfast at the same place that we had yesterday. We like the breakfast set idea - buns or pastries with coffee and orange juice.

We decided to go to Cours Saleya market after breakfast to see the range of flowers and vegetables. This must be a tourist destination because I could see lots of tourists. And the prices of vegetables are tourist prices too. The beef tomatoes here cost EUR5,80/kg while the one that we visited this morning sold their beef tomatoes for EUR4,50/kg. We saw a Chez Theresa stall that is famous for its socca in Nice. It was close yesterday as it was a Monday. Most stalls are close on Mondays in Nice. The price for a socca in Chez Theresa stall is cheaper here compared to the socca we had for dinner yesterday (EUR3,40) although I am not sure of the portion in Chez Theresa stall. 

Very beautiful sundried tomatoes. I would have wanted to buy them but I was not sure if I could them bring back to Sweden.

Nice: Day 2 - Walking tour, dip in Mediterranean Sea

Day 2 (MY BIRTHDAY)

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 2.

26/9 Day 2: Free Nice Walking Tour --> Dip in Mediterranean Sea --> Socca for birthday dinner

Costs

Food

(1) Breakfast set at Les Délices de la République - One pastry, coffee espresso and orange juice EUR5,65

(2) Candied sweets and fruit cake at Henri Auer - EUR16,66

(3) Coffee latte at random coffee shop - EUR4,50

(4) Lunch crepe - Treated by boyfriend because it is my birthday

(5) Evening tea break - Chocolate eclair EUR3,20; Flan EUR3,20; Coffee latte EUR2,50

(6) Dinner at Socca D'or - Socca one part EUR4; croque monsieur socca EUR12; onion pie EUR3,60; apple pie EUR5,50; white wine EUR4 per glass. 

The Story

26092022: IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! Before I moved to Sweden, I always travel during my birthday month. This is a tradition that I started when I followed a friend for her travels. She travelled in September every year and I was not sure if it was because of the weather or the place but since then, I decided that I would travel every September because I did not want to be at work during my birthday. When I moved to Sweden, I could not travel during my birthday month due to lack of money. So, I am very happy that I could revive this tradition again this year, although it is only for one week. In Sweden, folks usually go on leave in the summer. In Malaysia, there is no summer so one can travel at whichever month. Anyway, I hope I can do this every year. 

For my breakfast, we looked for a coffee shop and found a nice cafe (Les Délices de la République) in town which serves breakfast set. We asked if they sell a breakfast set and they did! So, we got a bun, coffee and a glass freshly squeezed orange juice. Their selection of buns, delicacies, omelettes and pastries were so tempting!

I have booked a free walking tour guide because to me, this is the best way to know a place. As we had ample of time before the tour starts at 10:55am, we walked around old town by ourselves and found ourselves in front of a candied fruit shop which we found out from the walking tour that this is the oldest shop in town, being established in 1820. The shop, Henri Auer, is famous for its pralines but it started as a candied fruit shop. It is very expensive but we bought some and a fruit cake (with its candied fruit) to try. We saw that other bakeries sell candied fruits for a much cheaper price. The candied fruits were very sticky so luckily, we asked the salesperson on how to eat this and she gave us two toothpicks. 

We followed Free Nice Walking Tour and gathered at Fontaine du Soleil on Massena Square at 10.55am. At the end of the tour, one tip the guide.