14 juin 2013  Good Food and Some Bargain Shopping in Nice

Today, I think we were out and about more for the experience of being in Nice rather than really focusing on a particular thing. Mariette and I left the house about 10 AM. We made our way to the bank. The experience is similar to ours except that all the banks are small outlets of a larger bank. Large banks are intimidating to the people here. They are using a new system of depositing checks via a machine that stamps each check with a number. I can’t say that I understand how it works. Mariette was leery of the system because the man was in a hurry and did not separate the two accounts that she was depositing to, so she did not deposit her cash at that bank outlet, but at another later on in the day where the people knew her better.

Then we did a little second-hand clothes shopping. Since I’m really not in need of more clothes, as much as I think the French styles are quite cute, I did not purchase anything even though I tried on a few things. In the European system I wear a 40-42. One was a stylish maroon top for performances – that could be worn with a fitted skirt for example. But it was a little too large. And I don’t need to bring more things home than I came with, really.

We also stopped at a little Russian grocery. I picked up some zefirs – marshmallow cookies. These were a little disappointing because they did not have the citrus flavor of those that Anna brought to us last week. Oh well, they may become a snack for me this week – it was warm enough that they melted together on my walk around town.

At 12:30, we arrived at a special Nicoise restaurant that featured home cooking. Tomomi and Pastell were meeting us there. It seems that Pastell and Tomomi had a little breakdown of communication, because Tomomi arrived first. Eventually Pastell caught up with us and the meal began. We ordered a flask (75 cl) of chardonnay. There were three items to choose for each course. I had an “omelette” that was egg and flour that was baked, topped with a fresh tomato salsa with a side of vinegar/oil greens. For the main course I chose the duck because I don’t remember having duck except at home on the farm when I was quite young. The duck was served sliced over cooked potatoes, celery, carrot and zucchini, and under that were puréed potatoes. There was a chutney-like sauce over the top of all. And for dessert I had the peach marscapone. This was delicious even though I was too full and had little room for anything more. (Note to self: learn to make marscapone.) It tasted very fresh and was served in a half pint, rather flat jar (somewhat like a Mason jar) with the lid off to the side. Each course was beautifully displayed and so tasty.

After lunch, Mariette went on to meet Jean for coffee. I headed home with a short stop at a store called Mim – they were having a 2-for-1 sale on everything. I didn’t get anything yet, but I may stop back this weekend.

Once at the apartment, I needed to put my feet up – the sandals were feeling quite tight – so that led to a short nap. Then I made an attempt to practice. It has been a full week since the cold was so bad. Warm-ups were a challenge – the muscles did not respond well at first – I was quite full yet, and I coughed a lot, but if I can do this several more times this week in preparation for all the upcoming performance events, I will feel better about being ready when I arrive home.

This evening Mariette had invited Valeria and Pastell for an apertif. She is so good at creating little plates of tasty morsels – crackers with hummus or tapas, pissaladière, and baked broccoli, and a compote of fresh fruits – lychees, bananas, golden raisins – and lastly a plate cookies – Russian and Niçoise. We had a lovely evening.

The sun is setting after 9:00 so the days seem long. It cooled down considerably this evening, so we did not go out to the park for a theatrical event. We may try to do that tomorrow.

For now it is bedtime in Nice. Bonne nuit!