There are a couple of things to share from Cannes that didn't quite fit into the Cannes post.  So let's think of this as the Bonus DVD/Deleted Scenes part of the Cannes post.  How about a little bit of Nice?

The thing about the South of France, and the Cote d'Azur in particular, is that it's very Italian.  It's right next to Italy, so it's no surprise, really.  The people tend to gesticulate more when speaking and be more friendly in an overt kind of way.  The architecture feels more Italian, too.  If you look at Nice - the old city, the Promenade des Anglaises - it's all very beautiful and French.  But it's pretty hard not to notice that there are some distinctly Italian parts, too.  (While I don't have a photo, there were a ton of shops selling Italian food wares and fresh, handmade pasta.  Yum.)

CANNES

Maybe you thought I’d forgotten about Cannes.  Maybe you though I wasn’t going to write about it, after all.  But it’s impossible for me to forget about Cannes.  Ever.  How can someone forget about a place that helped define who they are?  I once heard one of my favorite singers, John Mayer, talk about picking up the guitar for the first time.  He said it was the moment when his life went from black and white to Technicolor.  I loved - and still love - this idea.  Cannes for me was a moment just like that – a Technicolor moment.  I studied abroad there in 2007.  I left one way and came back another.  You can practically see it in the pictures, how much I grew in those few months.  But the point is that everything that happened after Cannes was something different than before it.  And that’s why Cannes will always be special for me.

Cannes is a special place.  And not because of the stars that flock to it for a few weeks in May.  That’s why Cannes is famous and that’s why people go there.  But it’s more special because of other reasons.  My favorite time to go there is in the shoulder season, when the air is still warm and the businesses are still going, but the craziness of the whole of France amassing on it is gone.  I like the quiet balminess of Cannes, if that even makes sense.  When you arrive in Cannes you wonder what to do there, but after a day or so, you relax back into it and realize you don’t need to do anything there to feel right.  Cannes is all about calming down and chilling out, so that’s precisely what we did.

Here are some of the things The Scottish One and I did and saw on our trip to the South:

Salade Tiède de Lentilles - Warm Lentil Salad
very slightly adapted from this site

For the lentils:

1 cup small green lentils (Lentilles du Puy) 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs  (I eyeballed it with dried basil, thyme and oregano)
salt and pepper
1 cup dry white wine  (I used chicken stock)
2 cups water

For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar  (I used cider vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs  (same as above with basil thyme and oregano)
salt and pepper


For the finish
mixed salad greens
4 ounces fresh goat cheese


In a saucepan, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in herbs, salt and pepper. Add wine, water and lentils and bring to a boil.

Turn down heat and cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 30 - 40 minutes, until lentils are done. You may need to drain some water off after cooking.

Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing all of the ingredients and shaking vigorously. Pour the vinegarette on top of the warm lentils. Serve on a bed of mixed greens (a mix of baby greens would be perfect) and top with crumbled goat's cheese.

Makes 4 servings.