19th July 2014 - Au Revoir! (Holiday Day 8!)

Morning is here and time to get our sh!t together and leave this wonderful vista to go home. To Scallyville. Great.

We had to be out of the apartment at 10am (!!!) hence the rush to pack last night. We got everything done with plenty of time left so were able to sit and chill and enjoy the view for the final few minutes before we filled the car to the brim and headed to the airport.

It was a relatively quick journey to the airport from the apartment with our final views of the lovely blue of the sea. :( Once we got there and had a rearrange of all the luggage, we headed straight for the restaurant, as always to chill and read, have a brew and wait for our check in. We always have to get here really early so Paul's parents can get on their merry way to their next destination.

I tried to blog, but the airport wifi sucked and the battery on my laptop had 92% in it which it estimated would last about 19 minutes. I think I need a new battery.

As soon as the cafe next door opened we headed in there for brunch. Paul got us an assortment of dishes, including this meat tagine-y stew thing, with couscous which was not bad at all.

He also got an inoffensive salad just in case the other was crap!

We ate it all and rehydrated. We also saw a chap with his cat on a lead. So cute! A little brown tabby, curious of the world but restrained by the lead. :( I wanted to make friends with it but it couldn't get close enough to me. I probably would have tried to steal it, so it's best that it couldn't. I suppose.

Once we were confident that that check in was open, we headed to the counter to check our luggage.

The way out of the restaurant to the escalators. Paul said it feels like he's on the Starship Enterprise. It's quite cool though.

Speedy Boarding at Nice Airport does not make it speedy. Regular boarding would have been quicker. Some dude in front of us decided he wanted to check some luggage that he hadn't previously paid for so had to sort all that. It took ages. We were cranky.

Once we had FINALLY checked our luggage, we headed through towards the gate. It's all a bit chaotic at Nice Airport. Plus there is very little to do. The 'Duty Free' section is RUBBISH and not very friendly. We end up just going straight to the gate and having a beer while we wait for it to open.

Which we did. Paul queued for ages so got us two beers each! Probably wise. Except the plane was delayed. Instead of 14:10 when it was supposed to open, it wasn't going to open until 15:55. GREAT.

So we had another beer and a cheese and ham panini.

We were slightly tipsy by the time they opened the gate. Meh, it's their own fault. Still, we were able to board the plane and find our seats without any problems. We were on a wing again which is worrying in our little merry state that we're in charge of looking after the exit in an emergency.

Paul's look of panic that I will be making sure we're all safe!

The plane took off and Paul slept for a while. I read, which was nice, but couldn't sleep.

The drinks trolley came round and Paul woke up, getting himself a couple of beers and me something special...

Prosecco at 30,000 feet...don't mind if I do! :)

Tipsy Caroline is happy about this! :)

We got back to Liverpool in one piece but sadly due to the delay we weren't able to pick up the cats from the cattery. This sucks. I should sue QuesyJet for the cost of that extra night in the cattery.

We got in and Paul popped to the shops to get some breakfast stuff and I unpacked a little to start the washing. We then ordered chinese takeaway and watched some tv. The chinese took so long to arrive that Paul took himself off to bed before it arrived. Although it came fairly soon after he went to bed so he got back up and we devoured our starter, leaving our meals for tomorrow as it was getting late.

Paul went to bed, I watched more tv, then gave up myself and came to bed too. Got to be up early tomorrow to pick up the kitties!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

18th July 2014 - Wayne's World! (Holiday Day 7!)

It's the last full day of our holiday today. Boo. I hate this day.

Determined for it not to just be a day of packing and misery we decided to head into Nice to do a little shopping and our last dregs of relaxation! So we beached there instead!

We've never been to the beach there before, so this is all new for us! It's a very rocky beach but we found a section which was mostly sand so set up camp there fore a few hours!

Check out the colour of that water! That's Cote d'Azur blue and I love it!

It was very breezy on this beach so we could have easily sat there for hours slowly frazzling in the hot hot sunshine! We didn't though. We only did it for a couple of hours, had some water then headed into Nice for some lunch.

Paul knew exactly where he wanted to take me for lunch so we scoured the streets until we found it.

Another. English. Pub.

He's so proud of himself!

It was quite a cool little place, to be fair. Very quirky. We ordered some lunch and waited to see what they'd come up with! Paul had Tuna Nicoise salad:

I had a chicken and bacon club sandwich...

It was totally yummy. Best sandwich I've had for a LONG time!

After lunch we wandered around the town for a little while having a look at the lovely tacky presents that were on offer and purchased a few beauties for our regular crew! We then went for a drink. Because that's what we do!

I love these lamp-posts but am confused as to why the clock is called Brian. Although I suppose if you're naming a clock, Brian is a good name. I had a fish called Brian once. The other fish ate his tail and he died. Sad times.

Anyway!

This is the place opposite where we were drinking. It's a pretty Mediterranean building. I like it!

When we were 'tat' shopping for our gifts, we also bought ourselves a gift. We usually buy it and this year is no exception.

This is the best olive oil we have ever tasted!

We enjoyed our drinky-poos and watched the world go by for a little while. There used to be street performers at this time but sadly not today. :(

You can see why Paul's drink cost more than mine!

We headed back to the apartment and started getting packed up. I hate this part. Always makes me a little sad. Plus it also makes me feel a little annoyed! We've only just unpacked!

I haven't had a 2 week holiday since I was a kid and I'm starting to think that might be a good idea! At least it makes it worth while unpacking your suitcase!

Once we were all packed up we sat on the balcony for a while and drank the posh pink champagne we had bought Paul's Mum for her birthday. It was nice! I filled up my glass and headed for the shower, then we headed down to the trusty restaurant at the bottom of the hill for our final dinner.

I had a meat platter.

There was salad underneath there, promise! It was good! Just a lot of cured meats. They used to do this sort of thing with a baked Camembert, which went down a treat between two of us. Shame they don't do it any more and haven't for many years! Bring it back!

Whilst sitting, feeling stuffed, we noticed on the wall next to me there was a buzzer. Paul kept daring me to press it and I said no.

If you think we left without him pressing it, you really haven't learnt anything about my husband, have you! ;)

We headed back up the hill and had a couple more drinks then I headed inside to finish as much of the packing as I could, only stopping to top up my glass! I'm good like that!

It was a pretty night view!

Once all the packing was satisfactorily done, it was time to head to bed before the epic day of sitting around an airport tomorrow commences. Sigh.

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

17th July 2014 - Hello Mr Blue Sky! (Holiday Day 6!)

4 years ago today (ish), a little black kitten with a tiny little voice came into the world. 4 years later he's not so small but still has a tiny little beep! Happy 4th Birthday, Barney Eric Kirkham!

It's another hot hot hot day here in Villefranche so I think it calls for another day on the beach! YEAH!

We creamed ourselves up good and proper with all the best intentions of being more vigilant at it, then wandered down the very steep hills to our little spot on the beach. We decided to not go quite as far down the beach this time, onto less rocky shores. It was nice. Different, but nice!

We stayed there a good long while and it was very good. We had a dip in the water which was still chilly but as we were both ridiculously warm, it was refreshing!

We dried off and then headed to one of the little pop-up cafes next to the beach for a sandwich. They were ok. Nothing special but then at the same time they weren't overly expensive and were delivered very quickly! The staff at this place are completely the opposite of where we were the other day!

We had a bit of a chill after lunch then headed back to find our towels were still in place so we lay out some more. It was REALLY warm! Just what we wanted! I was casually reading my book, lying on my stomach when all of a sudden I had the wind knocked out of me. I had been hit by a ball that some lads were playing with. They didn't even apologise to me. They put their hand up in recognition to Paul but not to the person that they hit. I was going to go kick off at them in my best scally Liverpool voice but thought better of it and went for a paddle instead. Where I got stalked by fish in the shallow waters! I wish I had my camera to take a picture of how close they were getting! I was scared of treading on them, they were that close to me!

After our swim and dry off we headed back along the harbour road, stopping to have another quick drink at the same bar we went to a couple of days previously. This time we managed to get a seat right on the water front so we got an even better view!

My future home again!

Or that one! I could live there!

We booked a table at a restaurant just down the road from the bar and then headed back home to the apartment for a pretty quick change over before heading back for our table! All 4 of us ready in an hour! It's a miracle!

The restaurant wasn't amazing. It was ok, but not amazing. Paul had some finger food which was pretty disappointing, Paul's Mum had salmon linguine which she didn't like very much so Paul ate some of that too. Paul's Dad and I had a steak-thing, with shallot sauce and creamed potatoes. I really liked it. Paul's Dad didn't.

So we all had pudding! I couldn't come to France and not have my favourite pudding at least once, right?

Mmmm, Creme Brulee! I mean, look at it! AMAZING!

Burnt sugar...Mmmmm!

We asked for the bill and were waiting a flaming long time so Paul's Dad went in to pay. It's only when we got back to the apartment that we realised that they'd added a whole extra main course to the bill and Paul's Dad hadn't noticed. What's worse is that it was more expensive than any of the meals we had actually ordered. Not impressed, restaurant. We won't be coming back.

We had a couple of drinks and watched the night for a while then headed to bed so we could get a good night's sleep before the last full day of holiday tomorrow. WAAA!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

16th July 2014 - Antibes! (Holiday Day 5!)

It was a bit of a cloudy day today. Which is fine. We got up and had breakfast on the balcony, as is the rules of holiday! Paul's Mum then informed us that the blind fitters were coming to install a new shade this morning. Ok, not a problem. We decided that we wouldn't do another beach day today like we'd originally planned as I was still a little tender from yesterday plus it wasn't the sunniest day that the week had in store.

Instead, we waited for the blind fitters to do their thing then decided to head out on a road trip to Antibes!

We hadn't been there before, so it made a nice change. Except the traffic. That wasn't fun. Shouldn't have taken us anywhere near the time it did for us to get there but at least we made it!

We looked around for somewhere to go for a quick drink and stumbled across a bar called The Blue Lady. Another English pub. I think we attract them. It was right next door to an English supermarket as well! Unbelievable!

We then decided to have a wander, just Paul and I. We had a little look at a few restaurants, thinking we should have a little snack or something and settled on one nearby, but sadly I can't remember the name of it. I ordered a small carafe of rose and Paul ordered a serious beer. Honestly, that's what it was called!

I think he's supposed to look serious here. I think he looks mostly sad. :(

We ordered a pasta dish in a creamy tomato and vodka sauce to share so we had a little something to stop us getting hangry. Sure enough, as we finished, Paul's parents' appeared and sat with us. They had something to eat as well, but had one dish each.

They offered to pay, so we headed off for another look around, which was nice! It's a very pretty place indeed and not as pretentious as other southern-France locations we have visited, mentioning no names *cough*Cannes*cough.

My casual relaxed viewing out to sea doesn't look quite as casual or relaxed as I thought it did. Must work the poses better!

We headed back to the car and headed home. Instead of going out, we decided to eat in tonight...with a takeaway! So Paul and I went to get a few things from the shops and lugged it back up the hill for dinner. Couple of pizzas, salad, chips...can't go wrong!

We sat out and watched the world go by for one more day, as the downhill spiral to the end of the holiday starts. :(

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

15th July 2014 - Time to be a beach bum! (Holiday Day 4!)

This morning, once we got up it was decided pretty quickly that today was going to be a beach day. Our first of hopefully many!

We had a look around and found our beach mats and brolly that we'd left there last year. They were a little bit worse for wear but not totally unusable so they were packed! Paul's Dad offered to give us a lift down, which was very kind of him so we were down there at a pretty reasonable time to get a decent spot!

We relaxed, read and sunbathed for a while but we were both totally roasting it was a little gross. We went into the sea to cool down...yeah, the sea was pretty chilly, so that didn't take long!

We then went back to dry off. More reading and bathing to be done. Then a large group of french mid-teens turned up right next to where we were sitting, which was very annoying as they were very loud and messing with my calm!

We lasted for as long as we could but quite frankly they were loud and we were grumpy so we went for lunch to our 'favourite (ha!) little cafe, the Point Kom cafe! I laugh because the food is nice but the staff are REALLY bad. The service is awful and it's not the cheapest place either! But still, we had to have a galette as tradition states!

I had a 'complet'

Yep, that's a raw egg in the middle. It cooked in time, no problems.

Paul had an 'Italienne'

They were both very nice!

We chilled there in the shade for a while, watching the world go by and reading our books. It's a pretty world to watch go by!

Can't go wrong looking at that view!

We headed back to the beach and had another couple of hours of chill out, with a quick dip thrown in to cool down again! By then I was feeling pretty darn warm and was a little pink, so we started to make our way round to where Paul's Dad would later pick us up...and stopped at a bar for a quick pick me up!

More pretty views!

Once we got back to the apartment we decided to go to Nice for dinner! So we all got ready and then headed out. After a quick wander, we found somewhere to eat called Bistrot de l'Opera where we ordered our meals and they came a little bit messy! Paul and his dad had a salad for a starter which arrived at the same time as Paul's Mum's and my main course. My main course, a tagine type thing with couscous was massive! I couldn't eat it all! Not a chance! Then we waited for about an hour for the other two mains to arrive. They were a mixed grill of fresh fish and apparently was very good. In the mean time we had to order another bottle of wine and some more beer as we'd polished off the rest.

They didn't charge us for them. We took that as an apology for the longest wait for the main course we have ever had. Terrible.

It was pretty late so we headed back to the apartment for a night cap. I noticed that the moon was big and red and projecting a long reflection across the sea. Sadly my camera didn't do it justice, but trust me, it was pretty!

Then, another lavish application of after sun and bed!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013