Days 14 to 17: Nice

Alex:

Well, it's been a few days since our last post and, for that, I apologize to our loyal readers.

When we last left our heroes, they were headed for the obscure seaside town of Port d'Alon.

Once again, we ascended the coastal mountains encircling Cassis--an excruciating climb which finally gave out into a long, downward-sloping coastal plain. We coasted down the stunning coast at high speeds for miles,  letting the wind wash over us like water.

We soon stopped for some supplies at a small grocery where I conversed with the owner who warned me to be wary of gypsies and gave us some basil and figs on the house, I guess because we're so gosh darn cute.

The goodwill didn't end there. The town of St. Cyr-Sur-Mer is the friendliest place we've been so far. The local baker offered to come to our rescue on his moped if we got stuck in a ditch on the way to Port d'Alon. 

Port d'Alon is a one-road peninsula (the size of Orienta-for those of you from Mamk) off the main local highway with little more than a campsite, a mussels joint, and two calanque beaches. After swimming at the first beach, we headed to the restaurant for drinks.

The next day, we got up early and hit the 2nd calanque--the main attraction for this overgrown backwater. It was a stunning turquoise bay, bisected by a tall, narrow, submarine-shaped rock formation, studded with scraggly trees and jutting proudly out into the sea.

We arrived in Nice that night and found our way to the wrong Kyriad hotel (there are 4 in the city), demanding food and lodging until we finally realized our error. 

Unfortunately, that hotel address was the one we had given our friend Anton who was coming by bus out of the dark reaches of Eastern Europe to meet us in Nice. We left him a note at the hotel reception explaining the situation and went on our merry way.

Thanks to my Nice-savvy friend, Sarah, we had a list of top restaurants and districts to delve into. We started at Le Bistro du Fromager, a  restaurant in a wine cellar, buried deep in the labyrinthine alleys of the old city. The highlights of the meal were caramelized foie gras and veal tartare.
Definitely one of the best meals we've had so far.

Next up on Sarah's list was Finnochio's gellateria which is universally accepted as the best gellato in town--and not to be confused with the 3 Pinnochio's gellaterias which stand empty and listless in the same plaza. Finnochio's boasts 100 flavors, of which we sampled blackberry, rose-pepper vanilla, chili-pepper chocolate (I love the spiced flavors), Irish coffee, raspberry-lemon, peach, and nutella. Needless to say, we were back there every subsequent night  we spent in Nice.

After that, we strolled leisurely home to our hotel to find an unkempt and bearded Serbian wearing aviator sunglasses waiting in our room.

Indeed, this was no other than Anton the Global Nomad, unrecognizable from the baby-faced comrade of our high school days now after 7 months of lean living and foraging in foreign lands. It was good to finally see him again and all go out together.

Kenneth:

Port d'Alon was fantastic, but Nice was even a level above. Amazing beaches next to tiny alleys with the cutest shops lining both sides, and that is only the start. The seafood and gelato here are the best I have ever had. More later, we promise!