Salade Niçoise

So. After a sufficient amount of beauty-sleep I have downloaded my photos from the camera and can show you some highlights. Once more, we were reminded where the Côte d’Azur gets its name from. The shades of blue (no alterations in post-production, mind) are amazing: 


On Saturday, we set our alarms to make it to the beach early(ish) in the morning and on the way there actually got to see the produce market which in the afternoon is replaced by souvenirs and crafts. The selection of locally grown organic tomatoes was quite impressive:
The day we arrived, July 14, was Bastille Day, which was celebrated not only with a military parade on the Promenade des Anglais, but also fireworks:


Laundry, hung to dry "Mediterranean style" in the Old Town:

The Promenade by Night: so pretty! After I took the photo below, we went to the Old Port, which had been partly turned into a pedestrian zone since I last saw it, and had dinner there. Two restaurants down from ours, there was a DJ playing dancefloor classics, which prompted passers-by to put down their shopping bags and beach paraphernalia to start dancing. He even played YMCA and it was only the fact that I was armed with knife and fork that kept me from lifting my hands in the air. I don't know if the party mood had to do with the fact that the Pink Parade had taken place the same afternoon, or if this happens every Saturday night in Nice. 

I also don't know if the gentleman on the photo below took part in the Pink Parade, either, but he and his neighbour (who wore white diva-esque sunglasses) entertained us by painstakingly adjusting their bathing trunks to get maximum UV-exposure. Check out the eye-covers:

Whereas Mademoiselle and MAF are flying back on Thursday, I had to return on Sunday already. My last lunch was rounded off by goodies from a patisserie, donated by MAF. Yum, yum!

I know from experience that it can be problematic to go on vacation as a "threesome", but I had a great time and laughed more or less non-stop. The apartment where we stayed was a source of amusement in itself: The landlady, a friend of Mlle,  recently sold the old apartment and bought a bigger one in a rather run-down old house. They split it into a smaller section for renting (where we stayed) and a big one, where the family are going to live. The husband (earning his living in the construction industry, so an alleged pro) is currently redoing it, but there's still a long way to go and the "finished" apartment also had some interesting and rather unorthodox features. When he let us in upon our arrival, he was the antidote to an over-eager real-estate agent, focussing on the negative things instead. I learned a new piece of vocabulary though: chantier (building site).