The Last Day );

 For those of you who are living a vacation vicariously through us, and there some of you who worry me you are too invested, we have come to the all-but-the-travelling-back end. 😭😭😭

Today began, again, THE FORAGE FOR FOOD!!!!  It’s been a real issue here…

First, we found a pharmacy, for me; in and out and away we went, back to the old village, where someone (I really don’t remember who) thought a restaurant served breakfast. 

Holy effing moly!  Of course there was a Christmas market set up there and there were police and cars and…a lot.  After parking (another minor challenge), we found an elevator up two stories to street level. And made our way through all these vendors, and there was straw on the ground (atmospherics, I hope) and…the restaurant was not serving breakfast during the fair. 😡

We ended up getting food from the vendors: KG and I had sandwiches made with cheese melted off the wheel onto the sammy. Highlight. 

Then we took off to Menton, which is on the Italian border. 

More mountain views were had. 

After struggling to find parking again (it was crazy busy, too), we walked the promenade and got to the Jean Cocteau Museum (don’t ask me) but it wasn’t open till 2.  

We had a drink and the waiter talked them into trying the mille foil (sp) dessert, it had chestnut mousse in the middle (they love their chestnut here).

Knocked out the museum in no time, walked a ways, and, while I wasn’t there, the 3 of them decided “we” were going to the Basilica, which was visible up a very step hill.  I was told “it was only 7 minutes.”

Later, EH added “Google maps said ‘fairly flat.’” Lies!!

More than 7 minutes later we wheezed into the courtyard of the basilica.  Here’s the money shot from up there, toward Italy. 

Back down was easier and we headed back to Mougins. 

As is tradition, we had EH’s birthday dinner tonight (it’s as close as we can get).   We had to go back to the old village to do so, and K insisted we get a taxi.  So I asked the front desk to get us one.  He was there waiting at the right time and he took us the mile up the hillside to the front drive of the village.  We go to get out and he says “card?” and I say cash and he says something and both KG and I need a repeat.  According to KG when I heard it my response was a squeak of “Thirty!”  Yes, 30 euros for a mile.  Ouch. 

It took me awhile to recover from that.  It might have been the fifth course before I was really into it. 

The restaurant, which has had a Michelin star for awhile, is called La Place de Mougins.  I don’t know what his thing is, but tonight there were 3 set menus: beef, lamb, or “worldly pigeon.”  We wondered if that wasn’t a mistranslation, but for what?  In the end, KG had the pigeon, I had the beef, and the other two had the lamb.  Here’s their pictures.

and the desserts.  This is K and EH’s — a variation of what they had earlier, a mille foil but this time that filling is bergamon (sp)

KG. and I got a coconut and a chocolate cake thing.  The chocolate one was the bomb. 

It was like 6 courses and three amuse bouches and several variations among us, so there are too many pictures.  

We agreed it was quite good, though KG rather regretted the pigeon.  He thought it lacked taste.  

As we left, we were invited down to meet the chef, which we did.  I was disappointed he didn’t offer some coupon or something, but c’est la vie.

We ubered back.  It was half the price!!!  😁

KG has a 6 AM flight out of Nice tomorrow, so we are hitting it early tonight.  It has been another fun and memorable trip.  

Bon voyage!

NB: next trip is next month to SoCal…