Nice - Day 8, 9 and 10

Another early day awoke us as we started the final stretch in our European journey.  We carefully packed up all our belongings (although we realized we forgot a crucial item at the hotel) and hauled everything to the dreaded subway steps. A short metro ride took us to Gare Lyon where our train to Nice awaited us. We boarded our train and took our seats on the top level. The train ride was rather uneventful and we didn't understand a single message announced over the intercom. Before we hit the Southern part of France we zoomed along the countryside at nearly 200 mph! At the last stop, we departed the train and stood on the platform in Nice, France. This first thing I noticed, finally some warm weather and sun. Since our hotel was just down the street, we decided to walk the 10 blocks down to it. 


Our hotel was only 4 blocks from the beach and Old Town Nice. That's the only positive I can say about the hotel. I'll leave it at that, as I've already left a horrible review on several travel and hotel websites. 


From the hotel, we headed to the best place in Nice, the beach. The Cote d'Azur truly describes the scenery around you; beautiful blue ocean along miles of beaches, winding in and out along the coastline. From the beaches the land quickly elevates up into the French Alps with tree covered tops. 

Of course, Brad always loves a good photo with his favorite thing in it.....bikes. 

We walked along the coastline for about an hour and then found ourselves in Old Town Nice. This area had tons of restaurants, small markets, bakeries, stores, etc. Exactly how you'd imagine a small French City. We searched for a suitable place to eat, still intimidated to try out a full french restaurant again. To our surprise, and joy, we found an English Pub called Wayne's Bar. The entire staff was British, they served both British and French Food, and had great drink specials every single night! Needless to say, we ate there 2 nights in a row. 

The next day we explored the city further, diving into Old Town to explore the shops. I love to buy Authentic items when I travel so I was looking for something not touristy to purchase. I ended up buying a hand painted oil bottle that was full of color and will make me think of Nice any time I use it. 

On the 10th day of our trip, our plan was to take on the biggest part of our adventure, our own Epic Bike Ride. However, we arrived at the bike rental shop only to find out our pre-rented bikes were still at another shop and wouldn't be there until 2 pm or we could drive to the other shop to get them. With the skies darkening up and looking at the promise of rain, we asked if we could pick the bikes up in the evening and have them for the next day instead. I'm glad we did, otherwise we would have been really miserable in the rain in addition to the misery we would soon face. 


Stay tuned for Brad's guest blogger post about our Epic Bike Ride. My only comment about day 11 will be OUCH!!!!