This is pretty much what I signed up for.
I spent this week exploring the region with pals in a series of day trips. This is cool for two reasons. One: I'm in a beautiful region of a beautiful country with nothing but time to explore it. Two: I actually got my act together and explored it, as opposed to not doing so, but saying I would as an empty justification for not having made fancier travel plans.
Here is the photo album for this week.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Erika and I got up really early to catch a bus to Nice and a connecting bus up to Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée. This was our route. We spent about half the day on a bus. But that's okay! Because the two hour ride from Nice to St-Etienne followed the Tinée river through an incredible valley that was stunning for every minute, even despite cloudy/drizzling weather.
We arrived around 11:30, walked a bit in the drizzle, and saw about 75% of this small ski resort town. It's adorable, and I'm certain that the mountain views are stunning on a clear (or snowy) day. We got lunch at pretty much the only restaurant that was open. I had a mushroom ravioli in this sauce that I could not figure out how to describe. It was good, but I was fighting a cold and probably wasn't tasting it properly. The cream sauce had this almost-bitter, dry kick to it that Erika decided was "astringent." I had never heard that word used for anything other than skin care products, but she volunteered the word, and I decided in a later conversation that it probably came from the wine used to make the sauce. We agreed, and we walked some more.
We explored a few trails, couldn't get into the tourist office for Erika's much-desired regional hiking maps, hiked some more, and finally found a cozy little cafe. We ordered coffee and hot chocolate, respectively, and Erika taught me Gin Rummy, which we played for an hour while waiting for the 4:15 bus back to Nice.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
I didn't do much on the 26th, either.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Today, I went over to Menton (geographic context), a charming little town right up next to the Italian border. I met up with Krisia, a fellow assistant placed in Cannes, and two assistants from up north for whom this region is a set of fancy travel plans. We had a three-hour lunch of pizza on the seaside while watching hilarious pigeon antics and wondering why the servers were willing to let us spend so much time taking up this great table on this beautiful day.
I had a thin-crust pizza with cheese, lettuce, parsley, and smoked salmon. It was very good. I could only finish half of it, though.
Afterward, we walked around, the ladies did some shopping,* and we got some gelato. There's basically one busy commercial street in Menton, and it has a few gelato stands, but I figured we should pick the one run by an Italian woman. I was right. One scoop of sweet, tart lemon and one of juicy strawberry for the win (it's my standby for a reason, and it was only 2euro50). We walked some more, snapped lots of pictures, and caught the train home.
The only thing I can't figure out: why does the limoncello flavor taste creamier than the lemon flavor?
Friday, 28 October 2011
Today's destination: St-Paul-de-Vence (everybody loves a link to Google Maps). 7 of us found our way to this very picturesque little town. I couldn't quite get a far shot, but it's a walled city on a hill, not unlike the famous Mont-Saint-Michel up in Normandy. This town is almost totally composed of cobblestone pedestrian paths and really cool shops.
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...Sorry. I just praised a town for its shopping. I needed a minute to take that in.
A lot of artists have studios here, and there are lots of neat little gift shops, as well as little bistros and boutiques for food/wine/etc. All of this for sale in a bunch of charming, artsy shops. All very… not “down-to-earth,” because they are all rather upscale, but IF any of them were condescending (and I don’t think they were), then their classy factor easily overwhelmed it.
I had a pâté sandwich for lunch. It was awesome.
The Weekend
We finally got internet in the apartment (no thanks to SFR). So, U.S. folks, I am much freer to Skype/email/what-have-you.
Also, between now (Sunday) and November 6, our time difference is reduced by one hour (France ended daylight savings today, instead of next week). I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend, and for those still celebrating (as you should be), Happy Halloween.
Pictures of my awesome (and rather appropriate) costume to follow.
-Andy
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*General Note: The gender ratio among assistants means that I am the only guy I hang out with.
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