June 17 – On Route to Nice France

This morning, and I mean early morning, we bid our fond farewells to John and Heather.  They were heading to Bologna Italy and we were headed to the Cote d’Azur and staying in Nice.

Our train trip was a three-step journey.  The first stage was from Venice to Milan.  As we headed north from Venice, the scenery was mainly rural with many small towns along the way.  The scenery was very green and fertile with many vineyards and lots of olive trees to be seen.  The Alps were to our north and they provided a dramatic contrast to the agricultural valleys that we were passing through.  Then as we headed west the landscape became much more industrial and the towns lost their charm as they appeared to be more modern but much more dirty.

About two thirds of the way to Milan the scenery changed again as we started going through the Italian Alps and their lush valleys.

After our transfer in Milan we headed southwest to the Mediterranean coast.  The Alps came right down to the Mediterranean and the fabulous beaches along the coast form what is commonly called the Italian Riviera.  These resort towns, such as Sanremo, looked very exclusive and I suspect it costs a pretty penny to stay there.

Harbour in Sanremo Italy

At the French boarder we transferred trains to take a commuter train into Nice.  There is a strike going on with the French railways and the train was 25 minutes late, but at least it got us to Nice.  The landscape was a continuation of the Italian Riviera.  Along the way we passed through Monte Carlo and Villefranche.

None of these train stations had handicapped accessible ramps or elevators.  So we had to tote our 50lbs bags up and down stairs, battling crowds of commuters in the process to get from one platform to another. A truly handicapped person must become very frustrated.

The apartment that we are renting in Nice is a small cozy studio.  The owners are very nice and have gone out of their way to make us comfortable.  When they left, I tried the internet and it did not work.  So I called them and they came right back over in fifteen minutes, talked to ISP and had the router reset.

Our apartment in Nice

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Vingt4.  It was one of our better meals so far.  After reading Heather's Facebook page, it pales in comparison. It seems that they had dinner with Ozzy Osborne last night, or least were in the same restaurant.

Vingt4 Restaurant