France - Èze Village

This village is very close to Nice by car, but I think it's quite difficult to reach by public transport.

The parking area is pretty limited, so it might take quite some time on a nice, sunny day to find a spot. You might have to wait for around 15-30 minutes, depending on your luck. I also saw a couple of coaches nearby the parking area.

Èze Village is located up on a hill, so be prepared for a little hike. The village itself is like a little maze comprising of buildings with stone walls and ceilings. It really gives 'medieval' feeling, although I don't really know how it feels like to live in medieval age. Oh, but don't expect to see knights in armors and stuffs like that ;)

Various crafts and antiques are sold in this village. If you are a collector, you would probably be interested in looking at some of the paintings or sculptures. Even if you don't buy them, they're still nice to look at.

There is a famous 2-star Michelin restaurant called Chateau Eza, although it's impossible to get a seat unless you have a reservation. There are various restaurants and taverns within the village, and although you can find dishes around 12-15 euros for lunch, the bigger restaurants are pretty costly. If you are on a tight budget, I suggest getting lunch somewhere else, or you could try some restaurants at the foot of the hill, close to the parking area.

The view from the hill is splendid: the Mediterranean Sea.

It was rather gloomy, but I think when the weather is better, the sea would appear much more blue than it looked on the photo.

Since we could not go to Chateau Eza, we went to Chevre d'Or, a hotel and also a 2-star Michelin restaurant.

I don't think I've ever been to a Michelin-star restaurant. A two-star Michelin, to boost. 

As one could expect, the food was extraordinary. The starter, crispy soft-boiled egg, was mind-blowing. You can look up for its recipe on Google, but I don't know if the execution will be easy. This is something I'd like to try when I'm back at my apartment after this trip. The duck breast was okay, and I didn't quite like it, sad to say. The meat was a little tough (maybe I should have ordered medium instead of medium-well), and the sauce is just not to my liking. It's sweet and it's just... weird on my tongue. Maybe someone else will find this delicious, but it was a little bit disappointing for me.

By the way, it's interesting that female guests at the restaurant can't see the prices of the menu; only the gentlemen see them. It's nice that the restaurant gives a hint on who should be paying for the meal, but I'd like to know the price before I order something, so I don't really appreciate it. I mean, it's just nice to know how much you are paying for what you are eating. 

We didn't take too long exploring the village; it's not a very big village, and it's quite exhausting to climb up and down the hill. It's a really unique experience, and I think the whole setting is pretty cool. I'd recommend people to visit this village, although I probably won't come for the second time just because it's rather far and I don't have a driver's license that is valid in Europe. I don't understand why getting a license will cost you at least 800 Euros. Even though you know how to drive, you're forced to take a number of driving lessons before taking the test. I heard the test itself costs 200 Euros, and if you fail... you'll have to pay again. I got my license in the United States for only... 20 USD? Or 30, at most, including the written test and the practical test. I failed once because I was not used to drive a car with the steering wheel on the left side, I didn't have to pay again for the second practical test (in which I finally passed).