My memories of Nice

I find it hard to believe that I'm in Nice again.  I really never thought I would be back in the South of France, let alone in Nice.  I still have memories of briefly passing through a few years ago and kicking myself for not being able to spend more time.  The city seemed to have that balanced blend of all the things I wanted in life.  It wasn't too big as to be suffocating, but it had enough people to be lively.  It had a rich mixture of different people and cultures.  It was by the seaside and yet wasn't too far from the mountains.  It had an old and unique history.  The architecture of the city was beautiful.  It had its own cuisine which was itself a blend of French, Italian and Mediterranean cultures more generally.  I remembered walking around through the city when I was backpacking, having less than a day to see everything and having this annoying feeling gnaw at me.  It was a strange feeling that I can best describe as injustice or even having been hard done by.  It seemed so "unfair" that I wouldn't get to experience this place more and I felt like it was an opportunity that I wouldn't get to have again.  It was such a lovely place to visit back then, and I'm happy to say that it's still a lovely place to visit now.

This trip to visit Maya and her family was organised quite suddenly.  We needed to go and see Maya, and their family had only relatively recently moved to the South of France.  The priority was of course to see Maya and the family, but this opportunity to see Nice again definitely filled me with excitement.  For the first part of the trip, we hadn't really visited Nice other than when we arrived at the airport.  Maya didn't know Nice all that well yet given her recent arrival in the area, but I spent lots of time fawning over the city and my memories.  Todd and Maya didn't seem entirely convinced, but I wasn't going to change my views.

Finally, we started to drive towards Nice.  With the waters now to my left, the road wound its way along the coast until I could see Nice coming into my vision.  We drove through the outer suburbs and down the road next to the promenade itself.  It was a slow drive and I happily soaked in all the sights we passed.  Every now and again, brief flickers of memory popped into my head as I started to recognise buildings I had seen before.  Streets became familiar and the beach looked just like it did when I had last visited.  We parked the car and we walked out into Nice.

The city is still as beautiful as I remember it to be.  The deep blue waters of the Mediterranean still hugging the grey pebbled beaches.  The city itself still a lovely colour of reddish terracotta and sandy yellows.

We climbed to the top of the hill to the South East of the town.  It gave the best views of both the city of Nice and the ocean as well.  It was strange to be standing up here again, I remember looking out years ago and seeing a strange unfamiliar landscape.  This time, the beauty was still there, but I felt an intimacy with everything I looked at.  In the distance, I could see the hills where Maya and her family lived.  I could see in the direction of Grasse, St Paul de Vence and Gourdon.  I could see towards Antibes and Juan le Pins.  I wasn't looking aimlessly out with random curiosity anymore, but rather with a happy familiarity.  We walked around the top for a bit longer and jumped up and down a few walls to try and get a better view, nearly killing ourselves in the process.  Then we walked to the back and towards the old town of Nice.

The old town of Nice is everything that is lovely and comforting about a Mediterranean town.  The colours and the style of architecture give this feeling of the casual and relaxed attitudes of southern Europe, whilst still having the more refined elements of France in their design.  It was relatively busy this time compared to the emptiness of the last time I was here, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting.  Tourists were taking photos, looking at the random shops and eating socca.  We stopped at some shops ourselves, admired the architecture and went into some wine shops to look for some wine for Todd.

We had been fortunate to have been visiting lots of old towns with very traditional architecture over the last few days, so we decided to go towards the more modern part of Nice.  This too wasn't far away and the walk over took us past other beautiful parts of the city.

We walked down the main boulevard which I remembered very well.  Just as was the case when I last visited, both sides are lined with cafes where people sit, drink and watch the world go by.  We sat down, ordered our coffees, and joined in with the people watching.  I was very much repeating all of the activities I had done the last time I had visited Nice.

We started walking back to the promenade by the water.  Along the way, we walked through what seemed to be the main square of the city.  It was clean and modern.  As a public space, it was great.  I didn't know this until later, but much of these vast open spaces in the middle of Nice are actually the course of the river which runs through Nice, but which has now been completely covered over.  Apparently it is usually just a series of streams, so covering it up still allows it to flow to the sea whilst providing the city with far more uses for the space.

Arriving back at the promenade, we decided to stay a bit longer before we headed back towards Juan le Pins.  We walked up and down for a bit, enjoying the ocean air and also the sight of people lounging on the beach, eating and drinking.  This was the tragic scene of a terrorist attack a few years back when a truck was used to plough through hundreds of people who were out celebrating Bastille Day.  We could see some of the result of that attack, with various bollards and obstacles having now been constructed periodically along the walkway to prevent anyone with vehicle from ever being able to cause such damage again.  It barely seemed possible that such an awful crime could have occurred in this calm and serene place.

As we continued to walk down the promenade, we decided to stop for another drink.  This was one of the great things about having more time and control of your travel.  That ability to entirely self determine your own trip was a freedom that I enjoyed immensely.  I wasn't in a rush, I didn't need to get anywhere quickly.

We stepped down to the pebbly beach itself.  There were cafes which were intermittently located along the beach.  We found one with the most comfortable looking chairs and made our orders.  I knew what I wanted from the moment I arrived and I ordered a Kir.  It had become my drink of choice since I first tried it in Aix.  Todd on the other hand looked through the menu.  He browsed through the beers and initially asked the waiter what beer was on tap, then suddenly he checked himself, closed the menu and instead asked for a glass of rose.  It was a small change, but a nice demonstration on the impact that the trip had had on Todd.  Always embrace what is local whenever you can.

As we walked to the car, I couldn't help but think of the change in my own circumstances and how different this trip was compared to my last one to the region.  Having more money undoubtedly changes your experiences.  I always enjoyed my backpacking and the experiences I was able to have doing it, but there are definitely times where having additional resources creates some new opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have.  I'm not talking about the need for extravagant levels of wealth, but it's definitely good being able to sit down to enjoy that extra drink or to be able to choose a restaurant because it looks good rather than merely because it's the cheapest spot in town.  Still, I'll always look back at the more adventurous times just as fondly.