In the morning, we walk down to the front in Marina Baie and have breakfast. At the cafe, we choose a selection of fresh rolls, croissants and hot strong coffee. We are having a morning on the beach so decide to buy a galette to take with us for lunch (see recipe). The wind is high today and the waves crash along the shoreline.

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Tonight we are taking the train to Nice as Doug has arranged for us to visit his friend’s casino. We arrive early evening to see Doug recreate an iconic photo of Betty Haig as she waited for the results of the final trial tests on the Alpine rally in 1949. Opposite where this photo was taken, is Casino Ruhl, run by Stephen, who is another friend of Doug. He has arranged for a space in front of the casino to display the little blue MGTC.

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Stephen joins us for a meal in the casino restaurant. We are fascinated by the many stories he relates about the place and the clients. It’s a different world for many of us. After dinner, we go down to the blackjack and roulette tables on the lower floor. We place a few bets with no success and are staggered to hear how much money is gambled away on a daily basis. We would need Victoria Coren-Mitchell’s skills to be able to win anything!

After an enjoyable and interesting evening, we walk back to the station and discover that the last train left a few hours ago. We try to find a taxi at the station, without success, so we stop and have a drink in a nearby cafe. Dot finally saves the day with her Uber app and manages to get the transport sorted and we eventually arrive back at the apartment around 2am. It has been a wonderful few days on the coast and tomorrow, although we are sad to leave the sea behind, we are looking forward to driving up into the mountains on the next stage of the Alpine Rally.

RECIPE FOR COURGETTE GALETTE

The French make a galette with a type of puff pastry, but this recipe is made with short crust pastry as it holds together a lot easier for picnic baskets.

1 pack of ready-made shortcrust pasty, rolled out to a 35cm circle and placed on a large sheet of baking paper.

650gm of courgettes

200gm feta, ricotta or goats cheese

1 egg

3 tbsp parmesan cheese grated finely

2 spring onions, finely sliced

150gm peas (fresh or frozen)

2tbsp tomato ketchup, mixed with 1tbsp of olive oil

75gm breadcrumbs

50gm rocket

1 tbsp chopped coriander

Slice half a courgette into long strips and reserve for the garnish. Grate the rest of the courgettes in a food processor and then put them into a colander, adding a teaspoon of salt. Leave for 30 minutes. Put the grated courgettes into a tea towel and squeeze them to remove as much juice as possible.

Mix the courgettes with the feta cheese, egg, peas, spring onions and coriander. Season well with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180ºC FAN.

Spread the tomato purée over the base of the pastry in a 25cm circle and then cover the pastry with breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of parmesan. Add the courgette mixture and lift the edge of the pastry up, folding it in 10cm all the way around. Add the rocket and sliced courgette over the top and finish with the remaining parmesan.

Cook for 20 minutes at 180ºC FAN then turn down the heat to 160ºC FAN and cook for another 20 minutes until the top is golden and the bottom is crisp.

This is equally delicious hot or cold, served with a salad.

Bon Appetit