Nice to be back on the Riviera again… Especially as the weather was, er, somewhat better than what Finland had to offer. We got nicely back into the rhythm by a visit to Nice on Friday. As often, we started off by catching a film, after which we had a stroll on the promenade (where the local VW Beatle club seemed to be having a reunion of some kind). The plan for the evening was to take in the traditional 15th of August spectacle, organised by the La Francaise des Jeux (basically the same thing as the National Lottery in the UK) – Sami had managed to convince us it was “not to be missed at any cost”. After a nice dinner in Vieux Nice, we headed down to the promenade for the festivities.
It has to be said, I was initially a bit underwhelmed. The show kicked off with a kind of Grade B Pop Idol (if there is such a thing as a Grade A Pop Idol ?). The organisers were kind enough to even put a big screen up for the audience. And what did they show on it? Commercials! That’s a first one for me! But what really made me laugh was when a winner from a previous year came on stage to SING a commercial – I mean that really was taking the p**s… Anyway, things got decidedly better with the fireworks, which kicked off at 10. The festivities finished off with a grand spectacle with music, dancing, acrobatics, you name it. All very impressive – but they really could have done without the annoying intro videos between the numbers. We finished off the night with a beer at Mori’s bar (where else?), and just managed to catch the last train home.
On Saturday we had some visitors over – this time it was Elodie’s (a globe-trotting friend of Mathilde’s from Angers) turn to pop over with his husband and little girl. After a walk around Saint-Veran (our ‘hood), we had a nice little BBQ on the balcony, with a bottle of Rose to go with it – in true Cote d’Azur style. After dinner, we were all happy to collapse in bed… After a leisurely breakfast on Sunday, we drove up to Haut-de-Cagnes with our guests, and showed them the sights. There was even a nice antiquities market at the main square (I didn’t even dare look at the prices). After the brief but sweet tour, it was time to say the Au Revoirs, as our guests had to hit the road again.
We, on the other hand, had a lunch date to keep. So off we sped down the A8 to Sophia-Antipolis, to Myriam’s and Fabian’s place. Being the time of the year it is, BBQ and Rose was on the menu again – fine by me. And to finish off the great meal, a strawberry Tiramisu a la Mathilde – they don’t get better than that…
Nice to be back on the Riviera again… Especially as the weather was, er, somewhat better than what Finland had to offer. We got nicely back into the rhythm by a visit to Nice on Friday. As often, we started off by catching a film, after which we had a stroll on the promenade (where the local VW Beatle club seemed to be having a reunion of some kind). The plan for the evening was to take in the traditional 15th of August spectacle, organised by the La Francaise des Jeux (basically the same thing as the National Lottery in the UK) – Sami had managed to convince us it was “not to be missed at any cost”. After a nice dinner in Vieux Nice, we headed down to the promenade for the festivities. 
It has to be said, I was initially a bit underwhelmed. The show kicked off with a kind of Grade B Pop Idol (if there is such a thing as a Grade A Pop Idol ?). The organisers were kind enough to even put a big screen up for the audience. And what did they show on it? Commercials! That’s a first one for me! But what really made me laugh was when a winner from a previous year came on stage to SING a commercial – I mean that really was taking the p**s… Anyway, things got decidedly better with the fireworks, which kicked off at 10. The festivities finished off with a grand spectacle with music, dancing, acrobatics, you name it. All very impressive – but they really could have done without the annoying intro videos between the numbers. We finished off the night with a beer at Mori’s bar (where else?), and just managed to catch the last train home. 
On Saturday we had some visitors over – this time it was Elodie’s (a globe-trotting friend of Mathilde’s from Angers) turn to pop over with his husband and little girl. After a walk around Saint-Veran (our ‘hood), we had a nice little BBQ on the balcony, with a bottle of Rose to go with it – in true Cote d’Azur style. After dinner, we were all happy to collapse in bed… After a leisurely breakfast on Sunday, we drove up to Haut-de-Cagnes with our guests, and showed them the sights. There was even a nice antiquities market at the main square (I didn’t even dare look at the prices). After the brief but sweet tour, it was time to say the Au Revoirs, as our guests had to hit the road again. 
We, on the other hand, had a lunch date to keep. So off we sped down the A8 to Sophia-Antipolis, to Myriam’s and Fabian’s place. Being the time of the year it is, BBQ and Rose was on the menu again – fine by me. And to finish off the great meal, a strawberry Tiramisu a la Mathilde – they don’t get better than that…
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