We invited the Rileys and Jones’ to join us for our January trip to La Colle. Both couples jumped at the offer and they booked their trip out on the same early Nice flight as us.
A couple of days before departure a message appeared in our WhatsApp group from Mark saying that he had a chest infection. He didn’t expect to join us. And that turned out to be the case. This also meant that Maggi and I would have to pick up Fiona and take her to the airport.
The flight
Normally I wouldn’t mind picking up Fiona, but our 8am flight meant we needed to be at the airport for 6 am and therefore pick Fiona up at 5:30. Those early morning minutes are so precious that I really didn’t happily volunteer to drive over to Northwood, but I did.
We had our breakfast in the lounge with Fiona and met up with Matt and Helen at the gate. A very anonymous journey and we arrived just few minutes late. Being at the front of the plane and able to pick up our car quickly we volunteered to do some basic shopping and arrange for food for the evening.
Shopping and evening
We suggested that we meet the others at LeClerc so we could take their interests on board when choosing all the items we might need. However they didn’t bother to stop and meet us but drive straight to the house.
By the time we arrived everyone was hungry and we laid out a snack meal of bread, cheese, pate and salad. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the house as it rained outside.
Saturday Vence and Gourdon
The weather remained dull and overcast with intermittent rain all day. Maggi and I had booked a table for 6 at Aux Vieux Four in Gourdon for 1:30. For the morning we therefore drove to Vence for our party to have a look around the old town and the Cathedral.
Before entering the city walls we looked across the valley to where our previous French house stood and the Matisse Chapel above it.
A long time has passed since I last looked around the cathedral and I only had a vague memory of the interior. The walls seemed sparser than I remember with far less decoration than your average Catholic Church. The place felt a bit musty and a little bit uncared for. I wondered what sort of numbers come to pray on an average Sunday given that a high proportion of the old town’s population are probably muslim.
Matt had driven us to Vence and he continued to drive us on to Gourdon very carefully although he did tend to get very close to the edge of the road on a number of occasions. All the girls sat in the back while I sat in the front seat and so had a close look at the near side of the car.
We parked at the higher car park for the first time and walked up to the Aux Vieux Four where the witness recognised Maggi and I. I thought I should have given her a peck on the cheeks as we entered but that moment passed.
As usual we had a very nice meal. I started with the celeriac remoulade which I found delicious, so much better than anything you can find in a supermarket. It had small piece of what I think was ham inside and a few endive leaves. I followed this with the sausage and lentils which although fine didn’t have the refined flavours of the starter. I finished up with figs in a red wine sauce topped with a yogurt ice cream which I really enjoyed. This returned the food to the same standard as the starter.
In the afternoon I watched Arsenal play out a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest. All very dull.
18th January – drive to Antibes
Another grey and wet day in the South of France. We decided to visit Antibes. Fiona, Helen and Matt wanted to visit the Picasso Museum at the chateau in the old town of Antibes, Maggi and I have been there so many times that neither of us had any desire to go round it again. While they pottered around the museum we had a walk through the market, the Antibes Cathedral, and other streets in the old town.
On their exit they found us having a drink next to the market, having bought bread in a local boulangerie. We stopped again for another drink in a very french bar where a group of very short guys laughed and joked. Of course I could understand nothing of what they said.
Everyone wanted to visit the city walls and look out over the sea splashing against the ramparts. On these exposed parts the wind came gusting in from the sea and blew us around. Nonetheless I managed to take a selfie to record our presence in the most hostile conditions. After this experience we all decided that the best thing from here was to return home and have a snacky lunch. Matt made our evening meal which consisted of a vegetarian pasta dish.
19th and off to Nice
In the late morning we all drove to Nice for the last excursion of our guests stay. We wandered around the town for a shortt while and then arrived at L’Uzine, situated just near the port. The busy restaurant asked us to arrive at 1:30 but we had to wait for a table to be free. We sat down to an excellent value meal of three courses at €29 each.
They didn’t present fine dining but what they did provide was tasty and fairly simple food. I started with an endive salad and followed this with steak tartare. The problem with eating sitting down to eat late is that several of the dishes had departed from the menu. Nonetheless everyone left the restaurant with a smile on their faces which reflected on a good meal had by all.
20th meet-up with Madeleine and Tom
Madeleine said she wanted to go to Vence as she hadn’t visited the town for over a year. This made it very convenient for us and we set the rendezvous at Parking March Chagal. We walked into the centre and had a drink at Henry’s bar and then roamed around the old town until we came across a restaurant that Madeleine had a note about, La Litote. The proprietor invite us in, but said we had to eat upstairs as all the downstairs were booked. We felt a bit lonely eating in an empty space with only empty tables and the toilets for company.
Anyway we chatted very happily for a couple of hours and then parted company.
My highlight for the day came when arsenal beat Inter Milan in the San Siro stadium 3-1. Two goals from Jesus and one, a cracker from Gyokeres.
21st and time to return home
A very relaxing day. Gathered our things and ate at St Eloi. Both of us had the belly pork dish of the day, which as usual represented good value.
Journey home unexciting and easy. On the journey from the airport to home the motorway had a traffic jam caused by a car broken down in the outside lane. The driver stood between the two fast lanes waiting for help in the pouring rain. I felt really sorry for him.
