Nice

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Quite a few of the group were having a lay-in this morning, but I was one of the ones who walked to Biot station, where we were to pick up the train to Nice. It was 3 euros to Nice, so Paul got us all our tickets.

There were delays on the trains this morning, so we had a bit of a wait and a good chat, but it came along in the end. It was about a 20-minute journey to Nice Ville station.

Nice is the largest resort on the Mediterranean coast, and the fifth biggest city in France. However, it has the second busiest airport, only behind Paris. It was founded by the Greeks, and colonized by the Romans. It has long been a big attraction, due to its warm winter climate and its subtropical vegetation. Up until Worl War II it was favoured by royalty - Tsar Nicholas I's widow, and Queen Victoria both were visitors there. It was this glittering past that has contributed to Nice being made the capital of the Côte d'Azur.

I went around Nice with Stu, Kirsten, Suzanne and Nicola. I changed some travellers cheques up, and then we walked down Avenue Jean Medecin, and hit the shops, well those that were open anyway, as it's quite common for many shops to stay closed until Monday afternoon.

I bought some shorts, and had a Bacon Royale at McDonald's, before we made our way to the beach. It was really busy, and quite warm today. Nice was really busy, and the beach we went on (Ruhl Plage) was packed. We stayed there for a little while, and then walked along the Promenade des Anglais. The Promenade was built in the 1830s with funds raised by the English colony. Today it is a very busy eight-lane 3-mile stretch of highway, which runs parallel to the Nice beach front. The girls had all rushed off ahead for some reason, but Stu and I were in no hurry. It was good to just walk around the old backstreets drawing in that old Nice street atmosphere.

We then made our way back to the station, where we got our 3 euro tickets back to Biot, on the SNCF. I got the tickets (Stu's and mine) back to Biot no problem, even though a few of the others found the machines hard to use.

We got back to the camp mid afternoon, and, after having a shower, spent the rest of the afternoon writing up my journal about what we'd done over the past few days.

Tonight was a bit more laid back, though we still had our usual few drinks in the bar.

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Photos

Nice
The Ruhl Plage beach.

Nice
Walking along the Promenade des Anglais.

Nice
Walking along the Promenade des Anglais.