Tuesday September 20, 2011
Bon Jour!
Ty and I got up and after a couple of dry pieces of toast and a coffee, we reluctantly got on the train for our ride to Nice, France. It was a mad shove onto the train and we had to stand a good part of the way (4 hrs!) but we did buddy up with a Kiwi who helped us with the French connections. He also told us, in his less than humble experience, that Nice had too many Greeks and Somalians and if we were smart we would stay on the train (illegally) and jump off at Antibes which, according to him, had the hottest beaches in the world. We did get off at Nice for a 1 hour layover, where we had pizza and a coke and I bought a new Nikon Digital camera, but we decided to follow his recommendation and when the train started rolling we joined the throng and got pushed inside.
Unbeknownst to me, Antibes is on something they call the French Rivierra in southern France just north of Cannes and it is a small town the size of Nelson. It has an endless blue sky, hot weather and a main street which circles around a marina full of multi-million dollar mega yachts and then it has narrow side streets full of boutiques and sidewalk cafes just like in the magazines. It is an escape for the very weathy and numerous stores have pics of beyince or Angelina Jolie or Robert Redford on them. We took a couple beds at the "Crew's House" a cheap hostel with 8 bunks in each room, filled with as many of one sex as the other, all living harmoniously together. From there we walked down to the beach and we had a nice swim. Ty and I settled back against a rock wall and smoked our pipes as we dried off in the warm sun and enjoyed the view. The mediterranean is very salty to the taste and much warmer than any of our lakes back in the Kootenays. The view isn't bad either though some women had forgotten to put their tops on. Being a good father, I insisted we leave immediately though the sun was down by then.
Ty and I went and showered and then walked the streets picking up a few souvenirs along the way. I bought a nice new white shirt. For dinner, I had a glass of red wine and ordered Osso Brucco which is veal on a bed of fresh spaghetti while Ty had a glass of white wine and Aigullettes de Poulet Laque with french fried french fries. Very nice.
We have booked a car for around noon tomorrow and shall buy a road atlas before setting out in a wide circle towards Paris, including stops in Monaco, Spain and Switzerland before arriving in Paris Friday. Ty has it all figured out but I think we fly to London Saturday and then shop till we drop and fly back home on the 28th whichever day that is...
