Nice

NICE is a very nice place in France (get it?), we took an alternate way of getting here called Bla Bla car which we highly recommend. Bla Bla car is a ridesharing car service which connects drivers and travelers to share a car ride and split the fee of travel. For those traveling on a budget its a great way to meet people and get cheap transportation. The Hostel we stayed at was in a great location literally in front of the train station so it was perfect for when we went to Monaco and Villefranche-sur-mer. One of our favorite things to do in Nice was go to the farmers market and see the local produce and what they had to offer. The spices and fresh produce where just to die for.

For our first meal in Nice we had a Socca and mussels with a saffron sauce. The restaurant was called Lou pilha Leva in the middle of the old town great location and opportunity to people watch. Soccas are a really interesting flat bread made out of chickpea flour and cooked on a large flat pan that looks like it moonlights as a paella pan. They have a really nice crispy texture with a fluffy interior, perfect for soaking up the delicious sauce left after a huge bowl of mussels.

While in Nice we really missed cooking so we decided to take a break from eating out for dinner and instead cook at the Hostel and that is where they introduced us to the aperitif and the traditional 4 hour long dinner. Some of the Apertif foods that we had where quiches, pate en croute, cheese, duck stomach (DELICIOUS!), olives just so you can get a idea of our pre-dinner. 

A great town two train stops away from Nice is Villefranche-sur-mer, it is one of the only non rock beaches in the south of france. They are small pebbles which we think is better than sand and rocks, because it is soft enough to lay on and does not get everywhere. It is a tiny town but perfect for a relaxing beach day. But we were in the south of France so its kind of impossible to have a bad day... 

On our last few days we tried some other great french food one of the interesting things was a aged goat cheese from the farmers market which went perfectly with the violet jelly we picked up from a local confection shop. The violet jelly has been making appearances in almost every city we have stopped in because we absolutely fell in love with its unique flavor.

This is just a short list of some must tries while in nice just get the full effect of Nice's cuisine.

NICE FOOD LIST

• Nicoise Salad or in a Sandwich 
• Violet jelly, liquor, or gelato
• Pissaladiere
• Rose wine
• Socca
• Mussels and fries 
• Olives and the different types 
• Fruit confit (a candy that takes 45 days to make but turns out looking like beautiful glass gems)

TOWNS AROUND NICE

• Cannes
• Ville de Franche
• Monaco 
• Antibes 

HOSTEL

• Antares Hostel Nice