The view from the top

Rick, Tim and Linda went out shopping first thing this morning.  They stopped at a store selling pasta and gnocchi, and specializing in different kinds of ravioli.  The sales lady asked how many people would be eating the ravioli they were buying, and they indicated that there were 4 of us.  She sent them off with 32 little ravioli per person (and probably had a twinkle in her eye!)  When they got back to the apartment I asked if maybe she misunderstood them?  Did she think you said 14 people?  Ahh, tourists.

Rick and I decided to check on our next apartment, in the next village, Villefranche-sur-Mer.  We were trying to figure out the logistics of getting our stuff over there in a few days.

I know I said in the last post that the buses, trains and tram are a fast, convenient and inexpensive way to get around on the coast.  The cost of the bus is 1 euro to go one-way anywhere along the coast, and that includes the route from Nice to Monaco.  One euro is an amazing deal that everyone wants to take advantage of, so rain or shine, the popular bus routes are packed.  There was standing-room only for our trip from Nice to Villefranche, which is on the way to Monaco, so after that we vowed to avoid the bus and take the train when possible.  The train costs 1.7 euros for the trip to Villefranche - still a great deal, and we'd probably have a seat!

We scoped out the town, and located the neighborhood where we'd be staying.  It didn't look very promising.  You know how things can look so flashy on the Internet?  What if we'd been boonswoggled, bushwhacked, hoodwinked?  Would we be living like squatters in Morocco?  Only time would tell.

We stopped for lunch at La Belle Epoque in Villefranche, and had one of my favorite French specialities - moules frites.  That's mussels and fries.  They were served in a cute wooden boat. 

Rick with our boats of moules frites for lunch

Meanwhile, Tim and Linda were doing some sightseeing in Nice.  They walked up Castle Hill, which doesn't have a castle anymore, but does have amazing views of the city.

View of Vieux Nice on the way up to Castle Hill

View of the beach from Castle Hill

The old Jewish cemetery on Castle Hill

Rick and I were finally fed up with our lack of communication tools.  We got some advice from the kind folks at the Nice Pebbles office, where we rented our apartment, about how and where to secure a cell phone while we were here.  They said we could either go to the post office (?) or to the Bouygues Telecom store, one of many phone stores nearby.  They knew there were sales clerks at the store who spoke English.  We bought a little phone for 20 euros, and bought some minutes for another 15 euros, and life became ever so simple!  Our French phone number will expire in 6 months, and then we'll just get a new one when we're here next time.

On the way home we stopped to buy some bread at Espuno Boulangerie, voted the best bakery in France 30 years ago.  It was fun to see the wood stacked outside next to the oven.

Wood stacked outside the Espuno Boulangerie 

Dinner that night was the ravioli with bread and a salad.  Did we each eat 32 little ravioli?  No way!