A not very White Christmas

So time for another distinctly non-white Christmas in Finland (I'm starting to have problems remembering the last white one...). The journey to Helsinki was a right pain – as they usually seem to be with Luftw… Lufthansa. Let’s just say that the delays in Frankfurt gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with all the bars in terminal. Well, to cut a long story short, I eventually arrived at my parents’ flat at about 5 o’clock in the morning.



After an all-too-short night, my brother Janne and Katja picked me up, and off we went to Turku. After some express shopping from me (still hadn’t bought most of my Christmas pressies, I have to admit to my shame…), we met up with my parents and had a delicious (and actually very authentic) Italian meal at the Trattoria di Roma.





On Sunday, we celebrated my mum’s birthday. The whole gang was there – including both of my brothers with better halves and families as well as my grandma (still going strong in her 90s). The meal was, as always, delicious, and was followed by a Christmas sauna. Christmas eve involved the usual activities (eating and drinking like a pig and waiting for the xmas pressies like a little kid…). I got my fair share of pressies, including a chocolate monopoly (my family sure knows me…), a Nintendo DS (Mathilde sure knows me…) and a couple of DVD’s.



After waking at about noon, and having had a light-ish brunch (well, not light at all, actually, considering I had xmas dinner leftovers…), it was time to head back to Helsinki, where the plan was to have some xmas beers with some of my mates. We ended up in that bastion of Finnish-ness known as Zetor For those of you who don’t know this Helsinki institution, let’s just say it’s not the trendiest place in town (let me put it like this, there are even 2 tractors in there) – so we fit right in. We had a good time, with some beer-fuelled healthy debating, and of course catching up on “the good old days” ;-)

The flight the next day was very painful indeed – as I had only about 2 hours’ sleep before it. I’m getting too old for this s**t.

Christmas spirits on the Cote d'Azur!

Chockie cooking in Biot :-)


The famous 13 christmas deserts of Provence.


Santa, in commando action.



Christmas market in Cagnes-sur-Mer (looks SOOO authentic)


Too much vin chaud?

Roman stones and nice windows

Christmas is nearly here, which (at least for me) means a lot of eating, so we figured we had no excuse to skip our customary Sunday walk. This time we opted for a walk that combines history with some nice scenery, near Le Rouret, on the road towards Grasse.



I say history, because the walk leads to a Roman camp, which according to our guide book dates back to the 8th century B.C. (which sounds a bit strange – I thought the Romans started they’re empire-building later than that – but hey the guide is published by the Conseil General des Alpes-Maritimes so it must be true). Well, I have to say, the Roman camp isn’t all that impressive anymore, the words “pile of rocks” comes to mind. What I mean is, unless there was a sign on the spot saying “Roman camp”, I would’ve thought the pile of rocks was just, well, a pile of rocks. But the views from the spot were amazing, with a panorama over the Gorge du Loup and the picturesque villages Bar-sur-Loup and Gourdon. And it was, as it usually is, a glorious day (if a bit nippy), so no complaints from us!



After the refreshing walk, we headed down to Biot, which is a very pretty perched village next to Antibes. We had seen some flyers advertising an original kind of Advent calendar that the locals had put up there, so we decided it was worth a look. Basically, some artists and school children had put some colourful decoration on some of the window shutters in the old town. It was all very nice - they sure know how to make their villages look cute in this part of the world.

A Russian cathedral and christmas beers

In the morning, we headed to check out the Cagnes-sur-Mer Christmas market. To be honest, it wasn’t all that impressive. They had put up some decoration that was supposed to evoke Antarctica or something, but I don’t think it was entirely successful… (well, I guess trying to imitate Antarctica on the Cote d’Azur is bound to feel a bit fake…).



In the afternoon, we headed to Nice. We decided to visit the finest example of the Russian heritage (which is quite noticeable in Nice), the St. Nicholas Cathedral. The Russians have had a strong presence in Nice since the 19th century, when a lot of them came here (many apparently suffering from tuberculosis, hoping to be cured by the favourable climate). St. Nicholas cathedral is considered (at least by the French ;-) to be the most important Russian-style orthodox cathedral outside Russia (I personally consider the Uspenski cathedral in Helsinki its equal – more atmospheric, but less ornamental). Well, it has to be admitted it’s a very beautiful building, both on the inside and the outside.



After this bit of sightseeing, we walked down to the sea by Rue Garibaldi, taking in a part of Nice we are not very familiar with. Having seen the beautiful sunset from the Promanade des Anglais, off we went to the cinema. We saw “La graine et le mulet", by a Tunisian chap called Abdel Kechiche. It’s a story of an old immigrant worker who is laid off after 35-years of service, and decides to open a restaurant on a boat. Of course numerous obstacles follow… I have to say it’s the best movie I’ve seen for a while, with some really great acting from mostly amateurs, and a great ending (let’s just say they manage to avoid a tacky feel-good ending that you could just imagine in the Hollywood remake, if there ever is one…). The coolest thing was that the main actor was also at the cinema – he comes from Nice apparently (as does the director – he originally wanted to shoot the film in Nice with his dad playing the main role but unfortunately his dad died before he could start filming…).



After a delicious and "light" dinner (duck cassoulet and a cake which can best be described as "purely chocolate"), we met up with Mikko, Marianne and Sami, and had a giraffe of beer at Checkpoint to celebrate the approaching Christmas… (if you don’t know what giraffe means in this context, I’m sure the photo explains it ;-)

More Haut-de-Cagnes...

Just wanted to put a few more photos from the old town of Cagnes, Haut-de-Cagnes here. It really is very pretty, we like it more and more each time we walk around there. We also notice the nordic influence here more and more - it seems that every second house is inhabited by a Swede...



One of the local residents.




Playing petanque by the castle.


Told you about the Swedish influence ;-)

Rollerblading and a Proper French Dinner

This turned out to be another calm and relatively uneventful Saturday. This was at least partly because we were having my parents over for dinner tonight. As they are going back to Finland for a few weeks in a couple of days, we decided to prepare a very French meal for them indeed, a Boeuf Bourginion (which takes quite a long time to prepare, when done properly).



Since the sky was blue, as it usually is this time of the year, we decided it would be a good idea to do something active though, so we ended up going roller-skating in the afternoon.



We decided to head east along the sea to Le Cros de Cagnes, which is a small fishing village (or rather, was, these days it’s well and truly part of Cagnes-sur-Mer) between Cagnes-sur-Mer and St. Laurant du Var. Having taken in the boats in the port, we headed back.


I then headed west for a bit - where you get a nice view over Marina Baie des Anges, an architecturally interesting (which I guess means you’ll either love it or hate it…) apartment complex in Villeneuve-Loubet. You also get a good view of the Hippodrome of Cagnes-sur-Mer (one of the most famous ones in France), and of the old town (Haut de Cagnes).




The dinner was great (although maybe next time I’ll buy some meat which doesn’t say “Prix Choc” on the packaging…), especially the chocolate cake we had for desert (with a shot of Mathilde’s nan’s Calvados to finish off the affair!).

Le circuit des Blaquieres

As it was another gloriously sunny and clear day, we decided to go for a walk, as we often do on Sundays when the weather allows for it. We chose a walk near Vence (which is just a stone’s throw and a bit from Cagnes), “Le Circuit des Blaquieres”. It was a very nice one, typical of the walks around Vence, with its arid, karstic scenery (had to look up in Wikipedia what “karstic” means ;-). A lot people out and about today, much more than usually… During the surprisingly strenuous walk (must be getting out of practice), we also scaled the impressive heights of Baou des Noirs (at the height of, er, 677 meters) as well as Baou des Blancs (at a yet less impressive altitude of 673 meters)





In the evening, I had a very nice paella dinner at my parents’ – we were also joined by a couple from that great metropolis of Pargas, Finland (although living in Stockholm now). They had actually sailed all the way through France to the Cote d’Azur from Stockholm, quite a trek! (I think it had taken them quite a few weeks to get here). A very pleasant evening, with great food, wine and conversation.

Nissa la Bella

The last weekends have been rather hectic, with visits to Egypt, Milan and the UK. So we decided it was time to take it easy for a change. So after a leisurely morning at the flat, we jumped on the train and headed down to Nice. The plan was to catch a film, have dinner and then meet up with the Mikko, Sami and Pete for some poker.



We took the opportunity to walk around Nice a bit in the afternoon, walking around in the old town we love so much. We had time to catch the sunset by the beach as well, a very pretty sight it was. On the way to the cinema, we decided to finally visit Palais Lascaris (I say finally, because it’s free!).



Apparently, it’s a typical example of the baroque architecture that dominates much of old Nice (most of the churches in the ‘hood at least are definitely very baroque…). I have to say I found it a bit disappointing. I mean, it’s interesting, kind of, but they could definitely do with a bit of funding. The place looks kind of ran-down. That will all change soon, perhaps, as they are apparently planning to house the 2nd-most important collection of musical instruments in France here!



The movie was a documentary set in India, about the children of prostitutes in Calcutta, who want to become photographers. Great stuff, and actually almost uplifting stuff considering the subject manner (I mean, compared to Kaurismäki, for example ;-). After the film we had dinner in Gesu, a real Nice institution (if Provencal cuisine tickles your taste buds). We had a very nice time – the food was good and the service was entertaining (with one of the waiters coming up with phrases like “s’il vous plait, sit down ici, monsieur”).



Unfortunately, the poker evening was cancelled due to two participants being incapacitated due to some Pastis-powered movie watching (I shall mention no names…). So we had a drink in Wayne's bar instead and took the train back to Cagnes.

Finnish visit from Norway

Jonas, a friend of mine from the old Grani school days, came over for the weekend all the way from Norway. Weather-wise, things didn't start off very well, with a fair bit of rain most of Friday. But apparently it was still an improvement over the Norwegian weather ;-). After a delicious and very filling dinner of crepes and cider at our place (as you may have guessed, I didn't do the cooking...), we headed off to explore the old town of Cagnes. The plan was to try out the local pub, which is (most originally) called La Taverne. Unfortunately it was closed, so we ended up going to the Black Cat, the best (and only) jazz bar in Cagnes. The place wasn’t exactly heaving when we arrived (I think apart from the musicians, we were the only people there), but a couple of mojitos later, when the music started, things got a bit more exciting. But we didn’t overdo it, since we thought Jonas might want to see something during daytime as well, and went home well by bed-time…


After a lazy French breakfast (with fresh baguette and croissants, of course), we jumped into the car and drove down to Sanremo, located on the Italian side of the Riviera. Sanremo is of course most famous for its music festival, but also for its casino and rally. Neither the rally nor the music festival were on, and it was a bit early for the casino, so we had a walk around the shopping streets and the old town instead. And a pleasant stroll it was (for some reason I liked Sanremo better the second time around), in spite of the uncharacteristically dodgy weather.


After a pizza for lunch, we headed back to France. We did the mandatory visit to Eze (a very pretty, but also very touristy, perched village east of Nice), and also made a stop in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Villefranche is one of the nicer seaside towns on the Riviera, a bit less overrun by the developers than some of the other towns, located in a very nice bay between Nice and Cap Ferrrat. After walking around for a bit, and watching the sunset over the harbour, we headed on to Nice.



The plan was to have dinner and then meet some mates in Ma Nolan’s (one of quite a few Irish pubs in Nice). After showing Jonas the old town for a while, we went for an apero in Cours Saleya, where we were joined by the man from Karunki (Sami). We decided to have the dinner in a real Nice institution, Chez Palmyre. It’s a small, family-run place on the edge of the old town. The dinner was definitely an experience (note the absence of the word culinary). The menu was handwritten (the menu changes every day), and the matron of the place is quite a character (she’s seen better days, but makes it up in spades with her personality). We were even treated to a duet of “Bella Nissa” during our meal, which means “beautiful Nice” in Nissard, the local dialect (or language more like, I thought they were singing in Italian!). We did eventually manage to eat as well, once me and Sami had finished arguing about who would get the last rabbit (Sami got the rabbit - but I got the last laugh as I ended up getting the last orange tart!).




After this “expérience Niçoise” we headed on to Ma Nolan’s, where we met up with Jari, who was back in Nice for the weekend (he worked here for about 6 months until he started missing Oulu so much that he just had to go back ;-). The beer flowed, predictably. Mindful of our duty to also show the day-time splendours of the Riviera to Jonas, we did take the last train back home, though.




We started Sunday with a hike near Tourettes-sur-Loup. It was a pleasant enough walk, which took us up from Tourettes-sur-Loup (which is at 400 meters) up to about 850 meters. Unfortunately, the weather was still a bit dodgy, but at least it didn’t rain. And it has to be said this isn’t one of the most scenic walks we’ve done so far. But still, it was nice to get out and about for a bit.
After the hike we walked around Tourettes a bit – it is one of the prettiest villages on the Riviera, in my humble opinion, with its dramatic location and paved streets.




In the evening, we went to Cannes. First, we ticked off the mandatory tourist activities, which include: posing on the red carpet outside the Palais des Festivals, gazing in amazement at the over-the-top yachts in the Vieux Port and watching the sun set from the top of the Suquet (the old town). After a long walk along the Croisette (the beach boulevard), taking in the Carlton (the poshest hotel in town), we headed to the old town for a nice dinner. A nice finish to a rewarding, if tiring, weekend!

Weekend in England

Time to head back to old Blighty again, since it's been a while... The occasion was, this time, Lou's and Peter's engagement party.

Before the main event, we made some time in our schedule to squeeze in a curry and a a few beers with our old mates (c'mon, what's a visit to England without a curry and some pints in a pub?). So we took the train down to Guildford from Gatwick, and ended up in the Rose Valley (my favourite curry house in Guildford, where I actually celebrated a couple of birthdays) - we didn't even have time to drop off our luggage at Phil's (who was kind enough to accommodate us for the night).



After a somewhat disappointing dinner (nothing wrong with the curry, but we weren't too impressed with the waiter's assumption that the 20 pound change on the bill was a tip!), we headed to the Tup. I guess the Guildford Tup is, considering it’s a French pub owned by a French chap, not exactly an obvious choice for a nostalgic English pub eve. But we like it – and anyway, as usual, nearly half of the people present were French-speakers, so… Anyway, we had a good night, and left the premises in an appropriately jolly mood.



The ambitious plan for Saturday was to catch an early train down to London Waterloo, spend an hour or two there, and then catch the connecting train to Tunbridge Wells, where the engagement party was being held. Of course, we didn’t get up quite as early as planned, so our London visit ended up being very short (time enough to buy bagels for lunch!). Once in Tunbridge Wells, we were whisked off to Cousley Wood by Peter and Lou (Lou worked with Mathilde in Tormead school), to Peter’s country house home.



Very impressive digs, it has to be said. Peter lives in an old 15th-century country house, with a nice big garden, great views over the nearby lake, and enough toys to keep any bloke content… (I liked the “entertainment room” with the massive plasma screen, bar, and comfy sofas…). The party itself was a hoot, with an interesting mix of people (artists, childhood friends, the local pub landlord, and even a Brigadier). Copious amounts of food and wine were obviously consumed.






On Sunday, we had time (after a fortifying English breakfast) to visit a bit of Tunbridge Wells, before catching our flight. Tunbridge Wells, which was founded in 1606, when a spring was found there (the water was believed to have healing properties). It’s a very affluent town, and pretty it is, too. We only had time to visit the Pantiles area, a very nice pedestrian district with some interesting shops and historic buildings. After a walk around the area and a glass of mulled wine, it was time to catch the train back to Gatwick…

Between the court and the garden

Gunveig, a good friend of my family's, had been on the Riviera for the past week, supporting French cultural life (by visiting the local art museums with my parents...).

Although we were not able to join their cultural activities (having to work can be such a nuisance), a nice dinner is something I normally don't say no to. So after an apero at our place, we headed to one of our favourite restaurants on the Cote d'Azur, Entre Cour and Jardin.

We were, as last time, welcomed by our favourite French waiter, Pierre. The meal was predictably delicious, and original (I had myself a "Cannette sur pain perdu au foie gras" - which means something along the lines of "duckling on foie gras-covered French toast").

An unexpected trip to Milan

This was supposed to be my free weekend! Mathilde had a girlie weekend planned in Milan with some of her mates. Unfortunately, due to some complications, they were not able to go. Since it was too late to cancel the hotel, and I found a return train ticket to Milan for 60 euros, I decided to tag along (so no go-carting and beer drinking with the lads this time…).



So, we very quickly got packed, and jumped on the train to Nice, from where we caught the train to Milan. It was a leisurely 5 ½ hour journey, including the half-hour delay. We started off by taking the metro down to the hotel and checked in.

Eager not to waste any time, and to explore Milan, we then set off walking towards the town centre. It was a long but nice walk – it was a sunny and fresh autumn day, just perfect. The first impression of Milan pretty much matched my expectations of a busy, successful no-nonsense major city. It almost didn’t feel like Italy (apparently they don’t even have siestas in Milan!) – even the driving was civilised (mind you, after Cairo, even Naples or Athens would probably feel pretty civilised!).



As we arrived in the town centre, it was nearly dark, but we still had time to walk around a bit. We saw the duomo (the cathedral) – which was very imposing indeed (it’s the 4th biggest cathedral in Europe), the Galleria de Vittorio Emanuele II (a very impressive shopping arcade – probably the most impressive of its kind I’ve seen) and La Scala (the famous opera house – which it has to be said is relative unimpressive from the outside – apparently the inside is a different story though). Having walked around some more, we decided to visit the cathedral. It was very impressive on the inside as well, and kind of spooky (I guess it’s so big it’s difficult to light effectively, and the huge size of it adds to the effect as well).





After this brief visit, we headed to the restaurant which we had picked in our guide book. The location wasn’t very promising – next to a train station, but the place was absolutely brilliant. We were treated to a 4 course meal of local specialities, and even I struggled to finish it. So if you ever do make it to Milan – do try the Osteria dei Binari – it’s not the cheapest eatery in town, but it’s worth every penny!

After a good night’s sleep, we got up, had our very Italian hotel breakfast (which means a bit light for me, it has to be said), and continued our exploration of Milan. We started of with the area around the hotel, called Navigli quarter (aka. the Venice of Lombardy). It’s a nice area of canals, bars and restaurants. Probably very lively in the evenings. From there we headed to visit La Basilica di Saint’Ambrogio, which is one of the oldest churches in Milan (dating back to the 4th century), and (apparently) an astounding example of the Roman Lombardian stlye. (yes, I most definitely nicked that phrase from the guidebook).



We also tried to have a look at the Last Supper by DaVinci (you know, the one in the Dan Brown book…) in a museum next to another church - but in vain (apparently you have to book tickets for the museum in advance, believe it or not!). We continued our walk, through some seriously refined and fancy (and somehow more Austrian than Italian, to my untrained eye) neighbourhoods, and eventually found ourselves by the castle (Castello Sforzesco). It was a pretty big and impressive place, and open to the public for free (including the dodgy fake leather goods salesmen…), except some museums inside.





We finished the afternoon with a cappuccino (of course!), a walk through the fashion district (thanks god it was Sunday – everything was closed!) and the public gardens, and finally a quick pizza lunch near the train station. And then, back on the train to Nice! It was short, but sweet J

Leaving Egypt

So, last day in Cairo... We spent the last couple of hours having a walk around the hotel, doing some shopping, mostly. I picked up a good book in the AUC (American University of Cairo - the place where the well-off Egyptians and foreigners study, conveniently located in central Cairo next to a McDonald’s ;-). We both tried to get some shoes, as well (they were quite a bit cheaper than over here – some pairs of shoes were like 3 euros!), but failed (some of the shopkeepers would just smile and shake their heads when I mentioned my shoe size). We also had a quick look at Abdeen Palace, which used to be a royal residency and also presidential palace after Nasser took over in 1952. These days it's a museum - doesn't look very special at least from the outside.



And then, off we went to the airport (taxi again – no more buses!), and back to Nice via Vienna.

Well, in spite of the occasional hassle, we really enjoyed our stay (I mean the hassle is all part of the adventure, right? ;-). Especially the weekend spent in the desert was really something unique. And Cairo? Certainly not a place for people who like calm, order and cleanliness. But it’s certainly one of the most interesting cities you’ll ever visit, with loads to see, and so alive somehow.