After five days in Paris, we headed to the 2nd city in our grand adventure–Nice, on the French Riviera. Dan had booked a high-speed train that was scheduled to arrive in Nice at 4:30 pm. However, the train had brake problems and we ended up with an unexpected 5 hour mechanical delay. The good news is we were very comfortable, had plenty of food and beverages, and got to see more of the French countryside.
Nice is not that large, and we walked to our seaside hotel from the train station. In anticipation of lots of walking with (and without) our luggage, we had packed light and were able to trek without issue over many cobblestoned streets. We stayed at the LeRoyal hotel right along the Promenade des Anglais. We were struck with how quiet it was at 10 pm–a time at which the streets of Paris would have been crowded and abuzz.
The warm, sunny weather of the French Riveria was a welcome change after Paris! The sea literally sparkled in the sun and was very inviting. The view from our hotel room was fabulous!
I waded into the sea briefly that first day, but we didn’t ‘immerse’ ourselves fully until later in our stay. Our first day in Nice we took a self-guided walking tour (following Rick Steve’s directions) along the Promenade and beyond; admiring the beautiful scenery, learning more about the local history and enjoying a cool beverage (or two)!
We took a Segway tour with a local guide, going UP and UP to the remnants of an old castle with great views—we were happy to not have taken that particular climb on foot. The Segway was a really fun way to get oriented. Later in the day, we checked out ‘old’ Nice, had a great meal and enjoyed a few street entertainers, including some street acrobats.
Throughout much of our trip, we encountered street entertainers, primarily musicians. We also encountered many beggers, including a very old woman faux ‘juggling’ in old Nice.
Wednesday we took a bus to Villefranche-sur-Mer. The town is on the sea and is built into a cliff, which required LOTS of climbing and navigating mazes of alleyways. Villages built into a cliff was to become a common theme for much of the remainder of our trip as we visited several towns and villages along the coast.
We were a bit hangry after our trek to town and found ourselves in a gorgeous (and very pricy) sea-side restaurant where I accidentally ordered a raw scallop appetizer – which was delicious, if not exactly what I expected. We discovered a wonderful beach and wished we had more time (and swimming gear) to enjoy it.
Our scheduled event was a 2-hour boat tour of the coast – going from Villefranche to Monoco; which was absolutely stunning. Upon our return, we grabbed a snack from a more casual café (more frittes-we ate a lot of them in France) and navigated the buses back to Nice.
Our last full day in Nice was a beach day! We rented beach chairs and a couple stand-up paddleboards. Neither of us were very proficient with the wobbly boards and we both took a couple ungraceful plunges into the sea. After due consideration, we opted NOT to do the parasailing, but we were sorely tempted (or maybe we were just sore). The beach at Nice is not sand, it consists of white pebbles that are very uncomfortable if barefoot. I was happy to have my beach shoes.
After our Paddleboard experience, it was LOVELY to recline at the beach, drink over-priced mojitos, doze and soak up the sun. If / when we got too warm, we simply strolled into the water. After watching a roving Asian masseuse work her magic on a couple near us, I waved some Euros at her and she got to work on my back. Wow – it was equal parts pain and pleasure. She meant business and did a great job working out a persistent kink in my upper back. At one point she was literally kneeling on my butt to get leverage. I was a happy noodle when she was done.
We wrapped up our last day with some shopping, laundry and a meal at a Rick Steve’s recommended restaurant. This was our first, but not last, experience with what I am calling the ‘Rick Steves effect’. Once he recommends something it becomes over-run and crowded—ironically losing some of its charm and character in the process. The restaurant was good, but honestly, it was no better than many that we encountered on our trip. However, it WAS difficult to get a reservation and the service was slow due to the absolute onslaught of customers.
Before we leave France, I need to comment on our attempts to speak the language. Dan is very proud of his Middle School award for speaking French, and I took French for four years in High school. Clearly, those accomplishments have been many DECADES ago, with no real world application in the intervening years. Personally, I found that my paltry Spanish came to mind before my paltry French, and I accidentally asked more than one person “Hablo Anglais?” Instead of ‘Parlez-Vous Anglais?” Dan, was more comfortable than I was attempting the language, but most people immediately switched to English when communicating with us, even if we were attempting our best French accent.
But, it is time to switch to Italian as we leave Nice. Au Revoir and Arrivederci to France! You can use the links below to read more about other cities we visited; Vernazza is our next stop after Nice.