Weekend 1: Roquesteron
is where Roger (Row-Jay)’s family came from. His grandparents were farmers there. Roger is an ingenieur-comptrôleur (inspector) for buildings and construction projects like the train station of Monoco. He also oversaw the pyramid-like structures on the beach of Baie des Anges, a part of the Nice beachfront. Anyhow, Roquesteron is where I went with my French mom and dad the first weekend.
An hour away from Nice by car, Roquesteron is located at the valley of the ___ mountains, at the foot of which is the Var River. To get to it, we drove through hairpin turns meandering up the mountain. The narrowness of the road and how fast people were driving definitely reminded me of Sichuan, a province in the south of China, where there are no shortages of cars falling off the mountain roads. But of course, we made it through the passes, thus I am here to tell the story : )
Roger and Mireille’s house in Roquesteron is three storied with vines of climbing roses trailing from the second story. Mireille’s “baby” brother, Jean-Michel, and his wife, Marie-Élise (recent grandparents) joined us at the house. Having lived in big cities all my life, I really appreciated my weekend at Roquesteron. As soon as we arrived, all the neighbors seemed to know. Mireille and Roger’s friends came over for dinner, caught up on the latest gossip, and everyone told jokes about the Swisse, the Belge, and the Canadians. French humor is really something else.
The next day, I had my first Pan Bagnat, Niçois for “pain baigné,” bread (bowl) bathed (in olive oil, tuna, tomato, eggs, turnips, onions, and lemon juice). Mireille, Roger, and I hiked down to the Estéron River at the bottom of the valley and ate. It was absolutely delicious with a bottle of wine.
An hour away from Nice by car, Roquesteron is located at the valley of the ___ mountains, at the foot of which is the Var River. To get to it, we drove through hairpin turns meandering up the mountain. The narrowness of the road and how fast people were driving definitely reminded me of Sichuan, a province in the south of China, where there are no shortages of cars falling off the mountain roads. But of course, we made it through the passes, thus I am here to tell the story : )
Roger and Mireille’s house in Roquesteron is three storied with vines of climbing roses trailing from the second story. Mireille’s “baby” brother, Jean-Michel, and his wife, Marie-Élise (recent grandparents) joined us at the house. Having lived in big cities all my life, I really appreciated my weekend at Roquesteron. As soon as we arrived, all the neighbors seemed to know. Mireille and Roger’s friends came over for dinner, caught up on the latest gossip, and everyone told jokes about the Swisse, the Belge, and the Canadians. French humor is really something else.
The next day, I had my first Pan Bagnat, Niçois for “pain baigné,” bread (bowl) bathed (in olive oil, tuna, tomato, eggs, turnips, onions, and lemon juice). Mireille, Roger, and I hiked down to the Estéron River at the bottom of the valley and ate. It was absolutely delicious with a bottle of wine.
posted by R at 12:09 PM
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