Day #7 Villa Rothschild and a fabulous restaurant

 Good morning from France! The trip is winding down, and for some reason I'm up really, really early so you get a blog post. Day #7 was more beautiful things - beautiful homes, gardens and food. We visited the Villa Rothschild in the morning, then in the afternoon there was an optional trip to Eze. I didn't think there was enough time to look around in Eze, and there was also a restaurant I really, really wanted to go to so I stayed behind. Definitely the right choice - more on that later. 

The Villa Rothschild was absolutely beautiful. Originally built by the Ephrussi family and later gifted to the Rothschilds, it's a beautiful piece of Belle Epoque architecture. It also featured some gardens that were amazing. On a related note - the houses (Maisons) in the surrounding area were fantastic as well. Several of us decided it would be a great idea to pool our money and rent one. It should only take about 80+ of us..... 

.....and the dinner! I had read about a tiny restaurant located off a side street in Nice called La Cucina. When I say tiny, I mean it could only hold about 10 people, max. It's run by 2 brothers and their mom, and the food was supposed to be amazing. La Cucina doesn't open until 6:30pm, but people are regularly lining up by 5:30pm to get a seat. I arrived right at 5:30pm and was (very politely) told there was no way in he^& I was getting a seat, people had already beaten me to the punch. The waiter and I went back and forth in discussion for a while, until (just as I was about to give up and walk away), his expression changed and he said "Well, we can squeeze one more table in the back. Let's get you into the line." Success! I waited for over an hour, but it was totally worth it. Lamb so tender it fell off the bone, delicious rose wine, and lovely tiramisu. Surrounding me was a table from Denmark, a table from the USA, one from Canada, and me. In a French / Italian restaurant. Truly an international experience. 

.....and now, the pictures! 

Some of the mansions surrounding the Villa. Please note the perfectly manicured gardens, the swimming pool, the walkways...... 

Me! 

Gardens, views, and one of me! :) 

La Cucina. If you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't find it. Off the side alley of a side alley. 

Sangria while I was waiting in line.....

Dinner. Lamb with mashed potatoes (mashed?) and Rose. 

Tiramisu and a shot of limoncello for dessert. I had to (discreetly)) google how to drink the limoncello while I was sitting there. You're supposed to sip it as a palate cleanser. 

This was the entire restaurant. The tables you can see are all the tables that existed. The kitchen was behind the back wall. All open air and yummy!

The line waiting was 20 people deep by the time I left...... They had been told to expect a 2+ hour wait. The waiter said this was an everyday occurrence.