sajawata

Was lucky to have a long weekend so Susan and I took a train to Marseilles, then along the coast to Nice. Nice is so unbelievably gorgeous. The water is a breathtaking shade of turqouise that seems to take on new hues at each hour of the day, each more spectacular than the last. The view facing away from the coast is just as picturesque, with lush rolling hills giving way to the Alps. The city is large but is very clean and the style of architecture complements the landscape so well. The buildings (painted neutral colors with the occasional splash of vibrant color) are beautiful with the rich weathered texture created by the Mediterranean.

Friday afternoon we arrived and quickly found our way to the beach where we soaked up those glorious first few hours of spring sun. We then walked around the old town and learned our way around town. We stopped at a café for a drink and ended up talking to the French guys at the table next to us for hours and hours.

Saturday we went to the famous Nicoise market in Old town which was fantastic. The greatest thing about French cuisine is their attention to using local, fresh produce. The market in Nice looks entirely different from the markets around Geneva. Mediterranean produce (Olives, lemons, seafood) with a hint of the neighboring Provencal specialties (herbs galore.) Brunch was Blette with a nice rosé.

We headed up the hill to the public park which provides a spectacular view of the harbor, then walked around the port and the city for a while. Back to the beach for some sun worshipping (although we were to shy to go au naturel as most of the French ladies around us) We then rented bikes and rode down the coast. That night we found a place that had shockingly low prices for dinner. We feasted like queens: escargot, goat’s cheese salad, risotto, a giant bowl of mussels, chocolate mousse and caramel flan. A meal I will never forget.

Sunday we caught a bus to Monaco. The ride along the coast was beautiful: Many small port towns and houses that look like they could fall into the sea at any moment. Monaco is in a beautiful spot and the many parks are beautiful but the town itself is so ritzy and over the top I didn’t particularly love it. We snuck in to a casino, walked around the Castle, the Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier are buried, the Old town.

That evening we got of the bus in a small village where we heard there was a Medieval village. We walked along the beach but couldn’t find the village, so asked a guy on the beach for directions and ended up talking to him for a long time. He gave us a ride up the mountain to where the village of Eze really was. It was an amazing stone village with walls surrounding, only 1 door into the village. The tight alleyways through the village created an intricate maze we loved exploring. We felt so lucky to be nearly the only people there and were having so much fun that we lost track of time. We missed the last bus back to Nice but that ended up being a blessing because we found a trail that lead down to the beach so we went for a sunset hike and caught the last bus back from there.

Back in town we were regretting not having swapped info with the nice French guy who gave us a ride, then we coincidentally ran into him in Old town. We insisted on taking him for a drink to thank him so he showed us his favorite pub and introduced us to his friends, a fantastic night!

The next morning Susan had to book it back to Geneva but I had the day off so I decided to take advantage of my open train pass and I headed to Avignon in Provence. Due to a massive train delay I only had about an hour to spend in Avignon but what I did see was beautiful. The train ride was equally stunning, following first the sea and then into the Provencal countryside, finally through many small Alpine villages.

An incredible weekend!

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