The Ginger One: NICE, FRANCE! (TRIP: PART 2)

Ah...Nice, France...The train from Paris to there was really beautiful. It was about 6 hours (on a high speed train) and we upped our seats to first class-- very good decision: much more spacious seats, on the upper deck of the train so you could see everything, and only 14 euros extra each. Very worth it. Seeing the French countryside this way was lovely. We packed a lunch, napped while it was still dark (our train left at 6 am) and just relaxed and took it all in. I was excited to be heading toward a warmer climate and the sun radiated on the landscape for the whole trip. Once we got to the Mediterranean, it was just breathtaking-- amazing, amazing views. When we arrived in Nice, the weather was actually hot (we were freezing in Paris) and it was a perfect sunny day. However, we noticed fairly quickly that folks in Nice aren't exactly... ahem ...nice to non-natives. From the "help" desk at the train station, to the people running the tourist information center (sheesh! right?!), to the woman who snapped at me and pretty much threw my credit card at me after I purchased our train tickets to Italy (basically, for not being French)-- let's just say we weren't very warmly welcomed. It kind of stinks because honestly, it is such a cool city...Anyway...we stayed at a very, very pretty and very affordable hotel (Clair Hotel) with the sweetest and most helpful owner ever (a lovely British woman named Esther) in the perfect location near the port and not far from everywhere we wanted to walk to. Public transportation is great and very affordable (only a euro per ride, cheaper if you buy a day pass) and the sea and the old city were just awesome. Not to mention the food. We got great bakery treats, drank plenty of wine, ate socca, a Nicoise delicacy at a super friendly and affordable socca (a crepe made from cheakpea flour and olive oil and baked in a wood fired oven) restaurant called Chez Pipo (the staff here were so friendly compared to everywhere else, we couldn't help but love the place!). Seriously, their socca was so good that Raf and I had it for dinner the first night and went back for lunch the next day (and ordered the exact same thing!). We also took some epic hikes, watched the sunset from the top of a hill overlooking the city and the Mediterranean, sat along the sea listening to the waves crash in for a couple of hours, walked through the windy, narrow alleys of the Old City, went to the Henri Matisse Museum, and walked amongst an old olive grove. Over all, I would highly recommend this city to any curious traveller-- just brush up on your French and your sniffy attitude before you go! :P