Nice, Provence, France
Friday, June 19, 2009
First of all, congratulations to Mario Migliazza, the contest winner (proving he's not just a pretty face with a killer bod--see his profile picture). Mario, to collect your prize, just go into one of our fathers' cantinas, and take your pick. Honorable mention to Don, who will receive a consolation prize upon our return. We got to Nice at about 4pm, and knew it would be a short stop on our way to Spain. The area around the station is terrible and full of criminals. Amazingly enough, as you walk toward the ocean, it becomes very classy only a couple of blocks away. The city is really vibrant, and wealthy. It is just southwest of Monaco and Monte Carlo. The Promenade Anglais has very expensive boutiques, and is lined with palm trees. We strolled along the ocean side boulevard and looked out, over the massive beach. We stopped on a patio for a pint, and continued to walk through the city center and the Cours de Saleya. We returned to our room and enjoyed some mini Kronenberg bottles. Trouble began as we tried to book our next hotel on Expedia and realized our credit cards were not working
. Paul went down to a call center and tried to get the problem fixed. The streets were full of Arab men because the prayer hall had just let out. Expedia explained that their system was down, and to try again later. In the morning, we had to get up by 5am, as our train was leaving at 6am. We were to take 4 trains on our next trip (Paul looked into it and had a better way, but the French train rep was not having it, and told us it was impossible). One more attempt to book a room on the computer was fruitless, and we moved on without a reservation. In a strange twist of fate, we all had to get off the train before it left due to mechanical problems. Paul went to the ticket office, and arranged for us to travel the way he originally wanted, buying us 2 hours. In desperation, we called Mastercard, who explained that our credit cards had been cancelled because they had sent us new ones. We explained that we would have problems getting them, and activating them. They listened, and gave us an extention. After an egg McMuffin, we were off. Nice was only a stop over, to get to Spain, but a "nice" one at that.
