Thursday 20th September
NICE Cote d’Azur. and the old port
In the morning we decided to go out for breakfast in the old quarter once again. Packing up our clothes we put them back in the car and then walked through the old port, stopping to chat to a Kiwi crewman onboard the Australian TV game show media magnets yacht Aurora from Hamilton Bermuda where he lives (Grundy I think, I can’t remember and he wouldn’t tell us his name for security reasons). Then along the Quai Lunel overlooking the harbour, with its cruise ships and the Corsica ferry and then along the famous Baie des Anges overlooking the many beaches, all covered in pebbles. No sandy beaches here! Cyclists everywhere, roller bladders and walkers all making their way along the wide promenade. Impressive hotels line the road opposite the beachfront. Gleaming white with iron balconies, flags and coloured shutters, all oozing money and wealth. This is the promenade that the wealthy English descended on in the late 1800’s, escaping the cold winters in England and this is why it got called the Promenade des Anglais. It was also a favourite holiday resort for Queen Victoria who of course made it the place to be and the place to be seen especially if you were a member of the society click. We were happy to join in on the parade strolling along in the sunshine. Sat outside in the sun next to the flower market for our croissants and coffee watching all the activity.
Everybody was out. Groups of tourists making their way along the streets in snake like lines with the guides sprouting their set pieces, either in French, English, Dutch, German, or indeed any other language that was wanted. Americans everywhere and the inevitable Australians, which we heard every now and again.
We walked along the narrow streets looking in the now open shops, Beatrice unable to resist some beautiful soaps and a selection of post cards.
Back to the Baie des Anges where we spotted the Nice le Grand Tour bus, which we hopped aboard and sat up the front on the open top deck .We listened to the audio guide and for one and half hours we weaved our way through streets that I would never have gone down. We thought this was the best way to see a part of Nice in the time we had. Nice is a great place, though very expensive and very crowded. Before we left we walked back along the front and ventured down on to the pebbles so we could dip our toes into the Mediterranean, the beach shelved very steeply and was hard to walk on. Not a patch on our beautiful sandy beaches in Australia. The Hotel beaches, which were strictly controlled and sectioned off, provided chaise lounges side by side and row upon row. You would certainly know the person next to you by the end of the day, as they were so close to each other. Umbrellas and waiters walking up and down taking orders and serving drinks made it all look so commercial. On the public part of the beach there were many sunbathers stretched out on their rubber mats, some being very tanned, (not much talk about skin cancer here), however I don’t think it would be a very comfortable beach to sit or lie on using just your towel, many people though were doing just that, it was however, a beautiful day being sunny and a warm 27 deg.
How we would have loved to have driven the route of perched villages however it was
time to leave and start our journey home. Paid our 32 euros to get our car out and decided to take the same way out of Nice as we came in. Though this time we drove much further along the beach fronts until joining the autoroute that would take us to Orange where we were going to make our next overnight stop.
A couple of hours later on our exit number we were so happy to see an Orange villages Hotel, a great looking place and at one of the best prices so far. (All hotels, restaurants etc by law have to state on their door all their prices, even the ones that charge a 1000 euros a night) so you know exactly what you are up for.
We saw the car park was quite full but were lucky enough to get a room, which surpassed any that we had been in since we have been away.
Another warm evening so we ventured into the main street area and were absolutely delighted with what we saw. Just behind the main high street we found the older part of the town. Once again they had kept the buildings and the narrow cobbled streets, town squares and of course the restaurants and out door dining. Choosing the La Sangria in the Place de la Republique we finished the day off with an enjoyable meal and a bottle of wine. It was a short stroll back to our motel and a good nights rest so we could be up and about the next day exploring more of Orange, which we had taken an instant liking to on what we had seen so far.
NICE Cote d’Azur. and the old port
In the morning we decided to go out for breakfast in the old quarter once again. Packing up our clothes we put them back in the car and then walked through the old port, stopping to chat to a Kiwi crewman onboard the Australian TV game show media magnets yacht Aurora from Hamilton Bermuda where he lives (Grundy I think, I can’t remember and he wouldn’t tell us his name for security reasons). Then along the Quai Lunel overlooking the harbour, with its cruise ships and the Corsica ferry and then along the famous Baie des Anges overlooking the many beaches, all covered in pebbles. No sandy beaches here! Cyclists everywhere, roller bladders and walkers all making their way along the wide promenade. Impressive hotels line the road opposite the beachfront. Gleaming white with iron balconies, flags and coloured shutters, all oozing money and wealth. This is the promenade that the wealthy English descended on in the late 1800’s, escaping the cold winters in England and this is why it got called the Promenade des Anglais. It was also a favourite holiday resort for Queen Victoria who of course made it the place to be and the place to be seen especially if you were a member of the society click. We were happy to join in on the parade strolling along in the sunshine. Sat outside in the sun next to the flower market for our croissants and coffee watching all the activity.
Everybody was out. Groups of tourists making their way along the streets in snake like lines with the guides sprouting their set pieces, either in French, English, Dutch, German, or indeed any other language that was wanted. Americans everywhere and the inevitable Australians, which we heard every now and again.
We walked along the narrow streets looking in the now open shops, Beatrice unable to resist some beautiful soaps and a selection of post cards.
Back to the Baie des Anges where we spotted the Nice le Grand Tour bus, which we hopped aboard and sat up the front on the open top deck .We listened to the audio guide and for one and half hours we weaved our way through streets that I would never have gone down. We thought this was the best way to see a part of Nice in the time we had. Nice is a great place, though very expensive and very crowded. Before we left we walked back along the front and ventured down on to the pebbles so we could dip our toes into the Mediterranean, the beach shelved very steeply and was hard to walk on. Not a patch on our beautiful sandy beaches in Australia. The Hotel beaches, which were strictly controlled and sectioned off, provided chaise lounges side by side and row upon row. You would certainly know the person next to you by the end of the day, as they were so close to each other. Umbrellas and waiters walking up and down taking orders and serving drinks made it all look so commercial. On the public part of the beach there were many sunbathers stretched out on their rubber mats, some being very tanned, (not much talk about skin cancer here), however I don’t think it would be a very comfortable beach to sit or lie on using just your towel, many people though were doing just that, it was however, a beautiful day being sunny and a warm 27 deg.
How we would have loved to have driven the route of perched villages however it was
time to leave and start our journey home. Paid our 32 euros to get our car out and decided to take the same way out of Nice as we came in. Though this time we drove much further along the beach fronts until joining the autoroute that would take us to Orange where we were going to make our next overnight stop.
A couple of hours later on our exit number we were so happy to see an Orange villages Hotel, a great looking place and at one of the best prices so far. (All hotels, restaurants etc by law have to state on their door all their prices, even the ones that charge a 1000 euros a night) so you know exactly what you are up for.
We saw the car park was quite full but were lucky enough to get a room, which surpassed any that we had been in since we have been away.
Another warm evening so we ventured into the main street area and were absolutely delighted with what we saw. Just behind the main high street we found the older part of the town. Once again they had kept the buildings and the narrow cobbled streets, town squares and of course the restaurants and out door dining. Choosing the La Sangria in the Place de la Republique we finished the day off with an enjoyable meal and a bottle of wine. It was a short stroll back to our motel and a good nights rest so we could be up and about the next day exploring more of Orange, which we had taken an instant liking to on what we had seen so far.
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