Bilan
Michel di Vacri
Bilan is a financial word and I guess the best translation would be “reckoning up” or “taking the account” so with Robert Tickler and his entourage leaving Friday I would say the bilan of the stay has been very positive.
Yesterday I walked through the flower and food market Cours Saleya with Robert who was greeted affectionately at almost every stall with women preferring strawberries on some. Robert says he is thinking of running for mayor.
I recommended a beach restaurant for La Daphne and her friend and in the evening invited everyone to Acchiardo a popular family run restaurant in the old town specialising in Nicois cusine. Daphne said that rather like these third world models who supposedly emerged from a poor African tribe but in reality are the daughters of successful professional people and went to Swiss finishing school, Acchiardo is in reality a clever commercial operation on three levels of seating that packs in the diners day after day night after night. So much so that they are not open the weekend. However the hearty cuisine went down well. Au contraries, Robert amused us with his Cap Estel story of pretentious dining. Six knives were produced and he was asked by the waiter which one he wanted for his Carre d’Agneau main course. The plate arrived under a silver dome which the waiter removed with a flourish to reveal at the centre of it a piece of lamb no bigger than a 50p coin.
After dinner Ivan Conway and I stopped at a pub to watch Atletico Madrid play Barcelona. I had my first Rust experience of John Pargiter who had backed Atletico each way to win the Champions League. When Barca were not awarded a late penalty as the handball seemed in the box he could hardly contain himself. I am shedding no tears for PSG , no one likes manufactured bought teams although I guess much the same could be said of Manchester City. Ivan also received a text from Alan Tanner who has nice memories of Atletico fans after the Europa League final with Fulham in 2010. I predict the French striker Anron Griezman, who scored both goals for Atletico, will make a big name for himself in the Euros which is important now as Benzema will not be selected .
So I bid Robert, La Daphne, Ivan et tous les Rusteurs an affectionate adieu and we hope to see you all in Nice next year.