Today was another travel-intensive day, but it was an interesting one, as we were traveling to Nice by high-speed train. We left the hotel around 8:00 am and grabbed both breakfast and lunch at a bakery on the short walk to the train station. We got to the station early (of course), but the wait was only about forty-five minutes. Then, we were off on our five-hour trip to Nice.

Meredith and I both like trains, in that you can see the countryside go by. We were able to see the flat farmlands around Paris change into rolling hills and then some small mountains, and then the sea appeared. Since the train was a high-speed one, we only stopped about five times, and then that was all in the south of France. Meredith was excited to see glittering ocean and palm trees.

We got to Nice a little after three and walked a few blocks to our hotel, which is centrally located, only about four blocks from the ocean. We got situated and then discussed plans. Mer wanted to take a bus to one end of the ocean walkway, the Promenade des Anglais, and then walk back, a walk of about four miles, all along the ocean, and walking toward the prettier end of Nice. The others decided to opt for a tourist tram, which took them all over the city, and gave them audio commentary along the way. That worked out well in that Meredith N. had hurt her foot missing a step on the train, so she did not want to strain it with too much walking. When we all met up later, they all said how much they enjoyed the tram.

We walked down to the main road along the coast, and after walking a few blocks, we caught a bus that took us to the edge of Nice’s airport, which is on the far end of the Promenade. We then strolled along back toward the center of town. We enjoyed the sun and the water, and we enjoyed not being cold – it was in the mid-to-high 50s. We stopped along the way to smile at the only-men playing boules (like bocce) on the seaside boules court, and we walked a (very short) distance along the gravel beach. It was hard going, so we popped back up to the walkway.

We were supposed to meet the others at a crepe restaurant at 6:30, and after a quick rest stop at the hotel, we got there at 6:38, only to discover that they did not open until 7:00. Welcome to Europe. We waited until 7:05, and when the others still had not turned up, we went in and ordered. Happily, before the food showed up, they came in; they had gone to another creperie with a similar name. It all worked out fine, and we had an excellent meal. The restaurant had a 30s swing-music/jazz theme going on, so the music was great, and the waiter gave Victoria a hard time for not finishing her meal, which was really funny.

We went back to the hotel to grab more clothes as it got colder, and then Meredith, Regina, Shelby, and I headed out. Meredith N. and Victoria wanted to get some rest (it was 9:00 already), and so they stayed back. The four of us went back to the Promenade to finish the rest of the walk, ending at the foot of Castle Hill at the end of town, where we got sprinkled on by one cloud for about five minutes. Meredith and I pressed on to go see the huge and tasteful war memorial on the other side of Castle Hill, while Regina and Shelby decided to go check out the local casino. I’m not sure yet how they fared. Mer and I found the memorial and then walked down to the old section of Nice, where, after a few false starts, we found the gelato (ice cream) stand we were looking for. We ate in a small church square and then headed back to the hotel, walking through one of Nice’s main squares and getting to see some interesting streets along the way.

For a day we started in Paris, and one where our touring did not begin until almost 4:00, we had a successful run around Nice. It is a great little town, and we are looking forward to exploring it more. After a good night’s sleep.