Archive for the ‘Around Nice’ Category
June 9th, 2010 | 
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Not to be left out of the Riviera music scene this summer (which includes the Nice Jazz Festival and Jazz a Juan), is stately Beaulieu-sur-Mer. The annual Nuits Guitars will take place from July 8 to 10 and will feature Popa Chubby, Alain Souchon and Babylon Circus. What I like about this festival is how casual it is and the comfortable outdoor seating. It’s also a good excuse to revisit relaxing Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Tickets are available through the tourist office.
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My very favorite regional event has just announced this year’s program. Les Etoiles de Mougins is a yearly gathering in Mougins of the hottest local and international chefs prepared to display, explain and demonstrate their latest concoctions. Roger Verger formerly of Le Moulin de Mougins, David Faure of Aphrodite and René Redzepi of Noma in Denmark are just a few of the past guests of the festival. What I like is that you actually get to taste their treats and get the recipes after you watch the chefs in action.
This year’s festival will take place from September 10 to 12 and the theme will be Women Chefs. It’s about time! Anne Sophie Pic of the celebrated Maison Pic in Valence will headline the event. Other chefs include Sophie Bise, Rougui Dia, Fatema Hal, Flora Mikula, Laurence Salomon, Josy Bandecchi, Hermance Carro and Fanny Rey.
An admission fee gives you access to the seven demonstration tents but there are large areas of the festival grounds that are open to the public. Tastings of regional products, wines and culinary specialties are available to everyone.
For more information, see the Les Etoiles de Mougins website or see more about Mougins.
See the French Riviera Calendar of Events
Few places on the Cote d’Azur can so effectively conjure up the days of troubadours and penitents as Eze, one of France’s most evocative perched villages. A visit to Eze village is an obligatory stop on the Moyenne Corniche that winds its way from Nice to Monaco. Not only are there some world-class hotels in Eze and top-notch restaurants but the views over the coast are unforgettable. For total immersion in the medieval experience, visit Eze the 8th and 9th of May for the yearly Medieval Fair. Expect traditional music, dance, handicrafts and a vide-greniers or yard sale to pick up local souvenirs.
Read more about Eze village.
Me and the guy that actually did the work
The Roya river is known for its swift waters as it races through Breil-sur-Roya. River rafters, canoers, kayakers gravitate here in the summer to test their river paddling skills in the cold, frothy water. Despite regular sojourns here over the last five years, I’ve never tried it–until yesterday!
Saturday in August is not the time to contemplate the stillness of the steep riverbanks but the crowd of helmeted river-rats seemed reassuring to me. They wouldn’t let me drown, would they? Plus, our group of canoe-rafters was managed by the highly competent local company, Roya Evasion. Our guide was a world champion of something river-y. Too bad he’s now tumbled so far as to have to manage the likes of numbnuts like me.
I’d paddled kayaks in lakes and swum in rivers but somehow this business of manoevring a rubbery blob down a roiling river defeated me. We started about 4km upstream and, unfortunately for beginners like me, it was not in a calm part of the river. I didn’t quite understand how to actually steer the thing so my 11-year-old boatmate and I immediately became wedged between two rocks causing other rafts to crash into us. One of the monitors hurried over and dislodged us, then recommended that he be with an experienced adult. Good thinking.
I got my own kayak and nervously set forth into the whitewater. I managed to hit the rapids backwards, then sideways and then underwater with the kayak overturned above me. I slid down the river for a while trying to grab hold of the thing until finally we came to rest along the banks. The alert monitor paddled over and urged me onto his kayak, giving mine to a little girl who looked a lot less spooked than I was. I felt a little bad for sending the kid into the river on her own but, hey, in the whitewater it’s every dame for herself.
With the monitor doing all the steering, I was finally free to actually enjoy the experience and smirk at all the other incompetents sliding off their kayaks, paddling into rocks and trying to keep a game face about it all. The descent lasted about 1 1/2 hours and was absolutely thrilling. Would I do it again? Hell, yes. If they let me.
One of the most popular trains on the French Riviera is the Train des Pignes that takes passengers through the hills and mountains from Nice to Digne-les-Bains. It’s a gorgeous trip but it looks as though the train has become a victim of its own popularity.
From June until mid-August the train carried over 130,000 passengers, far more than desirable for a vacation experience. There are only 96 seats which means that many summer trains carry plenty of standees. Last week the overload was so great that some passengers had to be brought back to Nice in a bus.
The good news is that another train car is on order and should be delivered at the end of the summer with four more ready to roll next summer. Meanwhile, here’s a tip: avoid the early 8.50am departure which tends to be the most crowded.