Our Road Trip South…in search of warmer weather

We left Colmar in frigid temps (-2°C). Roadside views of snow and white frosted trees stayed with us for 2 hours. It was as if the palatte of colors included only white. (Pictures taken later in Les Echarmeaux, high in the French Alps because stopping on the roadside for pictures didn’t seem like a good idea…).

As we got further into Beaujolais – our first stop – the trees were still white but the fields were green and lovely. The mountainous drive was winding through Burgundy into Beaujolais but afforded some great views.

For 2 nights, we stayed at an old stone farm house about 5km from Chauffailles.  Hosts, Roland & Elaine, live in the other half of this ancient stone house. Our part is the original house and theirs was once the barn, which they have transformed into a sleek modern interior while maintaining the outside (with the addition of some critical infrastructure and a few large windows).

It is still very cold here. Roland had set a fire for us before we arrived so the place was cozy and warm.  In the morning, before we were even awake, he started the fire again so the downstairs was warm when we got up!

We only had one day to explore the Beaujolais countryside – Régnié, Fleury, Morgon. Many places are closed this time of year…even the Tourist Information office in Beaujeu won’t reopen until March 1!  The bulk of the wine in this region is Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages, the simple ‘vin ordinaire’ that is widely available in the US. But the best wines from the region are the cru Beaujolais that include Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleury and seven others. We happily lucked into an open winery – Domaine Dominique Piron – where the oenologist, Jean, was happy to let us taste anything in his catalogue.  We tried the lighter Fleury and Brouilly, but we had our socks knocked off by the Moulin-a-Vent and his Morgon Coté du Py! They rivaled many of our favorite Burgundies in complexity and flavor, at half the price.

It snowed overnight and our drive out of the mountains was pretty dicey.  After about 2 km of slip-sliding on a snow-covered mountain road, we returned to ask Hélène if there was an alternate route.  She said there was not, but offered to lead us down to the first village.  The roads were still dicey, but having her in front of us made us feel so much better! As we drove on to Nice, the temps continued to rise and, by the time we arrived, it was a whopping 54°F!  It didn’t stay that warm during our day and a half there, but it was certainly an improvement…and the sun shone both days.
Our apartment in Nice was very well-located, a block from the Mediterranean and an easy walk to the center of the city.  We stashed our car and used our feet to explore. Of course, we strolled the Promenade des Anglais along the beach.
     
It’s easy to see the attraction of this place…it’s a bit reminiscent of South Beach (Miami) with old beautiful buildings sandwiched between modern (and mostly uninspired) hotels and apartment buildings. Add the sunshine and beautiful blue sea…what’s not to like?
         
Nice holds a big market – beautiful and inexpensive flowers, produce, meats, fish – every day. This is held on the Cours Saleya, a broad and long plaza in Vieux Nice (old town) that is bordered by shops and sidewalk cafes. the market takes up the middle in the morning and, once the vendors go home and the city cleaners come through, the cafes expand to occupy the space under the awnings for the rest of the day.  We had a wonderful late lunch of Bouillabaisse in one of these cafes…perfect to have fish this close to the sea.


A visit to the Museé National Marc Chagall was high on our list.  This lovely space holds the largest collection of Chagall works – paintings, sculpture, mosaic, stained glass – in the world. The audio guide gave us a new appreciation for how the Old Testament inspired these vibrant colorful works.
                 

We’re off to Tuscany!  This is our first trip outside of France since September.  More from there…