Nissa la Bella - week 2

The last week in Nice has been an interesting mix of new and old activities, friends, places and foods.

Most noteworthy, our friends Heleana and Adrian were visiting for a week between Paris and Venice then Rome (could be worse for a holiday). Adrian pulled the oldest trick in the book and proposed to his gorgeous girlfriend as they woke up one morning in the city of lights. Yes it's a classic but how can you resist. If we hadn't already tied the knot, I think I would get down on one knee in that kind of place too, simply irresistible! In any case, it was really great having them here and I think they enjoyed it too. In fact, our merriment seemed directly proportional to how much we ate, drank and laughed which was a lot. In between meals, we did plenty of touristing in and around Nice, ticking off the classics (the old town, the chateau, the port, St-Paul-de-Vence, Monaco etc...) with nevertheless, plenty of rest time at home, usually "Gleeking" on the couch.

Despite the impression, it wasn't all fun and games this week. Chris was hard at work every morning, waking up early and taking french lessons until lunchtime. This intensive regimen seems to be slowly bearing its fruit and I am hoping that we can integrate more french into our conversations, little by little. I, on the other hand, was taking my first steps in the world of delicious cooking as the assistant to a French cuisine teacher. Although my main role is to clean dishes as the class takes place and make sure it is running smoothly, my position comes with a few nice perks : I join in for lunch and eat what has just been prepared, usually with a glass of wine and I often bring cheese home. Also I belong to the small category of people who get to say "delicious" when asked how their day was... Although I am not cooking, I watch, listen, smell and taste, learning lots of new things along the way. For the time being, I am happy with this arrangement.

In addition to these few things, we are both keen to get started on some projects which were delayed while we settled in and took care of our guests. Now there is nothing to stop us. My first big project will be to begin on a new blog/website which I have been thinking about a lot lately. Now that we aren't traveling anymore, I feel like I will start to struggle pursuing Chlauretheexplorer in an interesting way so something new is on it's way and you will soon know what. We are also busy sorting out our thousands of photos since only my mum (aka the Fro) will want to see all of them. It doesn't seem fair to inflict that onto everyone. So along with lots of little bits and pieces, life is going along nicely these days and we are somehow managing to stay busy.

More later,

Chlauretheexplorer

Back to Blue

So here we are, back in good old Nice feeling nostalgic and content, like Ulysse after his "Long Voyage". Nostalgic of all the places we saw, the foods we tasted and the ones we didn't. When will we have a chance to do this again ? What about all the places we haven't seen at all yet ? This was our big trip and it seems difficult to imagine how it could happen again so we need to cherish what we have done rather than what we haven't, focus on the positive and look forward. Content also at the easy familiarity of Nice, it's streets and shops. Knowing where the good bakeries are, the nice cafes, the quickest way to the sea. It's a chance to have a rest and find our feet again. Getting started on various projects cooked up on the road, doing all the "normal" things people do. Hopefully we can find enough to do to keep the travel bug from resurfacing furiously.

We have been here for one week now, after a challenging train trip where we had about 8 minutes to dismantle our bikes and shove them onboard along with the other 6 bags we had strapped on there. Getting off was a little easier but not much. We rolled down the hill from the train station and were home just before midnight. We didn't go to bed for a while, feeling a bit dizzy rediscovering a place so familiar yet so strange. Like a shell of our former home, the appartment looks very bare at the moment, with sparse furniture and nothing on the walls, the cupboards empty and the only sign of human presence being the delicious apple pie my dad had put in the fridge for our arrival. We ate a piece, worked out which room would become ours and went to sleep.



We wook up on sunday with sun streaming through the window. We unpacked our panniers, mopped, vacuumed and slowly started turning this house into our home for the next few months. A strange thing after so many weeks moving around every few days. We went for a long walk down the quiet main street, all the way to the water packed with the usual mixture of bikes, rollers, walkers and late summer tourists. The sea was its usual, incomparable blue. A scene so familiar but still fresh, like an old friend you haven't seen in a while. We sat at my favourite spot in Nice, a half circle at the end of the beach overlooking the whole city. We also watched, with some consternation, the surprising number of people who still think rollerblades are a good idea. 90% of people can not use them properly and face constant danger at every bump in the ground. Glad this part of my life is well and truly behind me. We slowly walked home and hung out for a while. Eventually we made some dinner and watched some neverending movie out of my dad's dvd collection where you will mainly find an array of western, war and prison based movies. Fun stuff...

The next few days are a bit of a blur and all seem to merge into a series of long slow mornings, a few errands here and there, frequent visits to the supermarket, many coffees and dinners at home with my dad. We have struck a fantastic deal where we take care of all food related things like shopping and cooking while he gives us a bit of money to cover the associated costs. Suits us and it will give him a break from his frozen meals. The only thing missing this week was some exercise. Apart from a bikeride along the coast, we haven't done very much and are both feeling it. For our defense though, we both got struck down by a cold which is taking a few days to clear. Once some sort of routine is installed, we'll make it fit.



The coming week should be a bit busier with Chris starting intensive French classes (4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks), I will be starting a small part-time job as an assistant during cooking classes in the old part of town and we have visitors, Heleana and Adrian, passing by between Paris and Rome.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Vyse!!!

This blog doesn't need to be exclusively about our galivanting accross hemispheres so today, I would like to share the spotlight with Mick and Jess Lee-Vyse (could a better and more longlasting combo of names ever be invented?!) who are getting married this very day!

Congratulations to you two! We wish you a lifetime of love and hapiness together, for better or better. We would have loved so much to be with you guys and Mick, I think Chris would have been as emotionnal as you on our special day.

With lots and lots of love,
Chlauretheexplorer