June 15, 2023 to June 19, 2023
Nice Finale.
Boxing and swimming
Thursday 15th : We spend the day locally, swimming and taping up our bike boxes. We also check out the local market. The beach here is stony and the water is beautiful. It’s cobalt blue - hence ‘Côte d’Azur’. Apparently the colour comes from suspended limestone particles from wave agitation of the stones. The beach shelves very steeply and within a couple of metres you’re over your head. Getting in and out of the water with a modicum of elegance is tricky because just when you think you’re walking like a man, one of the not so smooth stones has you undone. They are definitely challenging for average feet. I resort to wearing my Keen Clearwaters and lend Ann a hand on exits. True romance is not dead. Right now the water temperature is about ideal- not soporific but not chilly either.
In the evening we notice lots of pecheurs. We haven’t seen sign of a single finned, scaly creature out there. Not to say they aren’t lurking. The other interesting activity is rowing the old style fishing boats. I think for a fee one can become a member of the crew of one of the eight oared craft. Coordination doesn’t seem to be a prerequisite- you learn on the job it seems. From our observations on the shore, some rowers learn much more quickly than others. Clearly it’s the taking part and the journey that’s the essence.
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Friday 16th. Today, after an early morning swim, we catch the train into the city to buy something lightweight in the clothing line for grandchildren. Some people enjoy shopping- must be the thrill of the chase, me, not so much . Today though we’re reasonably quick. The train from Le Cros is speedy and we’re in the city centre before we know it. We find the central Etoile mall and go at it commando style. Well I try to. Ann is more particular, but she knows where we are to go for children’s tee shirts in summer colours. I also find a Bialetti stovetop espresso in the shop next door to Okaidi - all done! We escape the teeming streets (so many American teens - shouldn’t they be in school !) and are soon back on the beach at Le Cros.
Saturday 17th. An early morning swim before breakfast. The best time of the day perhaps. The planes are just starting to land at Nice airport. Far out over the ocean they begin their descent about over Antibes. There’s no sound so they seem to be floating up there.
After lunch we return to the city in order to add a splash of culture to our sojourn. It’s a recital by Hans-Andrē Stamm, a visiting German organist, who is performing at the basilica. His concert is loud and vigorous, in the extreme, in some cases, but he also performs some very melodious pieces too. He accompanies a chorale in a couple of pieces and there’s also beautiful rendition of Caccini’s Ave Maria by soloist Aurēlie Moreau. All of Stamm’s pieces are captivating, but perhaps his Fantasia ‘J S Bach en Irelande’ was the most exhilarating, or it could just be my Irish roots. When he performed it again as an encore, such was its infectious quality, it prompted one member of the audience to perform an impromptu jig down the aisle - in Crocs!
Concert over, we head for the station - and a long wait for our train. There’s some sort of security blitz on. We’ve noticed more gendarmerie in town than usual, even ā velos and at the gare, the SNCF security, who have a similar navy uniform, are pulling over anyone who looks wrong- in their eyes. It’s the equivalent of Brit Rail’s ‘See it, say it, sort it,’ but a bit more intimidating.
Our train finally arrives about an hour late and it’s a bit of a bun fight to get on- complicated by the fact that this is the airport train and massive suitcases abound. But we manage. Later in the evening, after dinner, we join the passaggio along the water where family groups are eating together as the sun descends into the sea. How fortunate to have such a relaxed ending to our tour.
Sunday 18th, Monday 19th
Sunday we spend finalising the bike boxes. How much in addition to bikes is an issue. We’re allowed 30 Kgs comprising 2 pieces, so we try to keep the boxes to about 20kgs.
Sunday’s also a nice day for swimming so we take regular visits to the water.
Monday: D day. And ready to go. We head over the road for a final dip in the Med. It’s heavenly at this earlyish hour. Because we don’t want to be drying togs, it’s an undies swim, but nobody seems to mind. Compared to the déshabillé states we’ve observed recently, we’re probably overdressed.
After tidying up and packing bags, we lock up and return the keys to the lockbox. Then it’s just a case of hauling our boxes and bags out from and waiting for our shuttle. Alkema arrives expertly reverses in and loads up, then delivers us and boxes safely to Terminal 2. None of last October’s drama!
The Emirates queue moves quickly. Curiously, the bike are recorded as weighing only 11.9 kilos each. Having lifted them, I know they are over 20kgs, but we don’t dissent and deliver them to oversized luggage.
So it’s farewell to La Belle France - looking out of the airport windows on a beautiful Cōte d’Azur day, there’s that pull to want one more day- maybe another time. For now it’s farewell Nice and merci beaucoup pour un bon sējour.
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