Nice... La Côte d'Azur

One of the most things French are proud of is their fast trains, TGV. If I am not mistaken the farthest distance is Paris-Nice, it takes you from northern France to the south in a little over 5 hours which I did this past weekend. Monitoring the train speed on the screen was an entertainment on board…At moment it reached 320km/h = 199/h!! I love riding on trains, and I prefer it to airplanes. You get to see the country side and watch the beautiful scenery…I spent the last hour admiring the Mediterranean coast starting from Antibes passing by Cannes then Nice.

I bought my ticket online, where I got a great deal on an “IDTGV” (pronounced (ydé tégévé)). Basically, it is a company that buys couple wagons on the main TGV train and sells them cheaper than regular TGV online… I am in! Who doesn't like saving some money while on a trip. The fun part is you get to choose not only your seat but also which “ambiance” you want to be in! “IDzen” the quiet, silent wagon, or “IDzap” the loud, animated, vibrant, more suited for family one. If you know me well, you would guess I would choose the Zap one! Nah! it looks like I don't know myself either… since I am traveling alone, I decided to choose the Zen ambiance! How boring!!! I realized my mistake when I boarded and the host on the speaker literally asked us to be silent… like totally silent and to put our phones on vibrations, not to talk to our neighbors while he asked travelers in the Zap wagons to start greeting their neighbors and let the fun begin!! Next ride, a Zap one baby!

Arrived to Nice. The “promenade des anglais” is basically the beach sidewalk that goes for few miles along the public stunning beach! Cafés and lounges are spread all along the promenade, blue and white umbrellas, le “Méridien”, “le beau rivage” just to name few: time for a croissant and a cup of café on the beach! Wrong!!! All of the sudden, grey clouds reflected on the light blue sea, waves started to hit the shore, in 15 minutes the sky and the sea became one background, grey one, and nooooo it started to rain! “Perfect timing” we thought, by the time we have lunch the storm will be over… we hid in a restaurant, devoured the amazing fish that the Chef breaded (see photo) while watching the owner of the souvenir store in front of us trying to save his owning from breaking! I am not sure if that was raining, or if a whole from heaven opened above Nice, and a water hose penetrated through! I literally have never seen such rain… in few moments everything was flooded. After 2 hours of watching the cascades pouring from the sky, and the owner closing the restaurant, we had to leave. However, we had shoes on, nice ones and we were not ready to ruin them…. Flip flop to the rescue… I am not a big fan of this invention, but at that moment it became my favorite genius one. Bought a pair and we walked happily in the rain… I am not sure if you have ever done this, but take advantage next time, walk in flip flop in a summer rain: the sensation is priceless.

“Après la pluie, le beau temps” (after the rain, comes the beautiful weather) : True ! amazing mountain views above the sea. Next day, we drove along the shore, (Forget the freeway), from Nice to Monte-Carlo passing by Eze, had lunch in Villefranche-sur-mer… amazing “moules et frites”, and fresh “Daurade” fish with a glass of chilly Prosecco. No meal is complete in France without coffee and desert: “profiteroles” were to die for.

I can’t be on the Mediterranean and not think of the endless summers I spent in Latakieh اللاذقية growing up! On the Côte d’Azur, the sun rise up from the sea, in Latakieh, it sets in it. I remember the most beautiful sun sets I’ve ever seen are the ones on the endless sand beaches back home… we will come back one day. (سنرجع يوماً)

Back in Paris, cold, wind and rain… Remember, when you come to Europe, umbrellas are your best friends!

Stay tuned….