The French Riviera!

  Nice, France
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

a few days of  beachin it on 'la Cote d' Azure' will be much needed by now...

Caught the (delayed ) train from Genova to Nice.  Met a 20 something guy (Carlos) touring Europe with his mom.  Born & raised in Puerto Rico, but living/working as a chef in DC.  They were so great!  Refreshing actually to find English speaking people to converse with.

Arrived in Nice @ 9;30...too late for the bus #'s we needed to get to our hotel, so we asked another bus drive for '99 Promenade de Anglais?' and he said 'oui'...
Wrong! We were dropped off at the airport, at the very end of the promenade??? Had to take a 27euro taxi to the hotel (it would have been less $ from the train station!)
Finally, at 11;30 we arrived at our tiny little baroque style hotel facing the Mediterranean... Hotel Eden...

Slept until 10am!!! Had breakfast in the garden...
   

...then spent the entire day at the beach ('Flori da Beach'!) Thank goodness for the Aussie that worked here...no one around here speaks much English: the TV/news/radio is all in French, as well as ALL directions/maps/menus/signs/etc!
I know all the basics and most of the food/wine lingo...and we had trouble!     

                                             Bathing Beauties......NOT!
                                       
We so stand out here because we are not nearly tan enough, thin enough, or naked enough

                       
 (Karly, I don't know about South Africa...but theSouth of France has NEVER seen such BA-DONK-A-DONK before this!!!)

Had dinner at a little street side cafe.  Our waiter was rather drunk, but helpful, even though we could not communicate at all!

After another garden breakfast (when I say breakfast, I mean really strong black coffee and a croissant! If I were French, I would balance that meal with a cigarette!)
                          

Walked the infamous 'Promenade de Anglais' along the beach to the old town markets.
          

Hopped on the #17 Bus (thats the one that is supposed to go to Musee Matisse)...once again...they said 'oui', but NO.  Instead we were dropped of in the hills of Nice, near some government security thing in the middle of no where and told to catch the OTHER # 17...
                                          

After the Museum/Park, we went to the much needed launderette and then out to dinner. Where else, but our local fave...Flori da Beach! (the foie gras tartlette was to die for!)

           
 
                                              

Goodbye to Nice (and my CAMERA for 5 days-Villa Eden had to mail it to our Paris hotel)