Our day in Provence…

Up and at ’em!  Breakfast was at 8:00am.  However, I got up in time to give Kathie a hand.  It was an early start to the day, but I didn’t mind making the short trip to one of the Plascassier’s patisseries for croissants and other goodies.

Where’d my coffee go?

With breakfast finished, Kathie advised us that the window of time, where the traffic would not be horrendous, was narrow for our drive into Nice.  Or, as our British GPS spokesperson pronounced it Nice– rhymes with ice.

With only one “please make a U-turn when possible” we were heading down the des Anglais de Pommade towards the vieille ville (old town).  The Mediterranean was on our right and the glitzy city, (once in Italian hands) was to our left.  Following the signs for the public parking garage, the next thing I knew I was driving in the Ville, literally.

A couple of more turns and we found our way to the garage for which we were looking.  Driving a BMW sedan (a free upgrade — woohoo!), it was up enough floors to find two parking places.  Not that I would take up two spaces, though the thought crossed my mind, but to make sure that I could park without a scratch.  Saint Doris Day (you know…she always found parking right up front in her movies) was with me the entire trip, as I always found the easiest parking spaces.

Unfortunately, it rained on this particular day in Nice, but that didn’t slow us down — well not much.  It did allow us to linger under the the vendor’s tents, giving me a chance to practice my French.  One of the vendors pulled out a poster with drawings of various mustaches.  I probably should have purchased it – but alas, maybe next time.  After lunch at a bistro on the square, we headed to the car and back to La Pitchoune for an afternoon cooking class with a leisurely dinner following.

Our apéritifs were a little over the top on this particular evening.  Usually one of these would be the norm, but what the heck; we enjoyed french radishes, smeared with butter and dipped in fleur de sel; cured olives from the trees of La Pitchoune; pistachios; and chèvre wrapped in prosciutto.

Since we were in the throes of mushroom season it was only fitting that we would enjoy a roasted chicken breast with a mushroom duxelle crust and a potato gratin.   For dessert it was individual Apple Tarte Tartins with vanilla bean ice cream.  It was a perfect ending to our first full day at La Pitchoune.

Apple Tarte Tartin