A Very Nice Holiday.

Our latest travels took us to Nice, France. We got in earlier than normal so had time for a stroll down Promenade des Anglais, which is along the coast. The beach is stones, not sand (Ouch!) but still beautiful! Just different to what we are used to coming from Sydney. It was also very windy, but finally warm!  One thing we have noticed living in NORTHERN Europe is that we have super long days, but it's not so warm. So we were very happy to finally be having beautiful warm summer days.

This park/playground in the middle of the city was super cool!

Other first impressions were the beautiful pastel colors on the buildings. Much like many of the other warm climates we have been to (Spain, Florida).  It is also very obviously the playground of the rich and famous. Everyone is dressed very nicely, with the up turned collars, and the sweaters tied around their necks. Not your average backpacker location.

An interesting bike

In front of the Opera House

Garibaldi Square

On our first night, seeing as we were so close to sea, we had to go for seafood! Had some crab, salmon and prawns, and some wine. Nice to be in wine country again. Dinner was in Garibaldi Square, where all the buildings in the entire square were painted exactly the same - pastel yellow with green shutters, and painted on structures/roofs around the windows. A very interesting look indeed. Luckily the days are still plenty long in the French Rivera, so plenty of time for strolling around Old Town after dinner. One of the great things about all the old towns is that they are rife with side alleys, shops and restaurants, which is great for people watching.

Garibaldi Square

On Friday we headed to Monaco, the second smallest country in the world behind Vatican City. It is only a short distance from Nice by train, so we had to make it there. (We have now done 4 of the 6 smallest countries - just two South Pacific Island countries to go!) Side note: We got a great compliment on the train.."are you backpackers?" We said no, much too old, and they replied that we looked so young! We walked along Port Hercule where some massive yachts were docked. These folks definitely have money with their 5 or 6 stories tall floating hotels!

We headed to the Palace (Palias Princier). Up on the rocky top was a church which actually had the organ playing. I (Scott) have this fascination with organs, so was very happy to hear one playing even though there was no church service happening. It was also an amazing looking organ, super modern and almost sci-fi like looking. It was raining lightly off and on, so they didn't have the changing of the guard today.

We walked through the streets to a park before going to the casino. If you read about Monaco/Monte Carlo, you read about the casino and the Hotel de Paris. Well, we ate at the Cafe de Paris, very nice, but had to pay €10 to even enter the casino, so we passed. We didn't even get a look in at the hotel, as security wouldn't let us pass. Guess the rich and famous don't want little tourists showing up in their hotel!

View of the Palace, nicely placed up on hill

We then took the bus to Eze, a great little hilltop village. We should point out that getting the bus was no easy feat. It picked up at the most obscure bus stop and it wasn't even listed on the stop as one of the buses stopping there! After we finally found it, we made it to Eze. Super cute little village with small little streets and alleys. The top of this village has been turned into a cacti garden and viewing area. It is the remains of an old fortress, but really, you just go there for the views, and the views are fabulous! It also turned on the sunshine for us, so that was great.

Then another bus back to Nice. This was a bit of an adventure as these buses don't come very frequently. We were trying to catch the 5:25pm bus and there were already several people waiting. This bus was running late and the group of people waiting grew larger. Anther bus was to come at 6:10pm, which by the time it came along the group was a small army of restless and irritable people, so there was a huge push to get onto the bus. As we were all trying to pack on (and buy our ticket as we got on the bus) we were literally pushed inside by others wanting on. Luckily at some point we got on and found seats, while others had to stand for the 30 minute trip into Nice. Oh, the late bus finally showed up and part of the crowd got on that bus as well. Interesting how all civilness drops off when a system doesn't work. I know this happens all the time in society, but it still amazes me.

Lovely dinner at Attimi, a restaurant our hotel suggested we try, with pizza, a nice wine, and a made up dessert. Fantastic service and food!

Crepes in Eze

Saturday was a bit different to our normal holiday days. We took it pretty relaxed today. Walked around to see some sites in the morning, like the Notre Dame Basilica, the Russian cathedral (which was being completely renovated so could not see a thing) and some other plazas, churches and buildings in Old Town.

We took the afternoon to relax on the beach soaking up some sun. About half the coast is public and half is private. Since the beach is really just a bunch of very large rocks - not comfy for laying on- we opted for the private beach where we got a chaise lounge, an umbrella, and a waiter that bought us drinks. Was a great afternoon. Should say the water itself was nice, but entry, and especially the exit, from the water was not so nice. Pretty sure I (Penny) gave some people a good laugh as I tried to get out!

Seeing as it was such a beautiful summer day, we stopped by Fenocchio's to grab some ice cream on the way back to the hotel. I (Penny) had the stracciatella and Ferraro Rocher. They were both amazing and I would have to say the best ice cream we have had yet. A meaty dinner and more walking around before calling it a day. There were some stalls with gift type items amongst the eating establishments in old town's main strip. Made for a strange, but nice mix.

Another easy morning with a walk to old town and up to Castle Hill. There were excellent views to be had of the beach front and the port side as well. There was a nice man-made waterfall where we spent some time just looking out over Nice enjoying the peacefulness away from the crowds.

We took another stroll down on the beachfront and watched some 3-on-3 men's sand volleyball. It seemed to be a tournament. We didn't see the final score as the game went back and forth and we had to leave. All in all a good day and a great trip.

It did end on a interesting note though. We got to airport and Air Berlin only had one check in desk, and that one wasn't moving quickly. There was a very very long line. Luckily a priority line opened just as we were checking it out so didn't wait too long. It was taking so long to check one couple in that people actually applauded when they were done! Luckily this ending didn't spoil our weekend.