paul @ NCE

nice, france

website

aeroport nice cote d'azur is a small airport full of people who are sad their vacations are ending and that they must leave paradise. although maybe i was projecting. anyway, one last chance for a pain au chocolat at the gate. we stopped by paul for an espresso and pastry. (espresso for derek, pastry for me - that pretty much sums up our trip). the pain au chocolat was a lovely treat for the flight home.

brasserie la rotonde

nice, france

website

for our last night in europe, we intended to dine at the michelin-starred le chantecler at the hotel negresco. but miscommunication with our concierge (we asked for an outdoor table) resulted in our reservation being at the more casual outdoor restaurant instead. which is good, because the host at le chantecler looked horrified when we walked in asking about our reservation. (were we underdressed? did we look out of place? who knows, but the snobbiness was annoying). when we finally found la rotonde, we were seated at a small table in the back corner of the patio. a larger table closer to the street was "reserved" but remained unoccupied for the duration of our meal. sigh. but after the initial rude service, we eventually had a waiter bring us english menus and a more friendly demeanor. of course i had to start with the salade niçoise (translation: a nice-style salad). crunchy veggies, fresh tuna - it was quite good. but the highlight was the cote du boef with butter herb sauce. i ordered it rare and it actually arrived rare. a perfect steak.

debin ur begad

nice, france

website

our favorite place to eat, shop, and explore in nice was vieille ville (old town). walking from the modern promenade du paillon into vieille ville was like walking from modern london into diagon alley - it felt like a different world. it was a maze of streets, narrow alleyways, and tiny storefronts. we happened upon a fun open-air market with vegetables, flowers, and various crafts. the restaurants surrounding the market were enticing, but being the stereotypical tourist that i am, i wanted to get a crepe. found ourselves at a breton creperie, but the highlight of the meal ended up being the socca. socca was advertised all over nice, but we had no idea what it was. i'm still not entirely sure other than it was an eggy, fluffy, delicious pancake-thing. yum.

phnom penh

nice, france

link to tripadvisor

this might be my favorite spot in nice (or i was just really happy to be eating asian food again). random fast food cambodian spot near the promenade du paillon. lots to choose from - all kinds of cambodian specialties are displayed in a glass case - different types of noodles, meats, rolls. we eventually decided on egg rolls wrapped in lettuce and vermicelli noodles mixed with egg and mushrooms. took them to-go and enjoyed them while sitting in the park, watching people walk through the misty fountains along the promenade. sunny day + crispy egg rolls = heaven.

kitchena

nice, france

link to yelp

after spending the day shopping in nice, our feet (and wallets) were tired. there were rows and rows of small tables on the sidewalk outside kitchena, just calling our name. we didn't see any staff, so we sat down on some empty chairs (well - "collapsed onto the chairs with our bags" might be more accurate). a waitress walked by and winked at us, which i assumed meant we were okay. eventually she took our orders - i went with a café créme, which was served with a crunchy speculoos biscuit. a great spot to sip some coffee, rest our feet, and people watch.

les brasseries georges

nice, france

website

to continue my trend of making strange requests of the hotel concierge, this time i asked for a "brasserie-type restaurant." poor woman. thankfully she happily suggested les brasseries georges, which was completely perfect. the restaurant was beautiful - the main room was huge, extremely well-lit, with high ceilings. the kitchen is enclosed in glass at the end of the room - like a DJ booth. service was cheerful and friendly. a bottle of sancerre rosé was a nice treat after the long drive from the italian coast. we started with buttery garlicky escargot - tender and delicious little morsels. same description applies to my moules frites - perfectly cooked mussels served in a white wine broth.