(posted by Emily)
Saturday 11 July
Daily Step Count: 19,974
On Saturday, we were up early to catch our train to the French Riviera. Rick and I both were looking forward to this leg of the trip, because some relaxation and sunshine were far overdue. The train that we took south was definitely the nicest one we've been on--we were on the upper level, with plenty of space to ourselves. There were even some furry traveling companions on this trip, too.
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| heading up to the train platform |
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| inside the train |
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| lots of space--we were right across from the baggage rack |
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| ready for the sun |
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| I spy.....a kitty cat! |
We both napped for a while, and when we woke up, there was sunshine and beautiful scenery all around. We enjoyed watching all of the coastal towns pass by the window and had some lunch.
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| lunch - baguette, bananas, and left over cheese |
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| finally blue skies! |
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| gorgeous ocean |
When we arrived in Nice, it was cloudy and overcast. It was warmer than Paris at least, but I was not excited about our beach days being ruined by thunderstorms. As we walked to our hotel, I was mentally preparing myself to have a good attitude, even though I was sure I would be disappointed.
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| train station in Nice |
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| walking to our hotel |
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| a small hint of home! |
At our hotel (another Radisson Blu), we were given an upgrade to an ocean view room. I think I can confidently say this was our favorite hotel of the trip so far. The view was beautiful, and the sun was just beginning to peek through the clouds.
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| ocean view! |
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| beautiful view of the bay |
Because it was so warm, we decided to head down to the beach. Instead of paying 23 euros per person for the Radisson's private beach, we walked to the public beach right next to it and put out our towels. The water is a brilliant aqua blue, and wasn't too cold. I went searching for sea glass and we both put our feet in the water. It was still overcast, but we did catch a glimpse of the sun a few times!
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| Looking back up toward the hotel |
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| sun! |
Our hotel offered a free shuttle to the city center on the hour. There is one vegan restaurant in Nice, and based on the days we were there and when it is open, we knew we had to go there for dinner Saturday night. We wandered the city a bit before going to the restaurant.
Le Speakeasy is run by an older woman from California, who now lives in France. The menu is small, but the food was great. We shared a vegetable pate, a miso soup, the veggie pie which was a potato/zucchini pie and tasted like a twice baked potato, salad, and a strawberry jam tart for dessert. It was also great to enjoy "American coffee" aka just regular drip coffee. Espresso is just too strong sometimes.
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| veggie pate and miso soup |
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| veggie pie |
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| strawberry jam tart |
After dinner, we walked around the main city center of Nice and down the promenade. It was a beautiful sight to see the coastline and all of the lights, and we enjoyed walking after a day resting our legs.
We had passed a shop with gelato "senza latte" (without milk) and it didn't take much convincing for us to stop there. I had a hazelnut gelato and Rick had pistachio. Both were great.
As we headed back to the shuttle stop, we passed by the Nice Jazz Festival. Mos Def was playing, and we stopped for a minute to listen.
Despite preparing for the worst, it was an amazing day. I kept turning to Rick all evening and saying, "I'm wearing a dress! Without a sweater! It's amazing!" :) We are definitely enjoying our time here so far!
--E&R
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