PART 1
to
OCTOBER 09, 2003
What really makes it nice here is the hostel caretaker, Drew. He is from the UK and has been here one and a half years. He has a terrific personality and is funny and very helpful, and knowledgeable about the area.
We moved our stuff from the hotel to Chez Patrick and then went to explore Nice. We are staying in a somewhat rundown section about a 20 minute walk from the beach. As we got closer to the water, everything got nicer - the hotels, the shops, the restaurants. When you reach the Promenade that goes along the beach, the view is spectacular. The Mediterranean is right in front of you with the beach going off to the left and right. The water is unbelievably beautiful - many shades of blue (hence the name Cote d"Azure) and there are big waves breaking up on the beach. It is a rocky, not a sandy, beach in this area. There are people laying down and walking along the beach, and lots of people up on the Promenade walking, roller blading and biking.
We walked for a bit and then got the little sightseeing train for a 40 minute ride through town. We went through the flower market , the old section of town and then went up to a park area, castle hill, overlooking the city and the sea. The train stopped for 10 minutes so people could enjoy the view, but we just got off and stayed up there for a few hours. We got some lunch and then found a nice sunny spot on the grass to lay down and read our books. I found a wonderful jazz station on my radio and I read for a while, listened to music and then fell asleep for a bit.
We got up about 3:30 and walked down from the hill to town and I decided to treat myself to oysters. We stopped at a restaurant in the old town and I had a glass of white wine and 6 raw oysters, and Shari had a diet coke. Shari doesn't drink or eat raw shellfish, but it was a great treat for me.
Next we went to use the internet (we found a good one for only 3 euros an hour) and then a tried to call Rosalma to let her know where we were. I tried to call her about 10PM last night, but my phone card wouldn't work, and I knew she was at the antique market today. I got no answer, so I will try again later. Then we just went back to the hostel to do notes and decide how we want to spend the next 6 days before we go to Barcelona.
There is a place that does Karaoke on Sunday evenings called Wayne's, that is located in the old town. Shari and I decided we might check it out, and we wanted to see the water at night, so we left the hostel about 9:15 to walk to the beach. The Promenade was very pretty with all these lights from the hotels on one side and the sea lit up by the moon on the other. We stopped by Wayne's on the way to the beach and decided not to stay because it was very crowded and the Karaoke wasn't going to start until 10:15 or 10:30.
We got a little lost on the way back to the hostel, so we ended up walking around the town for quite a while, and we didn't get back to the hostel until 10:45. Drew and some other people were just getting ready to go out to Wayne's. I had bought another kebab sandwich and I just went in my room to eat and go to sleep.
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