Journeys By Paul

Moonrise Thurs Evening from My New Hotel

Journeys by Paul

Nice, The Riviera

Back to France 2006

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Nice, France October 4, 2006

Okay, so I'm in Nice (pronounced Neece). And I'm next to the water, and the eau is very azur. In fact, it's so azur, this area is called the Cote D'Azur. Blue Coast. After the blueness, one of the things that impressed me when I was walking along the Promenade Des Anglais on the wide sidewalk that borders the pebble beach is that the sound of the cars driving by is not very loud. Strange observation, I know. But it's not like the racket you hear in Puerto Vallarta or Paris. There are no trucks driving through. Maybe they're not allowed.

Anyway, I ventured to the old part of Nice yesterday. (There is always an 'old town' in the cities of Europe, and they're usually the most interesting areas, and the ones that have all the restaurants, shops, nightlife, etc.) I went twice, actually. And boy are my feet sore. It's about a 30 minute fast walk from here. Well, actually, I took the bus back to there the second time, and that took me an hour. (Not including the 15 minute walk after I got off of the bus.) I got on the wrong bus. By the way, buses are a major type of transit around here. And I'm learning. In fact, I took the rich guys advice, but I went one step further than hiring a car. I hired a bus and a driver for the day. And it only cost 4 euros each day. Of course, I do have to change buses sometimes, and I have to go where they go (and sometimes I get lost), and there are a lot of French people sharing it with me, but, what the heck, I've never been here before so I'm game to go where they take me; like last night.

So I found a nice English pub in the old town that has free wifi internet. The only problem is that I didn't have an electrical plug adapter until today, but now I'm all set. It only cost me 4 euros. I hope to post this entry this evening but I may have to write fast so I can put some of my pictures together for you. This morning, after cafe au lait and a croissant at my nearby sidewalk cafe, I walked across from my hotel and hung out on the pebbles and went swimming in the eau azur. Eau is water. I'm teaching you French. The water is tres warm. (I don't know the word for warm. Chaud is hot, though.) And the water drops from 5 inches to overhead in less than one foot. It's like walking into a swimming pool by walking off the edge. But you can while away just so much time soaking up the rays along the Mediterranean with the other sun bathers, topless and not, so I left after 8 hours (no, I'm just kidding). I stayed about an hour, then attempted the bus scenario again (this time successfully).

I'd better end this for now so I can get some pictures uploaded for you.

Paul Ogier

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