Originally we had planned to stay at the Auberge de la Madone, in Peillon (a perched village above Nice http://www.beyond.fr/villages/peillon.html). It's a very special place with gorgeous views and a restaurant that is just the best. (Mr. Gabriel Mariani, a prominent sculptor whose work I love, lived there for many years.) When we were unable to secure reservations at the Auberge, we decided to stay in Nice along the seafront on the Promenade des Anglais.
The Albert 1st Hotel was strategically located between the flower market (cours Saleya) and the Hotel Negresco, where Le Chantecler is located. As an added bonus there were several casinos nearby where we could attempt to recoup some of the euros that were flying out of our wallets.
After settling into our hotel, we were off to the market to browse and grab a bite to eat (not much mind you since we would be having our finest dinner of the entire trip that evening!) Then a disaster of sorts struck. Shortly after arriving at the market, Skip realized that he had left his rings in a drawer in our bedroom in Bormes. Panic ensued, and at least for me, the meal at the market was just a blur and I had to practically choke the food down.
We finally were able to talk with Jock, the caretaker of the property in Bormes, and he was able to secure the rings. Then began the saga of how to get them back to us. It's too much to go into right now, but suffice it to say that now, one week later, we still don't have the rings. They are on their way to the US via French courier, by a method that allows them to be insured and supposedly tracked. For the rest of the trip and even until today, the ring saga seemed unending and every time that we thought things were sorted out, there would be a setback. We hope that they arrive as scheduled some time during the first week of October. I'll be sure to post that bit of good news.
Our dinner at Le Chantecler did not disappoint us. It was stellar in every respect!! We opted for the chef's tasting menu and asked the sommelier to select the wines for each course. The pictures that I took with my iPhone do not do the meal justice. Each dish was a work of art and an absolute delight to the palate!!! And the wines were superb and perfectly paired!
Oh, remember that I mentioned Mr. Gabriel Mariani, the sculptor from Peillon. Well, on each table at Le Chantecler there was a piece of sculpture that I recognized. I remembered that in 2000 when Skip and I were in Peillon, Mr. Mariani had an apprentice working with him. We liked the apprentice's work and bought one of his pieces. The pieces on the tables looked very much like a piece that I bought over a decade ago. I asked the waiter about the sculpture and he showed me a portfolio of the sculptor, a man named Mr. Jean-Louis LAUDRAUD. After returning home I checked my piece and lo and behold IT IS BY THE SAME SCULPTOR, Jean-Louis LAUDRAUD!! The name of my piece is "Reves" and it was cast on June 27, 2000. Here's a link to his current works: http://www.jean-louislandraud.com/?glang=en.
Here's are pictures of my "Reves". Now it seems readily apparent the pieces are by the same artist. My piece is actually the same dark brown as the one at Le Chantecler, but the flash on my camera lightened the image up.
Except for the ring thing, our short stay in Nice was really nice! Skip won about 100 euros in the casino, but sadly it did little to dent my casino losses or our overall expenses. We left Nice with a few more pounds than when we arrived, but hey, why come to France if you are not going to delight in all that it has to offer?
