Peace de Nice

So I just got back from a week-long vacation in the south of France. I went to Nice to visit my very good friend Catherine and her boyfriend, Fred. I was hoping for a week of sea, sun, and relaxation with old pals, but in the end I got a week of cooking, eating, tasting various wines and movie marathons because it rained EVERYDAY! I was so disappointed! But we did throw a mean Halloween party and I met some really cool friends of my hosts.
Aside from the rain that was eerily reminiscent of Rennes, Nice couldn’t be any more different from my currevt city of residence. First of all, it’s a coastal city with a port, a lighthouse, and beaches as far as the eyes can see - you can see Monaco to the left and Cannes to the right - not a bad view! Secondly, the local cuisine was extremely different. Instead of crepes the nicois have Socca. A big, thin pancake type thing made out of chick pea flour, olive oil, eggs, and spices. This is traditionally eaten at the apero (before dinner drink) with a glass of rose wine. Otherwise there is the Salad Nicoise, my favorite salad, consisting of lettuce, green beans, potatoes, tuna, boiled eggs and sardines. There are Pizzerias galore and bistros that serve local plats like legumes farcis (veggies stuffed with meat and spices) and beingets des fruit de mer (seafood tempura).
However, the most shocking difference between Rennes and Nice was the people. Rennes is a pretty laid-back university town with a lot of hippie students and simple, quiet people. The Rennais remind me a lot of the English; they are very reserved and keep to themselves until the soiree begins. After a couple of beers they become very friendly and often humorous. The Nicoisemay be the exact opposite. They are loud, flashy (often just plain tacky), and verging on rude. In fact, I saw no difference in a nicois sober and a nicois after a few pints. There are also a lot of rich people on the cote d’azur who drive the flashiest cars, own yatchs, and live in their own exclusive neighborhoods.
During my week in Nice I had a few notable encounters with the locals: My first or second day there I went shopping with Catherine to get groceries for our evening meal. We ended up at the local Monoprix looking for a certain flour to make crepes and a nice bottle of rose which we found without a problem. But as we climbed the stairs to make our way to the check-out, two men dressed very sharp stopped us and said “You two are very beautiful,” In their southern french accent. When we checked out we warned the cashier that there were two men pretending to be employers that were bothering the customers. She asked, “Are they dressed in black with darker skin, about in their forties?” We responded in the affirmative. “Oh, unfortunately they work here - they’re the security guards. We’ve had young girls complain before. Sorry about that.” WTF? This is apparently normal.
Second strange encounter: Another grocery store cashier who completely ignored her customers and practically threw our purchases at us. Instead of the Bonjour you are always greeted with in Rennes, nothing. She was too busy talking on her cell to her boyfriend about how much she hated her job.
Last encounter: I was on the metro on the way to the train station when suddenly a man yelled out in a strong African accent: “Tomorrow, a black man will lead the most powerful nation in the world. You’ll see, I know these things.” There was a pause followed by, “Sarkozy (French president) is a (insert profanity). He doesn’t want Africans here. He won’t be reelected. I KNOW these things!” Then when everyone had stopped laughing and thought the man finished with his fortun-telling, he added one last prediction: “You’re all going to die one day! Hahahaha! Me too! Believe me, I KNOW EVERYHTING!” I think this last guy was the most sain of all.