Weekend in Nice and Monaco: Part 2

Monaco! Monaco was beautiful, but it felt slightly unreal. Everything was clean and expensive and there were police everywhere. On the street over the harbor, there was an entire street of high fashion shops. I spotted Hermes, Valentino, Gucci, Chanel, Prada and more. It was so strange.

This is the Casino at Montecarlo. I think a James Bond movie was filmed there.

An ice rink next to a water slide. Later, I saw a little girl skating in a t-shirt and shorts.

The harbor with all of the fancy yachts. The restaurant where we ate the previous night is right on the other side.

I went to the aquarium.

I also saw the changing of the guard in front of the Palace.

The flag flying at the top means that the royal family is there.

After Monaco, we visited the Gallimard Parfumerie.

These are called "organs" because you can create a "symphony of scent" with them. If you want a custom perfume (and have a great deal of money), they will work with you to come up with exactly what you want.

After the tour, the guide gave a perfume sampling.

As well as perfumes, they also sold hand made soaps, which were far more reasonably priced. There were all of the normal floral and perfume-y scents, but there were also a few weird ones like "Olive" and "Goat's Milk."

There were also sachets that smelled like candles. It was all a bit overwhelming after a while. However, they had a little cup of coffee beans to sniff to cleanse your nasal palette.

We took a lovely walk up to Eze, a medieval village on top of a hill. These were some adorable donkeys that we spotted on the way.

Kitty!

Can you imagine hanging out your laundry...

...with a view like this in front of you?

It was clouding up a bit at that point, so you couldn't tell where the sea ended and the sky began. Lovely.

This is what they think American sandwiches are like. Yummy!

So, I'm currently on "winter break" for a week and I'm heading to Paris. Hooray!

Weekend in Nice and Monaco: Part 1

So, yes, I went to Nice and Monaco last weekend and it was fantastic. Nice is nice. (Okay guys, you had to know that was coming. It was inevitable.) The weather was absolutely beautiful, which made a lovely change from all of the cold weather we've been having. Thankfully, it has warmed up a great deal this week. Anyway, enough about the weather.

The Mediterranean!

And me in front of the Mediterranean and a curious French lady.

Lemon and orange trees sold at the market. They were everywhere.

You can really tell that we are right next to the ocean. Can you see the eel in the bottom left hand corner?

The weather was amazing. It was so strange to see palm trees and people in t-shirts and then remember that it's February.

Yes, a man in a Speedo in February. France is crazy.

Lunch on the beach.

And this is what was left when I was finished. I fear my slim, girlish figure will be completely gone by the time I get home. Oh well!

And here is a beautiful view of Nice.

This is the Baie d'Anges, or Bay of Angels.

After seeing the beautiful views, a spot of gelato was in order. Dr. Bonin, if you are reading, they do have mint chocolate chip ice cream in France. And it is delicious.

Our reason for coming to Nice was to see the parade for Carnivale. Today was the Bataille de Fleurs, where all of the floats were made of flowers and they threw flowers at us.

Like that.

There were many scantily clad women there.

This truck/float thing broke down right in front of us. See all the smoke? The people on top contented themselves with throwing confetti at everyone.

And at this point, my camera started complaining about the battery being low. I had forgotten to charge it before we left. Silly me. Never fear, there are still plenty of pictures of Monaco to come. After the parade, we hopped back in the bus and drove to Montecarlo, checked into our hotel and had a lovely dinner. I had had a very long day so I promptly went to sleep afterwards. Next time: actual pictures of Monaco!

Happy Mercredi de Cindres!

So I went to Nice and Monaco last weekend and there is a big post coming about that, but I want to tell you guys about the cooking class I had last night.

As you may know, today is Ash Wednesday and so yesterday, we cooked the traditional dinner that people in Provence eat tonight. We learned how to make aioli, which is basically a really garlicky mayonnaise. ("Ail" means garlic in French and "oli" is an old word for oil) We used the aioli to make oeufs mimosa, or deviled eggs.

The reason they are called "mimosa" is because the finished product looks a bit like the mimosa flower, which has just started blooming here. Have a picture from Google.

We also ate poached fish and lots of vegetables, including potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks and green beans.

But the best part was the tarte tatin, which I sadly did not get a picture of. Happily, Google will provide what I lack.

A tarte tatin is essentially an open face apple pie. It is super easy to make and absolutely delicious. You just grease a pie dish with butter, sprinkle in about five tablespoons of sugar and some cinnamon, cover the bottom of the dish with large apple slices (we only cut out apples into quarters) and tuck the pie crust dough on top. When it bakes, the sugar and the apple juices caramelize. When you take it out of the oven, you flip it over, so the crust is on the bottom. The nice thing about this method is that it ensures that the crust won't be soggy, as it might be in a traditional apple pie.

Brief Notice

I went to Cezanne's workshop today! It was very pretty, with lots of large windows and a typically French high ceiling. The tour guide chattered in very peculiarly accented English about Cezanne's life for about an hour and then I went and cooked dinner for the French lady who feeds me twice a week. It was lovely.

And there is more loveliness in store for me, as this weekend, my program is visiting Nice and Monaco. The weather is supposed to be excellent. I am greatly looking forward to it!

Food, Glorious Food

So this is rather embarrassing. I looked through the pictures I have taken since I last posted and they have all been of food. That is not an exaggeration-- every single one has been of food. I guess you can see where my priorities lie.
Prepare yourselves, dear readers, for an onslaught of food photos.

It was snowing on the produce outside a store and no one seemed to care. I thought it was pretty.

This is the best lunch ever. No question. A fresh baguette smeared with a hefty chunk of Brie and a Fuji apple. The creamy saltiness of the Brie is perfectly balanced by the sweet juiciness of the apple. And fresh baguettes are crispy food of the gods.

I am diversifying my taste in snack food. Emma, you have converted me to salt and vinegar flavored munchies.

One interesting quirk in the French culture is that they sell mini slices of pre-toasted bread. They are quite yummy and surprisingly versatile. You can use them as crackers or bread. Okay, maybe not that versatile, but it is a good source of bread that doesn't go stale within 24 hours (a downside to the otherwise perfect baguettes).

I have discovered that I quite like cooking for myself and I'm not horrible at it! This is chicken teriyaki stir-fried rice. I know, I know, it's not terribly French, but on the other hand, it has five different vegetables in it! Five!

I made mini-pizzas with some little pita pockets that I bought from the discount grocery store. There were actually pretty good!

This is just me showing off how wonderful and healthy I am: poached chicken breast, steamed broccoli and couscous.

And to completely contradict the previous statement, here is my dessert. Microwaved chocolate cake from the discount grocery store (microwaving makes it warm and melty and delicious) with plain yogurt and strawberry jam on top. Very yummy.

It is FREEZING!

I am cold. Apparently, an evil wind from Siberia is sweeping across Europe and making everyone cold, which I think is very inconsiderate. My dear parents are telling me that it is about 60 degrees at home. This is patently unfair. I thought I was escaping chilly American winters to the sunny South of France. What do I get? Snow. Yes, snow. Last week, it snowed twice and it may snow again this week.

That last picture is of one of the frozen fountains along the Cours Mirabeau, the big center street.

I went to Marseilles last weekend and this was the only picture I took.

The view right outside the bus station was lovely, but it was far too cold to do anything, so right after taking this picture, I scurried back inside. When it gets warmer, I shall return to sight see properly.

So, with all of this chilliness, you may be wondering, "How is poor Charlotte keeping her toes warm?" Well, thank you very much for your concern. Some of you may remember what I was knitting just before I left.

Socks, dear readers, my first pair of socks. The reason they look a little pilly and saggy is because I have been wearing them in the evenings non-stop since my arrival. It's a good job I finished them in time. There is simply nothing better for keeping your feet cozy than a pair of hand-knit wool socks.

And now, to the part that you're all looking forward to: the food! The other day, I stopped at a stand called Crepes-A-Gogo. I bought a ham and spinach crepe for lunch and a butter, sugar and lemon crepe for dessert.

Here is a sneaky "I'm definitely not a tourist so just ignore the camera" action shot.

My yummy lunch.

I have to say that, while the lunch crepe was good, the dessert crepe was divine. It was just a crepe with melted butter, sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, but somehow it tasted fantastic! I have resolved to attempt making it for myself one day.