Tag Archives: shopping

Marché aux Puces

Posted by whitneyandjared in Travel, Whitney and tagged with , , , , ,

“I like walking around and looking at old things.“  -Jared Howe

One of the things I was most excited about seeing again in Nice was the antiques/flea market in the old town. It’s held every Monday in the same place as the flower market from yesterday’s post and has a huge variety of items. Jared came with me since antiques shopping is just about the only kind he likes, and we met Molly, her daughter Katy and Katy’s friend Isabelle at the Garibaldi bus stop and walked over. The girls were very excited because they had just gotten a pair of “Best Friends” necklaces, which they were happy to model for me.

Katy and Isabelle, BFFs

the market transformed

fancy stalls

silver

vintage racing game

vintage indexed map set of all of France

Sadly (for me), it seems in the last 10 years that vendors have started to catch on to what their stuff is worth, so there weren’t a ton of bargains to be had. The above set of maps, which I covet with my SOUL was €180! Sigh. I did buy some cool old coins and keys to use in my jewelry crafting, but that was about it. I also was thisclose to walking away with some awesome vintage flashcards, so I may go back if we can find some room in the budget (or if Santa thinks I’ve been good!).

We caught a preview of the market on Saturday when we met Molly in Place Garabaldi to walk to her house before the soccer match. There are iterations of this big market on different days in different parts of Nice or in neighboring villages (it was in the next town over from us on Sunday), and we happened to stumble on a few vendors in the square. We stopped at a rack of vintage coats and I tried one on because we’ve had a bit of an unusual cold snap here and I had been thinking I may need something a bit heftier to get me through the next month. It fit like a glove and Jared and Molly practically insisted I buy it. It was only €25 and while we were hemming and hawing over it (some buttons needed to be sewn back on), the woman reduced the price to €20! Sold. Maybe my coat high explains my willpower at the antiques market?

new (old) coat!

After we said goodbye to Molly and the girls, we did some Christmas shopping and then headed back to Place Masséna to ride the Ferris wheel at the Christmas market. It’s an enormous wheel, and we had been waiting for a sunny day to ride it so we could have the best possible views of Nice. The views were fantastic, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit nervous at the top of that thing. We were so high up!

post-ride, this picture seems a lot more ominous

the view was pretty stellar though

looking a little wary

smiling through the terror

beautiful.

Place Masséna Christmas market

those cars are a little too open for our taste...

When we told Molly that we had ridden the wheel she mentioned that it made her nervous to be up there too. We equated it to riding the Cyclone at Coney Island: it was probably safe, but didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. At any rate, we survived and stopped for socca on the way back to the bus.

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Christmas d’Azur

Posted by whitneyandjared in Travel, Whitney and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

We’ve had a few days to explore town, so here’s a bit of a recap before the holiday craziness takes over.

First, a few shots around Saint Jean where we are staying. It’s a small village full of a lot of money, but the mansions tend to be secluded and the residents of them are pretty private so the atmosphere remains rather charming. I’ve had some lovely chats with the butcher (who told me to just call him up in the morning when I want a rotisserie chicken and he’ll get it started for me) and some other shopkeepers, and am feeling very welcomed and at home here. Jared feels that way too, but only after I translate for him. My French is improving and it’s been really rewarding to talk to locals and not feel like a total idiot!

The Côte d’Azur is dotted with small villages like ours, and each one is decorated to the nines for Christmas. They all have their own Nativity scenes (called a crèche which is French for nursery) and Saint Jean even has Christmas music playing on speakers in the village center.

a whale of a bench! har.

orange trees abound in Saint Jean (we even have one!)

crèche in Saint Jean

lights in Saint Jean

We are about a 20 minute bus ride (and two towns over) from Nice but it’s an easy commute with a beautiful view, and the bus stop is just around the corner from our house so it’s simple to get into see Molly and her family. We met up with her a few times last week and checked out the flower market (which is an antiques market on Mondays – more on that tomorrow), the Vieille Ville (Old Town), and the beautiful waterfront promenade. Thursday was a really windy day so I took a video of the waves. You can see from the photos and video why this is called the Côte d’Azur (Azure Coast).

narrow streets in Vieille Ville

chocolate shop window

I love these guys!

in front of the Palais de Justice

Palais de Justice - back

war memorial

flower market

view of the water from the market

promenade

We also walked through the Christmas village in Place Masséna in the center of Nice. The area is full of booths of crafts and treats, an ice skating rink, an enormous Ferris Wheel (more on that tomorrow) and all kinds of games and entertainment. We strolled around for a while checking out the wares, and then gorged ourselves on socca and mulled wine. Socca is a local food made from chickpea flour, olive oil and salt and is cooked in a huge cast iron pan in a wood burning oven. Then you put pepper on it and if you are us, eat it as fast as you can without burning your mouth. It’s so good. Traditionally it’s what the poor residents ate, but now it’s part of the culture of Nice (a delicious part!).

the tram

Christmas market

Jared shows off his socca

mmm, socca and mulled wine!

As much fun as we are having seeing the city, the best part has been spending time with Molly and her family. They have been awesome at getting us set up, giving us directions, suggesting activities and taking us around to fun places in Nice. We really feel like we are on vacation here!

Molly and her dog Kelly

Kelly

It’s sad to be so far away from family at Christmas, but we feel very fortunate to be spending Christmas here with good friends and beautiful surroundings.

Kuna & Carry

Posted by whitneyandjared in Travel, Whitney and tagged with , , , ,

Since we had use of a car on Saturday and would be passing the large GETRO supermarket on the way home, we pretty much had to stop and stock up (plus I really wanted to take pictures since I forgot my camera last time).  I realized during this visit that it’s a cash & carry, so essentially it’s like a smaller COSTCO but without the membership, which explains the variety of products and large quantities.  However, the locals seem to treat it like a normal grocery store, and we were buying the most items by far of anyone in line (one woman only had a bottle of detergent), so I still have no damn idea what’s going on.  BEHOLD.

Jared was pleased with this giant slab of bacon

I feel lactose intolerant just looking at this

Kinder Surprise goldmine!

Haribo goldmine!

...yet this is their entire stock of peanut butter

I can't be the only one who thinks this is funny.

booze!

Jared classes it up in the wine aisle

fancy a TV?

how about a washer?

or a fridge?

Jared couldn't resist.

Another quirky thing about this place was that you had to put in a 5 kuna coin to unlock a cart, and then you get it back when you return the cart.  The first time we went I thought they just charged to rent the cart (like at the airport) and I was so startled when I returned the cart and the kuna popped back out!  Also, in a surprisingly progressive (or perhaps just cost-cutting) move, they charge for shopping bags.

the kuna contraption

Jared gets our 5 kuna back

And since I couldn’t let Jared be the only one with grocery store slippers (and my feet are always cold), I came home with these beauties:

don't lie, you're jealous.

Since we had to return the car to Port Gruz and we didn’t want to haul our groceries on the bus, Jared waited with the car at the Buza Gate while I ran everything down to the apartment.  It felt for a minute like we were back in New York and were coming home from a weekend trip with the Zipcar.  See?  Life isn’t that much different over here.