Sunset at la mar

Finding La Merenda

The New York Times and various other travel websites raved about a chef-driven local cuisine hole in the wall called La Merenda in Nice. The restaurant doesn't have a phone, so the only way to go is to stop by in the morning and get your name on the list. Luckily for Simon, I don't value sleep over morning errands, but I thought I'd scope out the place before heading out the next morning to get us on the list.

Simon settled in for another full day of soccer, and I put on pretty sandals and a dress and headed to where google said La Merenda was located. I'd read that it was in an obscure place, and the address did seem far flung, but it was doable by tram, I thought. It looked to be about 10 blocks from the tram stop.


Turned out, it was 10 blocks UP from the train stop. My map did not lead me astray, but I had to climb ramps and steps and hills, on and on and on.


Every time I turned around, the vistas were breathtaking, so I carried on. I could hear forks on plates and saw families gathered around tables in their yards.













I got to the point I'd marked on the map, and there was no restaurant, only forest high above the city and a gorgeous sunset.






My feet were killing me by the time I made it back to the tram station 3 hours later, but the sunset vistas were worth it.





















































The next day, after a more thorough google search, I walked to straight to the actual address of La Merenda, about 8 minutes from our hotel, and got on the list.

Sunset in Basel

Simon and I climbed a steep hillside for a better vantage point for the sunset, with some success! Our hotel was next to a giant waterpark and sauna world / gym. We were too busy riding trains through the Berner Oberland to take advantage.