French Riviera

With the skies open, it was the first time (besides Israel) that we had left the States in two-and-a-half years. Rules were changing for the better. I used points to book our hotel and the euro and American dollar had almost the same rate of exchange.

We flew into Nice on a direct flight from New York. Neomi and her husband Roger picked us up; they had driven the six hours from Zurich so we would have a car. Our first stop was in Nice, to the large Super K kosher supermarket, where we picked up snacks, cheeses, and some food for Shalosh Seudos. I was so excited to see such a well-stocked supermarket, with familiar goods such as Tuscanini and Osem products, Kedem grape juice, and also tons of items I had never seen before, such as salted hard salami, smoked tuna, and foie gras. From there we drove to Cannes, which we called home for the next few days. Our hotel, Best Western Cannes Riviera, was right next door to the shul, and an eight-minute walk to a Chabad minyan, too. After resting and unpacking, we headed to Juan les Pins, a fifteen-minute drive and the next town over from Cannes.

Juan Les Pins is a year-round community with lots of restaurants right around the touristy area of the beach. We walked along the boardwalk, dipped our feet in the water, and had delicious coffee. Walking around, we counted five restaurants in a one-and-a-half-block radius.

Dinner that night was back in Cannes, right on the promenade, Croisette. I wanted to try as much French cuisine as possible. Some of the food we ate was pâté foie gras, beef tartare, pan-seared duck, and Planche De Boutargue, which consists of mullet fish eggs that were dried, pressed, salted, and sliced thin.