france

Day 15 – Nice

Posted on July 11, 2017

Very Nice.

The first half of our day was fairly uninteresting, involving us packing and travelling from Cannes to Nice via train, then checking into the hotel etc.

We did however walk around the local area to get a sense of the location and city, as well as stopped for lunch at a café. The main street in Nice leading to the city centre reminded me a lot of the main street in Dublin – a very wide road, with trams running down the middle, shops and restaurants either side, people everywhere. Nice definitely feels larger and more spacious than Cannes, which had tighter streets, and felt a bit more residential.

After our little local venture, our rooms were ready and we were able to check in and have a bit of a rest. Mid-afternoon we headed back out (Cherri wasn’t feeling well so stayed behind) and went to a park in the city. It was nice to walk through and was a refreshing change from the surrounding city.

From there we continued on towards Castle Hill, which is a larger park, situated on a hill overlooking Nice, with panoramic views of the city and coastline. It took some time to find the right way and then climb all the stairs up, but we were treated to some pretty awesome views.

We spent a bit of time up there, before heading back down to find somewhere to get dinner. There is apparently a lift which you can use to avoid all the stairs, but it was closed.

No matter – back down we went and found a nice looking restaurant which was incredibly busy, which is always a good sign, so we sat down and ate there. I didn’t see the name of the place, but it was tucked away a bit in a small street, so didn’t seem like an obvious touristy place.

We enjoyed our meal as the sun began to set, and had a pleasant conversation with a young couple sitting next to us who were travelling from London.

We had a chat ‘n’ a laugh.

Day 11 – Cannes

Posted on July 7, 2017

I see a little silhouetto of a man.

The earliest of starts today, but fortunately our hotel was right next to the airport, so we could easily shuttle over there and check in for our first flight. A bit of breakfast, then a fifty minute flight to Lyon, before transferring to another flight to Nice (thirty minute flight). From there, we had a twenty minute drive to get to our apartment in Cannes.

We seem to be very central which is great, and Cannes seems small, but jam-packed. Nice buildings and streets, lots of shops and restaurants around, the beach a short walk away. Quite a nice little city.

After we had settled in, we headed out for some lunch at an Italian restaurant, La Pizza Cresci. It is by the water, well-priced and very generous with their portions. They had some really good pizza.

As usual, it is very hot here, so we soon headed back to the apartment to cool down and rest, before the others went to do some shopping. Later in the afternoon, we headed back out to go down to the beach and catch the sunset. The streets were so quiet at this point, as all the shops had closed down. There were more people down by the water though, filling the seaside restaurants.

Here are a bunch of sunset shots – some stunning landscapes and colours this evening.

Dublin Airport

Day 6 – Bordeaux

Posted on July 2, 2017

At least they know I know where France is.

A short one today, as promised. We packed our things this morning and had a quick breakfast at our hotel, before driving to Dublin airport. A chocolate chip cookie later, and we were on the plane headed to Bordeaux.

The flight was short, and we soon arrived to meet the family-friends we are staying with while here, Philippe and Marie Christine. We also had to pick up the car we hired, and we followed Philippe back to his house. What a super fun, non-stressful experience it is driving on the wrong side of the road!

When we got to their house, they showed us around and we sat and talked for a bit. They have a large, old house with plenty of room for all of us. I will probably take some photos around the place tomorrow, but was too tired today, so we just had some dinner and settled in for the night.

It should be warm and sunny tomorrow which will be a nice change.