Mark likes to tell a story from a trip to Rome he took without me, where some local he made English small-talk with warned him that he needed to stay away from “the dangerous parts of Rome.” Mark inquired what parts did he mean, and the gentleman leaned in and said, “You see, there are places here where you will pay too much for not very good food .”
I’ll just say, here in Menton we have had no dangerous experiences at all.
Most meals cost less than it would cost us to go out in our home city, and that is even if you correct for the differences regarding tax and tip and even with us drinking more alcohol (since neither has to drive) than we would at home.
Ice cream costs less. Wine costs less. Sodas for the kids maybe cost a little more. Groceries seem to cost less.
And we’ve now eaten at lots of different places, including some you might expect to be dangerous. Bistros right on the sea. Brasseries in sight of the very-photogenic stairs leading up to the basilica. Snack bars, kebab shops, pizzerias, sushi even. It’s all great.
Well, the sushi was about as good as good American sushi, so nothing mind-blowing, just familiar and yummy. And last night Mark had some swordfish that he thought was just okay, but that might just be that he isn’t as into swordfish as he thought.
Anyway. Just another nice and pleasant note.
Today we’re off to Nice early to fetch our rental car, so I have to keep this one short.
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