Days 34 and 35 - vendredi et samedi

Day 35 – vendredi et samedi

4 à 5 mars 2011              This entry covers events of the last two days.

Vendredi, 4 mars

Fatima Sheriff celebrated her 19^th birthday on Friday. Her friends certainly made it special for her. Besides singing happy birthday and presenting her with flowers and cakes, I was invited to the lunch that Rosa made for her: a beef stew with rice and a Brazilian chocolate pudding dessert made with sweetened condensed milk and Nestlé’s Quik (I hope to get the recipe).

After school, I headed home for a little break, then came back for the 7:30 departure to Safari Restaurant on the Marché aux Fleurs in the Vieille Ville (Old Town). Fatima was dressed in a gown from Nigeria that was a birthday gift from a friend. She looks like an Egyptian goddess. Of course, the party did not begin to move out the door of the residence hall until nearly 8:00. Since Fatima’s dress was floor length, she wanted to take a taxi. Because the student residence is located at an inconvenient place for a taxi stop, we hoped to call for a cab from the hotel across the street. The receptionist suggested that we walk to the train station, just another five minutes walk since the cabs line up there. Rosa and I, and Corinne who had the cream cakes, went with her in the cab.

The rest of the students walked down to the Vieille Ville of Nice arriving shortly after we did. Mariette met us there, too. It was a treat to have her join us. I tried the alcoholic aperitif Pastis – it is an anise-flavored drink of a pale yellow color. I’m not a big fan of the flavor, but after a while, it was fine. For dinner I ordered Porchetta Niçoise. It was described as a stuffed pork roast. When it came, it did not look as I expected. The two very thin slices looked like a mosaic of pork meats with pistachios wrapped with bacon. It was a bit fatty, but it had a very good taste.

After we shared the cakes, the group departed the restaurant a little after Fatima's birthday and Citrus Festival in Menton - picturesmidnight. A number of us were heading back to the school/residence, while Fatima and the others were going to a discotheque. I, personally, was glad to head back. My group walked me all the way to the door of my apartment building. We arrived at 12:40 a.m. As most of you know, this is very late for me, but it was a lovely evening.

Samedi, 5 mars

Today I woke up before the alarm went off. After breakfast and cleaning my room, I headed to the train station to buy a ticket to Menton. This little town is east of Nice, along the coast, right next to Italy. It has a Citrus Festival that lasts for 3 weeks. It was a lovely day with the promise of warmth, so it was a good day to head out of town.

At the station, I attempted to purchase my ticket at the machine with my credit card. This is the second time that my Visa has not worked in a machine – I suspect because it is a debit card, too. Not a problem, there were several people selling tickets at the windows. The ticket I bought allowed me to depart from Nice at any time of the day – the same was true for leaving Menton later.

On the train, I sat on the “wrong” side – the sea was on the right and I was on the left. I determined that I would sit on the “sea side” for the return trip, hoping to get some pictures. The water was sparkling and a deep green-blue today.

Along the way, the train passes through several tunnels, but mostly one can view the surroundings. The Monaco – Monte Carlo station is underground, however. The train has a long tunnel just after Monaco. I could feel my ears popping along the way, so I knew we were changing altitudes, both up and down, as we proceeded.

Menton is pretty little town. A good number of people disembarked from the train along with me. Already at 11:30, the town was active. I first found the Office of Tourism to get a map. In the same building is an exhibition hall. On the first floor, the local agricultural organization had an exhibit of the past store fronts. Upstairs, they were holding a display of orchids and regional artisans were at booths with everything from honey to jewelry. If there had been a demonstration of ever-sharp knives, I would have thought I was at the Iowa State Fair.

With the map, I was able to work my way along the promenade. The sea was gorgeous today. Quite a few folks were sitting on the pebbled beach having their lunch. Others were at canopied tables being served their lunch – elegant – just like the movies.

In the old town, many shops had special displays. I worked my way uphill to the old basilica. It was not open, so I continued up the hill to a cemetery, which was on the site of an old chateau. Just like today, those who want the best view, build on the hills. The mountains are definitely remnants of early volcanic activity. Because of this, sometimes a hill can be relatively isolated from the mountain range. This is how I would describe the site of the cemetery. Every side provided a bird’s eye view of the area. The pictures show the splendid colors – the blue of the water, the whiteness of the beaches, the orange of the rooftops, the slate grey of the mountains, the green of the trees.

The cemetery is still being used today. There is no grass. As is typical of European cemeteries, the marble encasements and mausoleums pave every inch of the ground. But many graves are decorated with potted plants. The oldest grave I saw was from the 18^th century when the last chateau was razed. The Russians left their mark on Menton, too. Several Russian princes were buried here. One sees grave markers in French, Italian, Russian and English.

By the time I headed downhill, it was after 2:00 and time to look for something to eat in the old town area. I selected a crêperie. The 11 Euro special offered 3 crêpes: one with butter, one with ham and cheese, and one with jam. The first would have been enough, because they were large and filling, but I ate them all, along with a café crème – my new favorite drink.

As I was walking back to the train station, I stopped to buy 6 lemons. Michele would like to see if I can really make a lemon meringue pie. I think I’m up for it later this week, after I see that I have all the necessary equipment and ingredients. Lemon pie is one of my favorites, too.

In front of the festival entrance, a high school band with a very old man dressed in an all white suit directing them and the dance team with white pom-poms was performing. The large crowd was spilling out into the street in front of the casino. Everyone seemed happy for the performance, and the music was quite well played.

On the platform at the train station, there was no place to sit. Then when the train came, there wasn’t a seat to sit in. My feet were not too happy after all the walking and now standing still. But by the time anyone left the car, I only had one more stop to be in Nice.

This is a good time of year to visit the Coté Azur area of southern France since there are local festivals up and down the coast – a spill over of Carnival before Lent starts, and celebrations of local agriculture. Then, of course, there are the “famous” places to go, too, from Cannes to Monaco.

So this week, I made it outside of Nice twice. Once the bottle’s open, it’s hard to keep the genie inside. There are a number of other adventures ahead, Dear Reader.