Tales of France Part Deux

On day two, we boarded a bus that returned us to Nice.  We spent the morning exploring Vieux Nice (Old Town Nice).  The farmers' market was open that day so we were let 

loose to ooh and aah at the fruits and vegetables and flowers and spices.  What a sight! We walked right into a chef's dream...mounds of olives, baskets of perfectly red cherries, bushels of squash blossoms, bags of herbes de Provence (a mixture of dried herbs such as thyme, savory, fennel, marjoram, basil, and lavender that's a fixture in the Provencal kitchen).  One of the stars at the Nice market is Madame Theresa who makes and sells socca, a southern France specialty.  Socca is a flat cake baked in a cast iron skillet.  It's made of chickpea flour and olive oil and then seasoned with black pepper and is a popular (and tasty) street food.

After my first perusal of the market, I decided it was time for a break, so I sat with some of my new friends and enjoyed my first (of many) cafe au lait.  I so love how meals and beverages are served in France.  A small cup of coffee arrives, with saucer, and is accompanied by sugar cubes and a (very) small spoon.  Sometimes the coffee is in a small cylindrical cup on a small platter that also carries the sugar, the spoon, and a biscuit or piece of chocolate.  I just love the detail and care.

After my cafe break, I took some time to explore the narrow (and I mean, narrow), winding streets surrounding the market.  At a tiny boulangerie, I found what was to be my lunch:  a zucchini quiche and a small lemon tart topped with burnt meringue.  The friendly shopkeeper brown-bagged my lunch and I leisurely made my way to my group's meeting place, once again passing the bunches of white asparagus, the masses of sundried tomatoes, the bundles of lavender.

Our next stop was the medieval village of Eze, perched atop a rocky peak overlooking the Mediterranean.  The bus ride was just as memorable as the visit to Eze.  We drove along the coast initially and viewed marinas filled with all shapes and sizes of boats, with yachts anchored a ways off the coast.  Then we followed the curvy road to Eze, winding along mountains, passing villas with terracotta roofs, crystalline pools in the meticulously manicured back yards.  Once we arrived in Eze, we walked to the top of the peak and toured the stone paths of the castle.  I had just enough time to explore and then find a shady bench where I ate my takeout lunch.

One more time we boarded the bus, this time heading for La Font du Broc, a winery northwest of Cannes.  The ride took about an hour and a half so we napped on the way.  I had visited some wine caves in the Loire Valley west of Paris, but I hadn't visited an actual winery until now.  This winery did not disappoint.  We toured the cellar, the grounds (magnificent) and then convened in the tasting room for the true test.  The tour guide poured a rose, white and a red for us.  Even better, she set out some platters with stinky cheeses and bread and some tasty olive crackers that I happily found at a grocery store a few days later.  The wines were great and loosened us all up.  It was our first true bonding moment.  I bought a bottle of the red to share with G when he arrived.

Next:  a walking tour of Cannes.

Tales of France

On the plane to New York for my connection to Nice, a priest sat next to me.  Then I noticed a Jewish gentleman (with beard and hat and suit) seated two rows ahead.  At first, I thought that I'd stepped into a scene from a Woody Allen movie.  After some conversation, I came to discover that they were on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  My favorite exchange though:

Priest sneezes.

I say, "God bless you."

Priest says, "Thank you.  I'm usually the one who says that."

Once the plane landed at JFK, I quickly learned that the airport needs some attention.  Perhaps a wrecking ball.  I had a four hour layover until my Nice flight and finding out that I needed to take a shuttle to another terminal ate up some time.  A pleasant surprise waited for me though; no one sat next to me on the eight hour flight to France.  Sigh.  I had two blankets, two pillows, and just enough room to curl up and sleep.  After a bad airline dinner washed down with some bad airline wine, I tucked myself in with Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and did get to sleep.  No jet lag for me this time.

I met two of my fellow culinary students who sat behind me, Jessica and Allison from South Carolina.  As the plane landed, we saw what would become our backdrop for the next three weeks on the French Riviera:  blue skies; sun drenched beaches; picturesque cities and towns; and finally mountains teasing us with their mystery.

By 9:30 AM, a large group of us, culinary students, film students, business students, had arrived and boarded a shuttle to take us to the Maeva apartment building, our home away from home for the next few weeks.  After a 45-minute drive, we were in Cannes la Bocca, a suburb ten minutes away from downtown and the Palais, where the film festival would be held.

The apartment building had its own pool and was a block away from the beach.  The views from the balconies were of the brilliant sea.  Other than that, the accommodations were nothing to write home about, so I won't.

I took the afternoon to walk around and discover the bakery and pastry shop (Boulangerie/Patisserie), the neighborhood grocery store, several cafes, a wine shop, and a small, but beautiful park that led me to the beach.

That evening, the culinary team had an orientation meeting.  We met the chefs, Chef Michael and Sous Chef Stephanie, and the event manager/tour guide/master of everything, Armand.  There were only nine culinary students accepted this year.  

The aforementioned Jessica and Allison

Meredith, John, and Trip--all from Louisiana

Sheryl from Seattle

Rachael from Portland (originally from the UP in Michigan)

Thornton from Detroit (who graduated from Schoolcraft a couple of years back)

and me

We didn't know what we'd gotten ourselves into as we introduced ourselves that first night.  Such innocents.  Well, about the program anyway.

Next up:  sightseeing, farmers' markets, and acquaintance of Cannes