Flea Market, Pizza and Spot of Shopping...

Every 3rd Saturday of the month in the Place Garibaldi in Nice, you can find a delightful outdoor flea/antique market. We have been 3 times,including the time we first stumbled upon it much to our pleasure at the tail end of summer...and as luck would have it,each time since,the weather has been glorious and the folk aplenty.

There is something for everyone and if, like me you love to find a bargain, to root around in treasures of old and find a little gem you'll enjoy this little forage. I collect glass as in vases or ashtrays...anything that has a tactile shape and mostly small enough to hold in one hand but there is always an exception to that rule.
The mood is one of cheer in this doom and gloom atmosphere we find ourselves unceremoniously flung in and whether you find your pleasure in some little knickknack or not, it makes for a fun day out.

You are not far from the "Quartier D'Antiquaires" of Nice  and some seriously dog shit infested streets...a real shame. I let down my guard for one second and ....splodge.
S##T! 
There wasn't enough surface in the whole of Nice to scrap that crap off my shoes...had they not been my special order Frockanrolla Nikes..I would have tossed them.

Back to antiques or rather lack of...for there were more closed doors than there were opportunities to walk in and potter.Were some of them manning their stalls at the market? Maybe...But most,as we were told, don't even bother coming into their shops anymore,preferring to post their phone numbers on their locked doors for you to call if the urge arose...how lucrative!

So we doubled back round to the Place Garibaldi and came across an unexpected sight: a 21st century Dickensian curiosity shop "Chambre Cinquante Sept".It is an absolute treasure trove of industrial style furniture, tribal art and wonderful curios that skim the edge of weird and wonderful by still remaining chic and stylish. 
An absolute delight and ideal for gifts especially for those who have everything...except maybe an eerily translucent baby jellyfish suspended in a resin dome...

Eating : If you LOVE all things seafood as in "Plateau de Fruits de Mer" then the "Cafe de Turin" is the place for you and it also happens to be on the Place Garibaldi. I went many,many years ago and the place is always heaving with people...you can't reserve but the establishment has been around for years and the seafood is fresh and the white wine chilled to perfection. My BF is not an aficionado ....his preference, at least on that day was....PIZZA!

...And the "Villa D'Este"in the heart of Nice's shopping area on rue Massena is the place to go for good solid Italian food . It is always packed so I recommend you get there early to be seated as soon as you walk in, anytime after 12.30pm on a Saturday otherwise you will have to join the queue and salivate while you wait. The pizzas are really good, doughy and pack a punch,the portions on the whole are generous just as in their sister restaurant "La Voglia" in the Old Nice. Now there you get portions that are not only generous but gargantuan! Just ask for the chocolate mousse for desert...it will come in a salad bowl.... I kid you not.
Come with an appetite...and leave with your trousers around your ankles...'cos buttons will be a-poppin'.

Shopping:I headed to "American Vintage"on the rue Massena ...it is a French Label that has nothing American nor thrift shop about it... (the French love all things americana)It is a French-ly chic and stylish "American Apparel"....but all style and far better substance. A great place for sports wear namely cotton tops and knits....Very trendy, mid market and popular. 
Word to the wise : stay away from some of the knitwear...choose diligently and ask whether it will bobble . Keep the receipt handy and wear it twice,this is all it took to render my gorgeous caramel coloured cardigan (in a wool mix as soft as a peach) into a rag....the likes of which could be found on a char lady back in late 1800's.
This was the 2nd cardigan that broke out with a bad case of the piling I have bought from "American Vintage"...are they trying to be literal with their use of the word vintage? So I stick to buying their tops, tunics, cotton dresses(great for pool and beach wear) as well as jackets and lounge wear...shame about the sweaters though...
Twice bitten, definitely shy away.

Chambre Cinquante Sept :16, Rue Emmanuel Philibert,06300 NICE 

Cafe Turin : 5, Place Garibaldi, 06300 NICE (NO RESERVATIONS)
Villa D'Este : 6, Rue Massena, 06000 NICE
La Voglia : 2, Rue Saint Francoise de Paule, 06300 NICE
American Vintage : rue Massena, 06000 NICE and rue d'Antibes, 06400 CANNES

http://am-vintage.com/