Nice

We had to get up at 6:15 to be on the road to Narbonne by 7, as our train took off at 8:48. One of our stops was at Montpelier, where the Tour de France was today. Other than that, nothing exciting happened until we had to switch trains at Marseilles. Sharon had to go to the bathroom and had only 9 minutes to find, pay for, and use the toilet (that’s what they’re called here), before the train left. Needless to say, she had to run for the train, as Cindy was panicking and loading the luggage. All was well – we even had time for our lunch, a Snickers bar, before the train took off. Arriving in Nice, we found our hotel quickly and promptly turned on the air conditioner. It’s a cute room with the biggest bathroom we’ve had yet. Our window overlooks the hotel’s garden area, with tables and chairs. We walked down to the Boulevard des Anglais and sat in a shaded pavilion, watching the incredibly blue waves hit the surprisingly rocky beach. No kidding, there is NO sand. Next we decided it was time to take Rick Steves’ self-guided walk through Old Nice. On the way, we chose to eat first. Two dishes of pasta later, we started the walk at the gold house where Henri Matisse lived for 17 years while painting in Nice. Even though we were following his directions and everything was where he said it would be, every turn we made was into a narrower and darker ‘rue’ (that’s street) and it was only 6:30. We missed seeing the inside of St. Rita’s chapel and Esipuno’s Bakery as they were closed. Bummer. However, we did find a bakery and bought a baguette for breakfast. After our ‘tour’, we headed back to the Promenade des Anglais to people-watch and enjoy the breeze. We wanted to soak up the ambience. We loved making up stories and conversations about the people we were watching. Caio! (You know, at one time, Nice was part of Italy - until 1860, when the people voted to join a united and flourishing France.) Tomorrow we head to Monaco. PS: Sandy, come get me from where Mom dropped me off. Friday, 8:00 pm. Thanks!