Nice would be the take-off point for our week long French Riviera vacation of awesomeness. Sadly we got off to a slow start flying Air Canada (but that would just make the return trip on Lufthansa all the sweeter). We arrived in Nice's airport and had brought a decent amount of USD with us but elected not to change it into Euros since most places would take cards. We exited toward the bus station (pro tip: don't wait in line at the very slow counter to buy your ticket, just buy it with the driver but have reasonably close currency to the price) and caught the bus into downtown.
We stayed at the Hotel Plaza, which was an excellent combination of affordable, very conveniently located, and with nice rooms. Walking through the plaza adjacent to the promenade, we went to look at a fountain and actually ran into our friends Shannon and Hayley, whom we'd met in Laos like 9 years ago. We'd learned on Facebook that we'd be in Nice at the same time and had lined up to have dinner, but it was still pretty funny to physically run into each other on the other side of the world.
We dropped off our bags in the hotel and since our rooms weren't ready we changed in the bathroom. We each tried to bring nice Riviera-style outfits so that we wouldn't stand out as American tourists, and in retrospect I'd say we were pretty successful. Our feet did take a bit of a beating wearing nicer shoes and walking everywhere though (Kendra would look longingly at a Crocs store as early as day 2, but she looked fabulous).
We walked down along the beautiful promenade along the coast. Nice is the main jumping off point for the French Riviera and it served us really well, with easy bus and train access all along the coast. Our goal was to be based in Nice for the first few days and to see the adjacent, other-wordly beautiful towns of Antibes, Villefranche sur mer, and Eze. Today's itinerary though was just to enjoy Nice and make the most of our limited energy with jet lag.
We walked along the coast and took in the atmosphere. Coincidentally enough it was Ironman France (!), and we got to see the the transition zone which was teasingly right next to the plaza. We passed it (and the IronKids race they had going on as well, with children out there crushing it).
Nice's promenade is this lovely boardwalk along the coast. The Cote d'azure is an amazing combination of French culture and the Mediterranean Sea, with bright blue water framed by the gray pebble beaches complimented nicely by the French architecture. Lots of people were out and about on the promenade. We walked a ways down and then turned into the city. Though this part of Nice wasn't quite as charming as other areas, in classic French fashion we stumbled on a lovely boulangerie (bakery) and got a few croissants au chocolat. We tried and failed to order in authentic French but the baker very generously gave us a free lesson with a laugh.
We took our pastries to the waterfront and sat down, enjoying the beach and watching beachgoers. Making our way back toward the plaza and the Ironman transition zone, we stopped at Kudou Restraurant. We enjoyed a lazy hour or two drinking rose' and enjoying each other's company. We were able to watch the Ironman pros and age-groupers ride into transition, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and liked the restaurant so much that we ordered dinner. I had a delightful fish dinner while Kendra elected for a savory pasta dish.
Back to our hotel for a power nap before we'd planned to meet up with our friends Shannon and Hayley for a late dinner with drinks. Tragically and embarassingly we overslept, and on waking up booked it to the restaurant Mercado. Fortunately they were very gracious and had even figured that had happened, and we found them enjoying a glass of wine. We were able to grab a table and enjoy some tapas and catch up for a few really enjoyable hours; they're our personal heroes and are dedicated world travelers (for example, Hayley is on study abroad in Spain before moving to Australia, and Shannon is moving from Germany to Hawaii but is currently doing paragliding lessons all over Europe).
We stayed at the Hotel Plaza, which was an excellent combination of affordable, very conveniently located, and with nice rooms. Walking through the plaza adjacent to the promenade, we went to look at a fountain and actually ran into our friends Shannon and Hayley, whom we'd met in Laos like 9 years ago. We'd learned on Facebook that we'd be in Nice at the same time and had lined up to have dinner, but it was still pretty funny to physically run into each other on the other side of the world.
We dropped off our bags in the hotel and since our rooms weren't ready we changed in the bathroom. We each tried to bring nice Riviera-style outfits so that we wouldn't stand out as American tourists, and in retrospect I'd say we were pretty successful. Our feet did take a bit of a beating wearing nicer shoes and walking everywhere though (Kendra would look longingly at a Crocs store as early as day 2, but she looked fabulous).
We walked down along the beautiful promenade along the coast. Nice is the main jumping off point for the French Riviera and it served us really well, with easy bus and train access all along the coast. Our goal was to be based in Nice for the first few days and to see the adjacent, other-wordly beautiful towns of Antibes, Villefranche sur mer, and Eze. Today's itinerary though was just to enjoy Nice and make the most of our limited energy with jet lag.
We walked along the coast and took in the atmosphere. Coincidentally enough it was Ironman France (!), and we got to see the the transition zone which was teasingly right next to the plaza. We passed it (and the IronKids race they had going on as well, with children out there crushing it).
Nice's promenade is this lovely boardwalk along the coast. The Cote d'azure is an amazing combination of French culture and the Mediterranean Sea, with bright blue water framed by the gray pebble beaches complimented nicely by the French architecture. Lots of people were out and about on the promenade. We walked a ways down and then turned into the city. Though this part of Nice wasn't quite as charming as other areas, in classic French fashion we stumbled on a lovely boulangerie (bakery) and got a few croissants au chocolat. We tried and failed to order in authentic French but the baker very generously gave us a free lesson with a laugh.
We took our pastries to the waterfront and sat down, enjoying the beach and watching beachgoers. Making our way back toward the plaza and the Ironman transition zone, we stopped at Kudou Restraurant. We enjoyed a lazy hour or two drinking rose' and enjoying each other's company. We were able to watch the Ironman pros and age-groupers ride into transition, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and liked the restaurant so much that we ordered dinner. I had a delightful fish dinner while Kendra elected for a savory pasta dish.
Back to our hotel for a power nap before we'd planned to meet up with our friends Shannon and Hayley for a late dinner with drinks. Tragically and embarassingly we overslept, and on waking up booked it to the restaurant Mercado. Fortunately they were very gracious and had even figured that had happened, and we found them enjoying a glass of wine. We were able to grab a table and enjoy some tapas and catch up for a few really enjoyable hours; they're our personal heroes and are dedicated world travelers (for example, Hayley is on study abroad in Spain before moving to Australia, and Shannon is moving from Germany to Hawaii but is currently doing paragliding lessons all over Europe).
Having had a wonderful dinner to cap off a quiet day in Nice, we made our way back to the hotel by the plaza. We were ready to catch some sleep before our next day in Antibes!
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