June 20 - Nice

Today we accomplished two things on Marg’s bucket list for this trip.

In the afternoon we went to the beach and took in some sun and swam in the Mediterranean Sea.  The beaches in Nice are divided between public beaches and private beach clubs.  We went to one of the beach clubs because they supplied you with lounge chairs and an umbrella.  This was a must today as the sun was very hot and shade was a must.  To enter one of these clubs there is a steep admission charge but it was worth it. There was a food and beverage service, which we took advantage of for a late lunch.   

View of  the beach

The beach is made of large smooth stones that require you to wear beach shoes or risk having very sore feet.  The shore drops off very quickly, so there is little opportunity to wade into the water.  The waves were very strong and they knocked me off my feet when I first entered the water.  Luckily the water temperature was not too cold today.

On the way back we had another encounter with those friggin' Gypsies. While walking down the street, two female middle aged idiots approached us.  One bent down and made like she had just found this gold ring. While we were distracted for a brief second looking at her, the second thief bumped into Marg and when we got back to the apartment she noticed her watch band had been detached.  Luckily that scum of the earth had not been able to get the watch off.

For dinner we returned to the beach for a nice romantic dinner on the Cote d’Azur shore, better known as the French Riviera.  We went to a restaurant called Blue Beach. It was beautiful to have dinner overlooking the calming Mediterranean and the lights of Nice during the sunset.

At dinner we were introduced to Nicoise Salad.  This is a delicious salad composed of tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, and anchovies on a bed of lettuce with a light vinaigrette dressing.

This weekend is the Fisher Park high school reunion in Ottawa.  No insult intended but I rather be here this weekend although the reunion would be a close second. It was a wonderful end to a very relaxing day.