| 85 I’ve never seen anywhere else in theworld. You’ll nd yourself awaited in the old townby the atmosphereof an ItalianMediterranean town with a rich past (Nice was for centuries under the rule of the Duchy of Savoy). All that kitschy Italian baroque innumerous churches andchapels, colourful squares and a owermarket. And in the moderncityyou’ll ndthetheFrenchsense of joie de vivre. Architectural beauty inspires me the most here. I’m an art historian and architecture is one of my passions, and there’s enoughbeautiful architectureheretobeautify at least three or four big cities. Another thing – and now you’ll be surprised – that Nice inspired me to study Serbian history. And to study a period I always ignored, the19th andearly20th centuries. Itwas here that I cametoloveandbecamenostalgic for Serbia’smonarchistpast. NathaliePetrovna Keschko, the future queen consort NatalijaObrenovićof Serbia, camehere to spend thewinterswithher family.MassenaMuseum, which is nestled in a beautiful location onthepromenadeand immediatelyoppositethefamousHotelNegresco,preserves in its archives recordsof the residenceof Božidar Karađorđević, themost colourful Serbian prince, whose designs for jewellery are preserved in Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and the FrenchNationalArchives. Alsocominghere regularlyduringthewinterswashismother, Princess Sara ‘Sarka’Karađorđević, the ambitious daughter of the so-called“Danubian Rothschild”, CaptainMiša Anastasijević. Crown Prince Danilo of Montenegro once hadhisownvillanot far fromMonacothat’s still considered one of the most beautiful on the Côte d’Azur and is today owned by MadlenaandPhilipZepter.Atonepointduring World War I, the entire Serbian parliament found itself in Nice, and here my famousfellowKragujevacnative,FieldMarshal Radomir Putnik, who was given a magni - centmemorial service intheRussianchurch in Nice, which is known as the most beautiful Russian church beyond the borders of Russia. Alsowith his own villa in the hills of Nice was Dušan Popov, the Belgrader who inspired IanFlemingtocreate thecharacter of James Bond. And so I rummage around like that and discover and learn about all sorts of things, So, I am discovering somethinganddiscoveringeverything,andI think I’ll bring it all together in a book. As for the jet set? Well, I’ve “bumped into”Madonna, who I’mactually adie-hard fanof,manytimes ,notcountingherconcert I attended here, in the rst row, of course. In neighbouring Villefranche-sur-Mer she shot part of her lm“W.E.”, and a few summers ago in the same place she rented the famous Villa Schi anoia for her birthday celebrations. Then one morning I saw inanewspaper that she’ddinedwithElton John in one of the local restaurants while I was eating with company at a restaurant literallyahundredmetres away. But I’mnot oneof thosewhohangs around the streets trying to see someone famous. On the TV thereare regular features about that jet set and which celebrities have been noticed, whose yacht is berthed where (with Aleksandra NikolićMelnichenko’s‘Motor Yacht A’, as the most expensive in the world, attracting themost attention), and theplace is gripped by a special celebrity fever during the Cannes Festival and the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. If you want to meet Đoković, go for lunch at his vegan restaurant inMonteCarloduring theMonte-Carlo Masters tennis tournament. I once happened to seePrincess StéphanieofMonaco on the terrace of the famous La Colombe d’Or Restaurant in the commune of Saint Paul de Vence. You’dactuallybe surprisedat just how manyplaces inNicehavepeoplewaitingfor atableduringsummer.Sometimesthat’sbecause the restauranthasagoodreputation, and sometimes it’s simply due to the fact that this city is swarmed annually by several million tourists – more than four, if I’m not mistaken. However, when it comes to wine and cheese, I don’t go out to a restaurant. I like to enjoy sharp red wine, which I didn’t drink at all before France, and blue cheese, which I’d also never eaten before coming to France, either at home on the balcony or on one of the rocks of the Cap de Nice, while enjoying the sunset. Try some of the savoury pancakes made from chickpeas, which are a kind of local speciality called ‘Socca’. They go well as an afternoon snack with a glass of cold rosé, but I prefer the ‘pain bagnat’, basically soaked bread (in olive oil, and I also like a drop of lemon juice), which is the kind of sandwich I often end up buying at a bakery or making at home alone. It has all the ingredients I like – tomato, onion, boiled eggs, raw bell pepper, a little tuna or salted sardines, radishes etc. My favouritesbeaches are: PlageFosses in St Jean Cap Ferrat, Plage de Passable, also in St Jean Cap Ferrat, the nudist beach inCap-d’Ail, thebeach inBeaulieu-sur-Mer, and I also love Plage des Sablettes inMenton, right next to the border with Italy, because the old city of Menton behind it creates a magically romantic atmosphere. Jahta A Aleksandre Nikolić Meljničenko kao najskuplja na svetu privlači najviše pažnje Aleksandra Nikolić Melnichenko’s ‘Motor Yacht A’, as the most expensive in the world, attracts the most attention iStock / peeterv
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