Around Town 11-20-25

It was a day to just get around town today.  Deb did not have a restful night and therefore decided to stay in the apartment.  I didn’t want to be inside all day so I got out and did a little exploring. I had shown Deb a couple specialty shops over in the old town that seemed to be very popular. So she suggested that I go over and purchase a rotisserie chicken for lunch. I walked over to the shop and sure enough it was quite busy. The problem for me was that I couldn’t quite figure out how their system worked. Along the display counters there were customers standing a couple persons deep, but there was also a line just outside the shop of people waiting. My problem was that I couldn’t tell if the people in the line were waiting to get served anywhere along the counter or were they waiting for a specific part of the counter. For example,

were they all waiting to get chickens, which is where the line had formed, or were they waiting for someone else further along counter to leave before going forward to order.  Additionally, once the butcher had completed the customers order, they packaged it up and then took it over to the cash till. Then the cashier collected the money and disbursed the customer’s package. Given the amount of activity going on and the fact that I would have had to try to convey my order in French I decided to save this for another day.  Right next to the butcher shop is the city’s main fish market. It was winding down due to the late time of day but they had lots of fish out on display. If we were cooking it would be great to get a fish from them and cook it at the apartment, but a small fish.

Luckily I knew of another butcher that was somewhat closer to the apartment and I knew it was popular as well. So I walked back to that shop and bought a rotisserie chicken there. From there I walked back to the apartment and bought a bottle of rose wine to have with the chicken. I brought the chicken back and we prepared a simple little lunch of chicken, bread, and wine. It was a very simple but nourishing lunch, a bit of a change from our recent lunch adventures.  I decided to go out again for the afternoon, but this time I put on a jacket and scarf because it was quite cool and breezy. More like yesterday up in the hills than it has been down here in town.

One of the things I’ve wanted to do since we got here is to go up on the hill that overlooks the city. Up until the late 19th century there had been a military fortification on the top, because one could see all the way from Antibes around almost to Cap Ferrat. At one point they even built a large tower to give an even greater panorama. But there is only a ruin on the top now and it sits in a park with trails, waterfalls, and playgrounds for children.  An enjoyable place for a picnic. On one side of the hill the city of Nice stretches from the sea all the way up to the range of hills.

On the other side it looks directly over the old port and the eastern part of the city.  I walked around the top and then decided to walk down to the old port. A few years ago we bought a fun little oil painting of the old port that now sits in little bathroom next to our kitchen. That’s where we display the souvenirs from our various travels. There are several really big yachts berthed in the marina. I would guess that there is a row of perhaps 15 or 20 ships each of which likely costs at least $50 million or more.  As I walked by I noticed that there were crew members on several boats that were keeping them pristine for when their owners decide to take them out. But I’m guessing that these boats are probably moored there for the winter.  At the street level right around the port is located the main antiques neighborhood. There are several blocks where every few stores along the street is either an antiques or art gallery. They carry very nice quality merchandise at correspondingly high prices.

I was walking back to the apartment when I noticed what looked like a church or bank building. The gate for the iron fence was open and there was a placard of some sort on the porch. I thought it may be a listing of evening concerts or something so I walked in to look.  It was even better, it was a list of ‘ventes aux encheres’ , estate auctions! This was an auction house that has some vague connection to Druout in Paris. The door to the offices was open so I ventured up the winding staircase to find a reception area with a woman behind a desk. She informed me that yes, there was going to be an auction in 6 days and would I like a catalog?  Yes, I would. So she went and made a copy for me.  I think I can predict where we’ll be in 6 days. So I hustled home and went through the catalog like a kid with a toy catalog at Christmas. Are we likely to buy anything?  Almost assuredly not, but… And I do have some experience with French auctions as I’ve bought a few things in the past. Great sport, terrifying in French but great sport.