SEurope – Days 38-39 – Nice, France

Day 38 – to Nice

July 4 (Fri) – happy independence day, y’all

• We had to wake up early to pack and grab our Uber to the train station. The cafe line for Cokes for our breakfast-on-the-run was long, but quick! The station had a piano that was available for respectful use…and someone played nice classical stuff anyone would recognize. 
• The train arrived with less than 10 minutes to load up. We were in car 2. Problem was they were all labeled Car 2. So for fear of getting left behind we got on. And then, some young woman with way bigger luggage than she could handle by herself got on, dropped her case into my ankle and made zero effort to find her seat. We went upstairs so we could try to walk the length of the train until we found our car. A couple of cars down, he popped down to see seat numbers, so of course, I was a magnet to a conductor for standing in the (empty) aisle atop the stairs. But, she helped us find our car and seats. We were a sweaty mess. Why wasn’t anything labeled? We were looking everywhere for labels. 
• Our train car was ultra quiet. People had headphones and books (real books) or slept. Even the dog on board slept in his owner’s lap. The seats were ultra comfortable, and the drinks from the cafeteria car were quite cold. The ride was a little rocky on my healing (still, from December) heel muscle, but that was just shifting terrain. Aside: Every dog we have seen in Europe has been the most well-behaved pup ever. Europeans are far better owners than Americans.
• Our hotel was just across the street from the train station. We were early for checkin, so we left our luggage with them and headed out for lunch.
• We found Chez Marie-Ange, an African restaurant. We both had 1/4 grilled chicken and fries. After we paid and were about to leave, our waiter (and his wife? the owner?) gave us/me a free beer because he enjoyed our company. “Free beer! Like I just can’t even with this cute African restaurant. Some of the best food of our trip. We were just here to eat lunch and kill a little time before we can get into our room.” African “MTV” is a mix of African dancing/attire, bollywood-sounding music, and rap-quality attire (but way more conservative). And the bathroom had pink toilet paper. 
• Back at the hotel, we did the Siesta thing: cool off, shower nap, edit, write, etc.
• For dinner, we Ubered to Casa Nissa for pasta dishes (bolognese for him, creamy mushroom for me, naturally), and the very best chocolate gelato I’ve ever had, with chantilly cream. He got a triple of his three faves: chocolate, mint chocolate, and vanilla…with chocolate sauce and chantilly. One of our servers asked where we were from and wished us a happy Independence day. Awww. I’m sure he knows that tourists got the HELL out. We said we wished him the same in ten days (Bastille Day).
• We walked around Place Masséna, Old Nice, and to the beach (which isn’t sand, but more like river rocks). The chairs in Nice are traditionally royal blue; it’s their thing, and it’s adorable. We also passed yet another Irish bar.
• For a night cap, we stopped at Brasserie Tobacco Lou Pastrouil for drinks, where we saw a server knock over a stack of trays and break a few glasses. We laughed with the staff when the bartender/manager teased her about it before he cleaned most of it up. They work hard, but they all like each other and have fun at work. That’s refreshing to see.
• We walked around a little more before Ubering back to our hotel to crash.

Day 39 – Nice

July 5 (Sat) –

• For brunch, we went just around the corner from our hotel to La Vida – Brunch & Lunch. Our platters of food were massive…and we ordered small. The table of the people beside us was completely covered. I ordered a bagel (and wondered if it would be small when the server said, “just one?”). He had scrambled eggs with bacon, salad, toast, oj, hot chocolate, and a coke.
• After brunch, we did some travel planning: Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Venice.
• We couldn’t find a little store, so we went to the train station for Cokes and a simple sandwich to put with our on-the-go breakfast for the next morning. 
• For dinner, we had Fuso. I had a poke bowl and he had chicken katsu teriyaki with rice.
• We then walked around; we saw a big church, some more of the promenade, and a “mall” of sorts whose modern architecture was a giant contrast to all the older (or at least designed to look older) buildings.
• On the way back to our hotel, we grabbed some wine from a little shop. The clerk/owner asked me if I needed him to open it for me. This isn’t even the first time that has happened. Alcohol is just so chill in Europe. Fuck Prohibition. It is part of what made the US so dang crazy.
• Back at our hotel, we cooled down and wine-d down.