At the end of September we went to Nice with Heather and Ewan. It was fantastic. My main memories of the weekend are of the fun we had and the colours and beauty of the area. Our hotel (booked by Heather and Ewan) was ideally situated; a short walk from the picturesque old town of Nice and also handy for the train station. This was very important because Nice has an amazing train line that connects it to many other beautiful destinations nearby. It rained torrentially on the evening that we arrived; as we sat in a bar for a celebratory beverage we were entertained by watching the scantily clad locals running for shelter. However we were gratified that the next morning - and indeed the rest of the weekend - it was increasingly warm and sunny.
On the Saturday morning we found ourselves on the twenty minute train journey to Monte Carlo! Ah Monaco! It's just as glamorous and romantic as I imagined! I could just picture a young Princess Grace walking through the streets. We had an unfeasibly expensive drink in the Café de Paris but the setting was glorious - just opposite the Casino where luxurious cars were rolling up. We were certainly mingling with the "beautiful people" and noticed a preponderance of Hermes scarves and floppy hair. We wandered around the tiny city happily and visited the Royal Palace with its impeccably turned out guards dressed all in white. Heather and I went for a swim in the Stade Nautique Rainier III - it's the municipal pool so it's cheap to get in but what a setting! The bright blue heated seawater pool is right in the centre above the front so apparently it has a good view of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix each May. It was so fun to swim with Heather in this beautiful swimming pool with the hills and city of Monte Carlo around and above us while the boys had a beer in the adjoining café. What a brilliant experience.
We decided to walk back into France to the little town of Cap d'Ail, which took about an hour out of the city and then along a very attractive coastal path. And because it's only one stop back along the railway line we were able to jump on a train back to Nice.
We had dinner that evening in Le Panier, a very friendly wee restaurant in the old town of Nice. We sat outside at one of the pavement tables in the warm evening; it was hard to believe that it was so warm at the end of September. The food was fresh and local and absolutely delicious. Unfortunately by the end of the meal the news about Grandma's fall reached us by phone from Alasdair, and James and I realised that we would have to go home early. We couldn't make any arrangements until the morning so we went to a bar in the lively Cours Saleya for drinks and chat, already plotting to return to the Côte d'Azur in the not too distant future.
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