I Will Not Title This Post "Nice is Nice"...

The Cote D'Azur is miraculously beautiful. I'm ecstatic.

Nice is much bigger than I expected, yet it truly is a beach town - it has all the elements.

Nearly every woman is wearing a bikini or bathing suit under their (very light) clothes, most of the boys are wearing board shorts, sporting wild hair and fab shades, people walk around with beach mats jutting from purses and backpacks, clothing-salespeople are continually overheard saying "c'est parfait pour la plage" and the coast is riddled with little refreshment stands selling icy-fruit blends. Oh, and the sun is oppressive, the heat relentless. I walk at a very slow pace.

The first morning, a fellow Canadian (Ontario) and I head down to the market:




There is so much colour! The scent of fresh lavender and myriad spices mingle with the smell of the ocean.



Then we're off the Eze and Monaco for the day.

Eze is a 15th century village on a hilltop, which I immediately and irrevocably fall in love with.







Winding streets, rough stone, rounded archways, weathered staircases and lavish flowers, I could wander through Eze for hours.




On the recommendation of the hostel we're staying at, we head to the Chevre D'Or for a crazy-expensive drink on their patio to take in the view.


I try to play it safe with a mango juice (which turned out to be about $13) but Jillian sprung for a gin and tonic (a whopping $35 - the gin was $22 and the tonic was $8).



At least we got a little snack: tiny mushroom crostini's, veggie tartar and parmesan croquettes.


And the view was spectacular.


After our break, we snuck into the hotel garden:






We ended up back at the village gate and Jillian was ready to leave (anxious to get to Monaco) but I wasn't quite ready. She was content to hang out and enjoy the view while I went off for another 20 minutes of Eze-tasticness:








I jumped up stairs and around corners, climbing higher and higher, ducking under archways and zipping around tourists until I came full circle and could descend contented.


So, we lunched in Monaco. I just love saying that (try it, out loud).



And honestly, lunch was enough. The best thing about Monaco is the mist-fans they have on cafe patios. But there is so much money there - we felt like spectators on the set of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". There were more car dealerships than corner stores - BMW, Porsche, Jaguar, Masterati...and I saw a gold Lamborghini.

Back at the hostel, bottles of wine are four euros and Jillian pulls out her cards so we can play crib in the shade. Before long, the deck of cards attracts ideas for drinking games and so the night goes...





The next day (late the next day), more exploring of Nice: I love this carousel.





The buildings are red and orange hues glow like embers in the afternoon sun; the coast goes on forever, waves rippling over white-and-slate-stone beaches sprinkled with umbrellas and lounge chairs; at night, the beach doesn't quiet down a bit and the Old Town takes on another character altogether.






On another day I went to Grasse with another fellow Canadian (Quebec).
The sky was clearer that day and the views better:




The Old Center is compact and vibrant with mediteranean colours and lush plants.







Love this shopfront!


Love that balcony!


There are cats everywhere - on door steps, under tables, on cafe chairs...





We went to the most-recommended perfume tour at Fragonard (an exclusive and expensive brand only available in select countries).









The tour guide explained the entire process of making perfume, then and now, and we got the smell the plants in raw form - those big sacks were full of patchouli, oak musk and lavender.

Bit of a hard sell at the end but overall a really good tour. I tried to find a place were you can pick and mix your own scent but didn't have any luck. Probably for the best, ha.

* * *

Next up, Avignon, where Christine will meet me for three days of bike riding and village wandering.

On the train, I met some cute Irish boys on a two week whirlwind tour. They were almost done, and they were very tired.



The coast zips by, almost too fast, and I try to catch it all.


I'm trying to hold on to this feeling...