Menton, part deux.

Lunch! We had a great lunch at Mirazur. Marc emailed the person whom he was previously in contact with about a stage at Mirazur and said we were coming for lunch and he would like to say hello and meet in person....it was a great idea. They (the kitchen anyways) treated us well! We got a couple extra dishes and the Front of House managers were very sweet and had a lot of interest in Marc. Our waiter, unfortunately, was pretty bad...or not eager to serve the youngest (and scruffiest looking) people in the restaurant.

On our way...

A little early so we take in the views outside Mirazur (also right at the Italian border)

The view from our table

The lunch menu...

...and the cheaper lunch menu we opted for.

And the food begins... You are going to hate me as I hardly knew what we ate (sorry, Marc's not here to tell either) :)
Amuse.

First delicious bite!

Bread served with housemade citrus olive oil (being as Menton is known for it's lemons, lots of the lunchers were buying this by the bottle).

A carpaccio of something fresh and seasonal :)

An extra course for Marc (potato and truffle I believe)

...and an extra course for me (artichoke and truffle)

The dining room. (The woman beside me took notes during her entire meal...critic?)

Our entrees...chicken and pork...I think :)

Marc just met the Chef!

My dessert, not too sweet, maybe a sour cream ice cream and some other stuff :)

...and an extra dessert for Marc (something citrus-y)

Dessert wine from Corsica...oh so sweet!

And the last of our petit fours. We forgot to take a picture of the other 3 that were on the plate...our stomachs were too eager, the food was amazing!

With it being a gorgeous day, and almost an hour walk back to our hotel, our full bellies and big smiles were happy for the walk :) :) :)

Menton, part un.

We took the train from Milan, and managed to have a charades-type conversation with a cute old Italian lady across from us. She was very excited to hear Marc was a chef and quickly told all the other ladies who later sat in our area at the following stops. Menton is right on the Italian border, Ventimiglia is it's neighbour on the Italian side (and according to our Milano hostel roommate, it is where mafia guys too old, and hence too expensive, to keep in prison are shipped to).

We loved Menton! It is a small city, or maybe you could classify it as a large town, either way, it's great. By far, we were the youngest people in town. Everything was clean and pretty and the surrounding landscape was mountains and sea. This is the original place where Marc wanted to stage, at Mirazur, unfortunately it did not end up working out (but we did go to there for lunch, Marc was all smiles, that will be a blog post on it's own).

The view from our hotel (there are really no bad views in Menton).

Our first day, and already so happy (...according to Marc, I'm waving at an armless man in this picture).

In the neighbouring town, Roque-Martin, looking at Menton.

Everything's pretty!

Italy another km? Let's go!

The end of Menton...

...Italy on our left...

...France on our right.

The next day we followed a seaside path in the other direction...

...2 hours later, we were in Monaco. (Notice the racing curbs here...)

A 1Euro train ride, over a 2hr walk back, was the obvious choice of transportation back to Menton. Monaco's train station seemed futuristic. The whole tiny city was incredible, with unbelievable luxury yachts that you never thought would exist, and public elevators to navigate the steep streets.

Un express & une cafe creme (good in whatever European country you're in).

Our last night in Menton, we checked out some pretty views and quaint little side streets. Italy is behind me here.

...but before we leave Menton, you have to visit Mirazur and attend the annual citrus festival...

MXP.

Milano! You know...while we were in Milan, we didn't think there was much to like about the city, but looking at my pictures to post for this blog, I think I change my mind. It's got gritty parts, and seems that most of the city is under construction, but I think we also found some great things in a short stay.

Our hostel - basically like the pension in Barcelona. It was rooms rented out of a house, a newly renovated house with a shared courtyard entrance and private rooftop patio.

A view from the rooftop.

One of the reasons we went to Milano....pizza.

But we found some other interesting sites too...like Marc at "The Last Supper". We had no clue the original painting was on the wall of an abbey in Milan (until we got there). Unfortunately you must reserve tickets at least a month in advance, and they only allow a max. of 25ppl per 30min viewing. We toured the area anyways, took a picture of this poster outside, then happened to run into an Italian couple with an extra pair of tickets!! So 10mins later, and for 8 Euros each, we were being corralled through different enclosures, where they sealed one door and then waited a few minutes before opening the next. I think it was a sort of human dehumidifier. In the end, it was pretty incredible to be in this refectory with such a history and knowing we were looking at 100% authentic art (whereas at the louvre, who knows if the Mona Lisa is actually the original when you're pinned 50 feet back).

They most certainly do! Everyone wears black (even moreso than we noticed in Paris) and sunglasses are a must.

A famous square (outdoor mall of sorts) with major designers at these corners (and a McDonalds to my right...incredible how McD's is in a prime high fashion spot).

Fashionable Milanese, always looking top notch, and often shopping for more.

The central part of the city is really pretty. The tram runs throughout and there are lots of overhanging lights, like you can see in this first picture.

...and pretty balconies on all the old buildings, usually with greenery, sometimes with less obvious ornaments like umbrellas.

We wandered through this cemetery. Some of the monuments were enormous and there was a newer one that had lots of viewers coming and going (I am making a huge guess and imagining they were mafia family).

Italian pastries are amazing, and they make lots of things with Nutella.

Being Milanese in Milano.

BCN.

Barcelona was a nice surprise. Great for viewing architecture and the odd/colourful/funny/random buildings scattered throughout the city (google Gaudi). Tapas, sangria, and cerveza aren't too bad either! We had 3 nights here, mostly rainy days, but still loved it.

The view from our pension. (We thought Pension was the name of the hostel we booked online, turns out it basically means a room to rent in someone's home. We stayed with a German woman, Marion, who had been in Barcelona for 10 years, but we were one of her last guests as she wants to leave Barcelona because of "confusing Arabs" and changing Pension laws).

TAPAS :)
...we stumbled across a little gem of a restaurant

La Sagrada Familia: A famous church that will take over 125 years to complete.

A pretty park we stumbled across. ("stumbling" worked out pretty well for us in Barcelona!)

...why not start off a rainy day with French toast?
...or should we say, Spanish toast?! Muy delicious

Huge daily market, Marc was inspired.

...we started having warmer weather (and subsequently higher spirits) in Barcelona, so stumbling across a cheap flight to Milano, we were off again...boy oh boy was this city boring (but worth it in the end).