Day 14: Nice, France
After feeling whacked out last night I was up in good time this morning ready to delve into Nice. A chance to just wonder and explore for a day, whist soaking up the warmth of the sun!
I’m pretty glad I hit Nice is such glorious weather, I get the feeling it wouldn’t be the most thrilling of places to be in the wet! In the sun the Promenade des Anglais looks a picture postcard as the beach stretches round the coast. I have to admit the tiny patch of sand amidst all the stone mad me chuckle though!
I wondered along the seafront to the Parc du Chateau (the 12th century Chateau was actually razed by Louis XIV in 1706) and walked up the hill past the last remaining tower (Tour Bellanda) and found myself enjoying some stunning views of Nice along the way. At the top of the hill I was greeted by a rather beautiful and surprisingly quiet park. The man made waterfall perhaps the noisiest thing there! After wondering around taking in the stunning views from all around, I caught up on a little reading and just unwound…I could get used to a retreat like this!
I had a good wonder through the market (some amazing looking food on display) and through a few of the shops before giving in to temptation and headed into a bar for some pub grub and a beer!! An Irish bar in the centre of town and not one Irishman in sight…and the food was ordinary at best…Guess I should start appreciating pub food at home a little more!
I succumbed twice in quick succession, firstly to an over priced internet cafe and secondly to booking into a cheap hotel in Venice after failing to find a hostel to stay in. €50 a night isn’t too bad but it’s certainly more than I wanted to pay and it also means staying out on the mainland. It might just be a good chance to recharge the batteries a little but I really don’t know what to expect. The reviews are pretty favourable but I guess I’ll just have to see. I completed my mission up at the train station (another nice long 45 minute wait to buy my ticket) and am armed and ready for my march on Venice the day after tomorrow!
The evening brought somewhat of a surprise. Dustin (yes, I’ve remembered his name now, had met someone in an internet cafe earlier in the day and had arranged to meet with her later. He went on to add that she may bring her roommate if I fancied going, so with nothing to lose, I agreed.
We finally met the two young ladies after initially ending up in the wrong place. Both were Americans living and teaching here in Nice so we were lucky enough to get a little guided tour of the city. I seemed to get on pretty well with Ceala (the roommate) and soon we got chatting about everything from film to baseball! A chance to sample some beer ice-cream was too good an opportunity to pass up as the girls indulged in the local specialities! I have to admit, as ice cream goes, I wouldn’t order it again, but, you know, being a Brit abroad I felt it my duty!
We ended up back at the girls’ flat (a pretty small 1 bedroomed affair with the 2nd bed taking up most of the living room) and Dustin, who had been harping on about wanting to watch some telly all night (I’m not sure I particularly liked this mentality) finally got his wish. An overlong fixation on the porn that was freely available actually started to concern the rest of us and we tried to drag his attention away by playing cards. I had taken the opportunity to have a longer chat with Ceala and we seemed to be getting on very well but I could tell she was getting tired and tried to get Dustin to move on as quickly as possible. We eventually left them to it at around 2am after a thoroughly enjoyable evening!
Tags: France, Nice, Travel
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