After the typical RyanAir flight into Carcassonne, France, I collected my baggage at the smallest airport on earth (there was barely room for the one baggage claim conveyor belt) and navigated my way to the train station. From there, I managed to get on a train to Nice. From Carcassonne, the ride started out in relatively flat, dry looking terrain. Just by looking to the horizon, you could tell it was warm. But the view was incredible the entire ride. The majority of the ride was through small towns, the larger ones probably being Marseilles and Nice. Drying laundry hung out windows of apartments on the edge of the rail tracks. Graffiti decorated the bridges, buildings, and abandoned train cars. The last third of the ride followed the coast along the Mediterranean Sea. Absolutely beautiful coastal towns with gorgeous sail boats sitting in the bays.
From the train station in Nice, I walked to my hotel, La Malmaison, a few blocks toward the sea. For those of you not fluent in French, this means The Bad House, which I didn’t remember until after I booked it. Fortunately, it seems to be a decent hotel so far – small room, but clean and well located.
After checking into the hotel and a quick rest, I set out to see the sea and find dinner. About a three block walk from the hotel is the Promenade des Anglais, a boardwalk like area between the beaches and a busy street along the coast, which stretches the length of the town. The beautiful weather brought many out people walking, roller blading, biking, and just enjoying the night.
Another town where you can “rent a bike” at random places – might have to give this a shot. Finished up the evening with dinner in a small sidewalk restaurant near the hotel where I learned even the French call them French Fries!
Up next: relax on the beach.