Skip to main content

#103 - A leisurely last day in Valbonne


After a full day of village hopping yesterday, the evening brought a three minute drive back to Valbonne to roam the cobbled alleys and find a bite. The casual pace of our travels dictates we don’t think too far ahead for dinner reservations (it seems we only reserve those gourmet lunches for some reason), but, alas, Valbonne in the summer on a Friday night is a bit like the summer at the seashore, busy...with most bistros fully booked. Luckily, there is always decent Indien (yes, they spell it that way here) and we snagged a table outside for our repast. As we strolled back to our car, we went through the bustling main square where there are about five or six restaurants, each having at least 30 or 40 tables outside. Every table was full, the decibel level was well above Craig LaBan’s optimal 75, young children were running about having fun while their parents sipped wine, and although it was almost 10 PM, the light was just leaving the sky, allowing the string lights and candles to emblazon the festive scene. 

As we walked through I was reminded of our trip to Oaxaca this year where each afternoon and each evening, on our way to a museum or to dinner, we would walk through the zocalo (main square) teeming with families, couples, locals, and tourists. I would remark how old fashioned and lovely it was that in this day and age when it sometimes seems like we only communicate through keyboards, there were still places where people strolled and chatted, young and old, locals and tourists. Valbonne strikes that same chord, one that is usually missing in our hurried lives today. It seems to me a retro way of life that should make a comeback, or maybe that is what is so lovely and attractive about places like Oaxaca and Valbonne....it never left.


Steve’s Poisson Salad
    Today we took the day off from touring. We had a leisurely morning, a lunch on the terrace of Bistrot du Clos, the more casual spot opened by a one star Michelin chef in Rouret, did some hand laundry and lounged at the pool, reading and relaxing. 



 Dinner was literally an ‘ancient’ baguette from the boulangerie, two local cheeses (one mild and one stinky), & a 5.90 Euro bottle of Cote d’Rhone all enjoyed at the outdoor table outside our room poolside before we packed up for an early departure tomorrow. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

July 31

Taking the Waters in Marianske Lazne There are three 'famous' spa towns in Czech, the most popular Karlovy Vary, but we choose to spend a couple days in the smaller spa kingdom of Marianske Lazne, or better known in German as Marienbad. Before we got on the road for the spa, we decided to head into Plzen town to visit the reputedly second largest in Europe and third largest in the world synagogue. It was impressive and big but we are not sold on the claims, it didn't seem much bigger than synagogues at home. But we also got in a little walk around the town square and saw interesting fountains and some wonderful sgrafito on buildings.  Perhaps the funniest moment on the square was hearing a group of Czech children singing Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes in English, as a way to start learning the names of body parts. We were tempted to join in. In about an hour, we arrived at the Falkensteiner Spa right on time and checked into a beautiful room in a lovely hotel not really kn...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 7 Last Day in Pest

Budapest-Strolling About and Rolling Out After our leisurely day of almost nothing but swimming, we had to cram in as much walking, seeing, drinking, eating and feeling Budapest as possible in one long day.  Coffee, post office (yet another box and another $75 to send home more of our clothing we no longer needed and a few souvenirs), and then into St. Stephen's Cathedral to see another ornate interior of dark rose and dark gray marbles, detailed decorative painting in lieu of the usual bright mosaics and the shriveled blackened hand relic of St. Stephens.  Planning and cramming the day was a bit difficult as the sites are more spread out than in other city centers with only three metro lines that connect at one station. So, we figured we would knock off the northern most site first, the huge and spectacular looking Parliament. It was already hot enough that we were walking only on the shady side of the street and I had even started copying the Japanese tourists and was using ...
Post a Comment
Read more

#120 - SURPRISE....ONE LAST READ WITH YOUR MORNING COFFEE

Did you think we wouldn't do a wrap up - the woulda, shoulda, coulda list along with our very salient observations of the current state of fashion, food, and fun in France and Spain?   Well, we got a bit sidetracked. So here is the last of Paris and the rest of the Euro 2019 blog.  Our last night in Paris, Laurent returned and we had a dinner at Eels as planned. About a thirty minute walk (perfect, since once we are home I can't get Steve walking at all) but it was raining, so we hopped in an Uber and headed over to the 10th arrondissement in heavy traffic.  Rather than describe the great five course chef tasting menu we did- here it is in photos.  Everything was excellent, especially the bottle of Pinot Noir- too bad it was their last one and we had to switch wines for the next bottle - but that is the only criticism.   The next morning we were packed, said our goodbyes, and were off to the airport for our non-stop to Dulles...
Post a Comment
Read more