#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

August 3. West, East or Central??? Where the Hell is Vienna?

West, East or Central??? Where the Hell is Vienna? Aside from the fact that it is approximately three hours and fifteen minutes from Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, it turns out, is technically in Western Europe, even though Austria makes its appearance in Rick Steve's Eastern European book and people who live in Czech, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are Central European. In fact, it is almost offensive to call them or their country Eastern European, as that is clearly only for the old Soviet bloc. We made a few stops along the way, taking the scenic way past a magnificent very long lake, and over beautiful mountains with rolling fields of crop and grain, not quite the Sound of Music Austria, but not too far off. Crossing from Czech to Austria in the EU of today entailed no more than driving past the old vacant border patrol building. We checked into our hotel, just a couple blocks outside the busy Ringstrasse and next to the Rathaus, and sank into our air conditioned room,...

#118 - It’s Sunny and HOT in Paree

Dinner last night was just a ten minute walk, following the Marci school of city touring which says : “run around all day, anywhere you want, take public transit everywhere, but once you are back at your hotel, be it 6 or 7 or even 8pm, just walk close by for dinner”. I always pick the neighborhood to stay in first and then I pick my hotel. I don’t mind running all day, but once the day is done I want to be near lots of good places to eat dinner. Astier, a bistro in the 11th, qualified on the location and the Good Eats. Again, the food sounded simple, like my beet gaspacho with crunchy veggies. The deep purple was rich looking and the flavors layered and fresh. Steve started with the pickled herring and I think he was quite surprised when the waiter delivered and LEFT on the table a quite large glazed terracotta container of herring, a serving spoon and fork, a bowl of small potatoes and a basket of bread. Then he left. Clearly this was an all-you-can-...

A Beer Primer, Brewery to Baths

A Beer Primer, Brewery to Baths In Czech, beer is king. It is the breakfast of champions, the lunchtime liquid, the afternoon aperitif, the dinner drink and evening bar crawl beverage. There is dark and light and everything in between. You can order normal, at 10% alcohol, or 11 or 12 for a faster buzz. It can be smooth or bitter, yellow, brown or red. It goes with dumplings, and pork knee, and pickled sausages and apple strudel. It fills you up and always makes you need the WC. And so, although we are not beer aficionados, and I am not even a beer fan, we picked Plzen, CZ as the first stop on our 15 day road trip through Eastern Europe (or Central Europe to those who live there according to a Czech acquaintance). It was close to Prague so even if we got lost, the day would not be lost. The morning's challenges would be getting to the rental car place in town by metro, finding our way back to the apartment in our Skoda, the largest produced Czech car, and navigating ou...

Marci and Steve Go Back to Europe

Search This Blog