The Last Supper

Yesterday was my last full day in Nice. It seems ages ago that I arrived at the airport expecting the waiting smiles of the advance party Grania and Polly and the booked taxi driverbut none of them were there. You can only go uphill from there and indeed I did.

Rather than pick out memorable days I would prefer to concentrate more on Nice as I believe it’s a superb city and only as a port city in the Mediterraean now does Barcelona compare. Speaking to Michel  and  Ivan they said the only clear advantage of Barcelona is its football team, but its drawback that within a radius of 20 miles you won’t find Monte Carlo, Eze, Beaulieu and Villefranche and in the other direction Antibes and Cannes. It proved an inspired choice  as with these resorts their season doesn’t commence until mid April whilst Nice and especially the old town is lively the year round.

Add to this wonderful restaurants, a market selling fresh produce of high quality everyday, an Opera House, the finest Promenade on which to stretch the legs, a Marina , beautifully laid-out pedestrian centre and an efficient electronic tram and you have a city rich in amenity and character.

For  the Last  Suppr I kook the Dexters and the Rusters to La Petote Masion. . We experienced the now familiar absence of any form of greeting, the head waiter was chatting to a vendor of strawberries until he finally condescended  to seat us. I had given the lively Frank, our waiter last  time, a handsome tip but Jocleyn  forewarned us they liked to put   les Anglais in the  interior. We were shoved into a corner on the terrace but worst next to 4 smokers so we decamped Inside but at least we had a Frank table . He did no nomral trick of giving me a memu with blanks  paper and said I could order what I liked. We ate well though  my sole was average, the sauce too buttery and no vegetables. The restaurant came to life with the birthdays. Instead of that rather cheesy Happy Birthday. they played the theme from “Un Homme te Une Femme”. This led to much discussion who as to who the stars were and a text to Neil Rosen settled the debate with Jean Loius Trattignant   and Anouk Aimee, the director being Claude Lelouch.

To quote General  Macarthur

” I shall return”