The drive from Axi-en-Provence to Nice was such a delight. Of course, I could fully enjoy it because I was not the one driving. The South of France is just magical. This was my first time in this part of the world, but of course, it was familiar in that I had read about it, and had seen plenty of the French Riviera in movies and television shows. The drive was pleasant, and I loved reading the road signs as I passed small cities and towns that were familiar.
Driving to Nice we passed, St Tropez, Saint-Maxime, Mandelieu, Cannes, places that had seemed so far away in my imagination, but here they were. While driving to Nice, we didnโt stop in any of the towns, we drove straight to Nice. All I remember when we entered the city is the beautiful and ongoing beachfront. Nice is a beautiful seaside city with so much character you will not know what to do with. Our Airbnb apartment was in a beautiful cobbled stone street in Vieux Nice, which is the cityโs Old Town. Itโs not too far from Nice Beach and the Quai des รtats-Unis (United States Quay). The apartment belonged to the Nice Pebbles apartment rental company. The apartment offered low rent for our stay because there was scaffolding outside as they were busy with renovations.
The apartment was bigger than the one in Paris. We were on the third floor, and you could look into the street and see people walking and people seating outside of cafes. There was a gay bar called Butch Bar Bitch Bar situated right in front of our apartment. You basically roll out of bed into a coffee shop or a gelato cafรฉ or a gay bar. The weather was perfect, beach weather all day, every day. When we arrived we found parking for the car we rented, and we never drove it again because thereโs no parking in Old Town. It was for the best because itโs best to experience Nice on foot and with public transport.
We saw so much art in Paris that we decided to enjoy the beach life and walking the streets of Nice more than art galleries. What was also wonderful was that art was everywhere, not just in galleries. Most impressive was a fountain with a big replica of David in one of the squares in the city. The buildings in the city were themselves artworks.
On one of the days, we spent the day at the beach. The beaches along the Mediterranean in Nice have pebbles on the shore instead of sand. This was a first for me. I am used to Cape Town beaches with sand, cold water yes, but with sand. The pebbles tend to get hot in the sun, so itโs wise to always have flip-flops on when you are sitting on the beach. The water is heavenly, bathwater warm, clear, and absolutely amazing to swim in.
We spent another day going to a small mountainside/seaside town. We traveled by bus, and we walked the rest of the way down to the seaside town. There are no cars who can access the town, just people on foot. It was quiet, and we had a beautiful lunch there at Palmers Restaurant. We ordered rose wine and seafood. I remember these two women next to us who ordered a whole fish. It came with the head still on, and the chef began to debone the fish in front of the guests. It was a sight. I felt like I had been invited to an exclusive art show when the chef deboned that fish, and it made me think of all the lost opportunities for good living in Cape Town.
The weekend we were in nice, we discovered that it was Pride that Saturday. This was a wonderful bonus. Interestingly, none of us had seen that it would be Pride in the websites we looked at while preparing for the stay in Nice. The Pride parade was big, lots of floats, and beautiful ordinary French people. The Pride started inland and ended at the beachfront with a pride party on Nice beach. This was closer to the end of our trip so it was a beautiful ending to a marvelous holiday in Nice. When I left Nice, I promised myself that I would go back there again.
