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Le Marché Provençal The daily covered market in the centre of the walled old city is one of the best I’ve ever been to. Tables groan under the bounty of Southern France: spices and lavender, olives and oils, fig vinegar and jams with violet, hibiscus and lavender. Amazing vegetables of jewel-like colours, glistening celery, dried fruit, salt from the Camargue, colourful Italian pasta, gold medal winning saucissons from Corsica on the stall of “Tony and Nadia”, skewers strung with meat, peppers and onions, slathered in fresh pesto that make you long to light the barbecue, cheese and yoghurts. Giant courgette flowers ripe for stuffing, truffleeverything from mustard to oil and pasta, macarons in every colour, flowers and berries. Nature is clearly kind in this part of France and the bounty is well… bountiful. For the best bread, it’s a stone’s throw from the market to Boulangerie Veziano (2 rue de la Pompe). Baker Jean-Paul Veziano made the bread for the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco and is famous for this Main de Nice bread. Literally translated as ‘hand of Nice’ this once traditional bread is rarely to be seen in the south of France. And when the market ends around mid-day, the square is covered with tables and chairs from the surrounding bars and restaurants. A town of art and culture Antibes has lured many artists. Graham Greene lived in a modest apartment here for 24 years and lunched most days at Café Felix (still there) by the archway to the port. Russian-born artist Nicolas de Staël lived and worked here, unhappy in love and lacking confidence in his own talent , a dawn to dusk painter, he jumped to his death from his studio, marked with a plaque, overlooking the beach. It’s still very arty. All along the Boulevard d’Auillon, the former casemates, rooms in the rampart wall, have been converted to artists ateliers including potters, painters, 46 | The Good Life France
ceramicists, and master glassblower, Didier Saba. Fulfil your literary desire for English language books at Antibes Books. It’s a lovely bookshop and my opinion has zero to do with the fact that I did a double take when I went in and saw all three of my own books in the best sellers and new releases sections! Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder Absinthe was a favourite drink of many artists from Van Gogh to Picasso. Find out what they loved about it at the fabulous absinthe bar (25 Cours Masséna). Three generations have run the bar and serve 50 varieties of the “green fairy.” I have to say, it was my first time and it was much nicer than I expected. Slightly liquorice-y, sweet, refreshing and rather surprisingly not strongly alcoholic tasting! It’s served the correct way, ice cold water drips from a fountain on the table, through a lump of sugar on a flat silver spoon to dilute the pure absinthe. And all this inside a former Roman well where you are encouraged to wear an old-fashioned hat from a selection – just as they did in the old days! Safranier district There is a flowery little corner of Antibes known as the Safranier district which is a ‘free commune.’ Created in the 1960s, this small area has its own Mayor who is powerless but whose job it is to organise festivities year-round! This includes the making of a record-breaking yule log at Christmas which measures some 14 metres. It’s a great place to go for a meal or an aperitif and soak up the fun atmosphere. Head to café Lilian Bonnefoi, the restaurant of head pastry chef at the very prestigious hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, in Place Safranier. It’s also a cake-making laboratory, where you can take cookery lessons and or enjoy a gourmet coffee break treat. Lilian Bonnefoi The Good Life France | 47
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