On the train to Genoa, I look wistfully at the Mediterranean knowing that I have heard most of the French I will on this trip. I sigh as I realize how at home I felt with the lovely French culture, and I remember how I made many people guess their answers when they inquired as to my nationality. It's always fun to hear answers. On my venture into the French Riviera, I tallied up the different nationalities and they are, in no particular order, Algerian, Moroccan, French, and Turkish. It varied also depending on whether Anne and I were speaking English, and whether or not I was spending money at an establishment. Turkish and Moroccan are new ones, I had been guessed to be of the other heritages before.
When we arrived in Nice yesterday afternoon, we walked the maybe 300 feet to our hostel and deposited our luggage in our rooms. The sun and all the aimless walking we did in Marseille had really drained me, to the point that I had a very difficult time cooling down even as I rode the air-conditioned trained to Nice. I knew that Anne wanted to make the most of our day and a half in this new city, so I gave myself five minutes to take a few breathes and out we went. Once outside, I took in the calming breeze that seemed to be coming off-shore and the cloudy skies. Yes, this was so much better than the dead heat in Marseille. We walked around Vieux Nice, pausing as we took a look at all the little shops around tone and took in the atmosphere. Anne laughed as she reminded me of Arles, the small countryside town we visited where most shops closed by 19:00. "They would definitely not know how to handle such a lively crowd at this time!" And what a lively crowd it was, we saw families walking the streets of the old town, couples having romantic dinners on candlelit tables right by the small walkways. As we walked around the old town, we came upon Fenocchio, highlighted as the best gelato place in Nice, with over 86 flavors. Anne and I stopped for a scoop. Do I even need to tell you all that we stopped for gelato. With the very affordable precise of 2€ per scoop! we most definitely had to. Anne got a scoop of Roché (yes, like chocolate) and I enjoyed a very tasty Riz Au Lait, which is a creamy concoction similar to rice pudding, but very very delicious.
We heard music coming from every other cafe, and we finally settled on a small locale called Le Bar Du Coin, where we each ordered a delicious pizza. The portion size was much too big for each of us; therefore, we saved half of our serving and traded so that we would have dinner on the train the following afternoon. After dinner, I realized I was still feeling the effects of the heat. It was now 20:30 and I was feeling very debilitated. Anne agreed to walk back to the hostel so that I could shower. We planned on going out again seeing how much Nice came alive in the evening.
Have you ever experienced the feeling of refreshment when you take a gulp of icy cold water during a hot summer day? I felt that times about one hundred during my long cold shower back at the hostel. It seemed that every inch of my skin craved the iciness and the more I felt it the more I realized how dehydrated I had become the last few days. I drank two full bottles of water before my shower, but if I had been thirsty I will admit I would have sipped from water straight from the shower. Yes, I was needing to cool off any way I could. I freshened up and met Anne downstairs and out to explore Nice we went.
So many families with small children were out even longer than we ended up staying. We walked through Vieux Nice all the way to the end of the harbor, which is about three miles from our starting point. In those three miles, we saw about five groups of both young adults and older adults having fun in what Anne and I called mini raves. There was or wasn't a stage, but there was music and loudspeakers at each of the locations. They were positioned on the boardwalk or in a cafe, but these were separate from night club locations. There was music emanating from the speakers that varied from house music to eighties, and the sound was very very loud. You didn't need to pay anything, all that was required was for you to walk in closer and closer to the crowd until you became a part of the crowd, dancing and jumping along with everyone else. On our way back to our hostel we came upon Fenocchio, the gelato place again. Alright, we looked for it and were very happy to find it in the midst of the many plazas and confusing streets and walkways that got us lost for fifteen minutes in the dimly lit old town. I ordered two scoops this time, Bailey's and Roché, because Anne's had graciously offered me a taste and I just had to enjoy my own.
The next morning we woke up and headed to explore high views of Nice. All museums and historical attractions are free. "Nice wants to have an educated population," Anne explained. I agree with that train of thought, Nice, I agree. We went up to a cliff area that overlooks the beaches of Nice and the old town, and we were treated to amazing views of Mediterranean. After such great views, we had to see the Sea from close by and get wet! We bought lunch at a French-Italian place selling Spianata. We learned that this is a special type of bread that is somewhat like pita bread but different, and we tried the Spianata Picante, consisting of spicy Italian pepperoni and scrumptious French cheese. Because we wanted to be near the water, we took our lunch to the walkway right by the Sea and enjoyed both our lunch and a volleyball match taking place right on the beach.
Once we finished our lunch, we walked down to the water and felt the cool water of the Sea for a bit. There were many families there, but most people were lying on the beach. Very few were in the water, and Anne and I were two of those people. The rocky ground made it tricky to get in and out of the he water for us, but we managed and by the end we were pros. It still amazes me how clear the water was; different hues of blue were reflecting off the water as it grew further and further apart from the beach, and yet it was still clear! We saw paragliders and even a water jet backpack. It seemed similar to something from a Transformers movie to me, so fancy and extravagant. "Oh let me just take a vacation to the French Riviera and get on my water jets for a while. Don't mind if I do now," I said to Anne. She responded with, "you can borrow my family's yacht if you'd like!"
It was finally time to saw goodbye to the French Mediterranean Sea as it was almost boarding time for our train to Italy. Before heading to the train station, however, we had to stop by and get one last taste of the gelato at Fenocchio. Anne's double-scoop cone consisted of Confiture Au Lait, a jam made straight from milk that is very sweet and creamy, and Kinder, a chocolate that is very popular here in Europe. It took me a while to decide what I wanted; those of you who know me well will understand my predicament at having to choose from more than eighty choices (am I right or am I right, SC?), but I finally settled on what I thought would be the most refreshing and what reminded me of my Spanish home: piña colada and passion fruit. The two flavors made for a great combination, so much so that I savored the gelato in the warm weather and sun and made it last the entire walk back to the train station. Seriously, as I used to say back in the fifth grade, it was bomb.
Now on the train to Genoa, Italy, we have had our first encounter with drunken European men. Let me just clarify that it was two Italian men. Although I have to be careful with that label because they argued about that very thing. The two men boarded the train and spoke in very loud Italian, not to each other, but to other passengers on the train. Then they eyed each other, and from what I could understand, one of them called the other Italian. This labeled gentlemen, let's call him, Pink, as he was holding an almost empty bottle of what appeared to be Pink liquor. Pink yelled at the other guy, let's call him Cigarette, as he smoked the entire train ride. Pink cursed at Cigarette and told him never to call him Italian again because Pink was African. Cigarette apologized but refused to lend a cigarette to Pink, so Pink cursed at him again and then wanted to hug him because of all the respect Pink apparently has towards Cigarette. On and on they went and I became more uncomfortable to the point of wanting to switch to another train car, but then we came up to our stop and we all got off. I don't know why I included Pink and Cigarette in this entry, but I hoped you all enjoyed my narration of their dialogue. It may or may not be accurate, as I do not know Italian, so they may have been telling each other loves stories, what do I know?
Off to a peaceful slumber at our Italian bed and breakfast before getting up and getting on a train headed to Venice.
Au revoir France, j'en ai plein d'envie de te rendre encore visite.
Nice at night! This was the first real view we had of the city. Pretty isn't it?
Gelato #1. Ritz au lait, s'il vous plait.
Farmer's market the Sunday morning in Nice. This is flavored sugar. Have I mentioned I like farmer's markets? They let you goûter, that's French for "free food" or taste testing. I prefer the term, "free food".
Almonds, dates, all kinds of variety there.
Most of the time at these markets the labels also show where the food comes from. In this case, this particular kind of watermelon hails from Sicily. Y'all know I had to put that up there, right SC?
At the top of the tower with Nice down below.
Here is a train that tourists take up to see the views. I am challenging my international tourist persona here, with my classy headphones on to faithfully listen to our guide as well as my very fashionable "peace" symbol that we've seen many tourists, of the Asian type most often, pose with in their pictures. We didn't really ride the train.
They did, however!
Our lunch, part of a volleyball net, and the Sea. And sunbathers. They didn't bother me as much today...
...because I was one of them! :)
Gelato #3. Piña colada and passion fruit. I was in heaven. I'm am so glad that my very last French gelato of the trip ended up being one of the best combinations I have ever tasted. So yummy.
On the train leaving for Italy. Au revoir France, you have been lovely to me!!
awesome!!
ReplyDelete