Violet Ice Cream in Côte d'azur

Tourrettes-sur-Loup is a small medieval village set in the hills about 15km from Nice, France. The village is famous for cultivating violets which are used in the perfumes made in nearby Grasse as well as in specialty confectioner shops in the area. A "violet festival" is held every march when the flowers bloom. A parade as well as a "bataille des fleurs", where villagers throw flowers at each other, celebrate the occasion

It's a nice place to walk around and in the centre of town is a boulodrome to play petanque (a French version of lawn bowling). It's a relaxing place to hang out and you can drink a coffee or pastis while watching the locals play.

 Ice cream flavoured with Flowers is popular in Côte d'azur, and in Nice Fenocchio is famous for it's rose, orange blossom, and jasmine flavours. In Tourrettes-sur-Loup a small glacier called Tom's uses the local violets in their ice cream. A cone of violet flavoured ice cream with a crystallized violet garnish costs about 2 euros. I found it quite perfumey, but it doesn't taste too strong. Tom's is a tiny place, but Tourrettes is small, so if you ever happen to be there it won't be hard to find.

See more pictures of my trip at Adventurefood Photo Blog