THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

NICE, FRANCE

David and I enjoyed Bayeux so much we really hated to leave. The people were incredibly nice and you can tell they are still grateful for the help of the United States Military in WWII. As we toured the area we saw many, many American flags flying from flagpoles in the yards of French homes. It made us proud to be Americans!

We had to get up very early because our train to Paris and then on to Nice was at 6:51 a.m. We didn't even get any coffee/tea before we boarded the train! It was an easy train ride to Paris and we arrived at one train station and had to transfer to another train station to catch the train from Paris to Nice. We had intended to take a taxi between stations but there were no taxis available so we made our way to the Metro to get there. It was funny but we were on the top level of the train station and had to make our way down four levels to get to the Metro. The fare was 1.70 euro each -- about $2.13. We missed the first car but another one came quickly and I believe we rode about four stops to Gare de Lyon.

We figured out which platform to wait on for our next train scheduled at 10:49 a.m. David watched our luggage while I shopped for breakfast and lunch for the train ride. I bought croissants for breakfast and for lunch I bought David a tomato and cheese sandwich on a baguette and I had a ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette. No condiments like mayonnaise or mustard but they do put butter on their sandwiches! I also bought water and Coke Light (not nearly as good as Diet Coke) and bottled ice tea for David.

We had assigned seats on this train because it was going to be about a five hour ride. Our tickets said Car 3, Seats 93 and 94. Of course we boarded the wrong car first and had to get out and go to the right one!!! Our two seats faced another two seats with a table between us. They were very comfortable. We rode with a couple who have lived in Paris for 45 years. They spoke good English and we talked to them quite a bit. Very interesting. It's really what David and I love most about traveling; getting to know the local people.

The scenery on the way to Nice was gorgeous. It started out very green and lush with lots of farmland. The people from Paris said the farmers were growing flax and wheat. Then the scenery changed and looked a little like our Southwest. Small mountains and foothills, scrubby growth out of rocks, misshapen trees and rock formations. The closer we got to the sea, we saw many different varieties of cactus. Really not what we were expecting. The first view of the Mediterrean made our mouths drop open. Beaches and ocean as far as we could see. Sure hope our pictures are good.

We arrived in Nice at 4:30 p.m. and the weather was perfect. Sunny and 77 degrees with no humidity. People streamed off the train all ready for their holiday in Nice! We made our way to the taxi stand and people were lined up. I would guess there were 25 or more people ahead of us in line. But it was finally our turn and we got to our hotel quickly.

I picked the Hotel Windsor on tripadvisor.com. It is a lovely, quirky hotel where each room is decorated differently by an artist. It has a small beautiful garden (where I am writing this) with a small pool. The garden is pretty and peaceful. Our room is on the first floor and overlooks the garden. It has a big bed and a nice size bathroom. Very clean and neat! The location is great. We can walk everywhere which is very convenient. The front desk staff speak very good English and are so helpful. There is wifi in every room and, of course, the garden!

After we checked in and unpacked we set out to see the city. Nice is much larger than we anticipated but we are only two blocks from the beach which is very nice. The water is aqua blue and very clear and clean. The beaches are topless. There is a Promanade that runs the length of the beach and we strolled along there for quite some time. We also sat on a bench and people watched for well over an hour. It is just so beautiful and relaxing here.

There is an Ironman competition here on Sunday and the city is packed with athletes. I can't wait to see how many people participate -- it looks like it will be huge.

We decided to have dinner about 8:00 p.m. and we went to an excellent restaurant recommend by the hotel desk clerk. It was called Restaurant 11eme ART and it was beyond doubt the best meal of our trip and one of the best meals we have ever eaten. We both had a glass of wine and asparagus soup with hazelnut oil. It was a cold soup which I was worried about but it was INCREDIBLE! David said he wanted to drink a liter of it!!! David could not drink from the bowl as he likes to do because it was a shallow bowl with about a 6" lip all around it. I should have taken a picture! David had vegetable risotto which was creamy and so good. I had a very interesting dish -- chicken meatloaf with a gorgonzola sauce. It was beautifully presented and so good I can't even tell you! Delish! Then we had another glass of wine. We figured if the meal was that good dessert would be amazing. We ordered creme brûlée and it was the best we have ever had.

We wandered back to our hotel and quickly fell asleep. It had been a long day of travel and we were very content.

NOTE TO LOGAN: The Fex Ex drivers in Nice drive Mercedes trucks (small). Very cool!