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Saturday May 1-3, 2010 - Lisbon Portugal
Diogo (From The Varzea The polo club in Portugal) emailed me yesterday to invite me to play a game at the club at 11 am. I was up early, grabbed a bite to eat, then rented a car. I had a rough idea of how to get to the club, since we passed it on Day 1 of the motorcycle trip. I made it to the field with 5 minutes to spare. Diogo informed me that this was one of the first practise games of the season and that he had arranged for me to play six chukkers. One thing you learn in polo, is that when you are traveling, and play polo on strange horses, you never know what to expect. Of course, I asked for safe horses, but my idea of safe horses, and a 6 goal Pro's idea of safe horses are not always the same. Secondly, at the beginning of polo season, the horses have just come in from the fields from grazing for a few months. They tend to be a little fresh, to say the least. Now I'm not making excuses, but I must
admit, I have played better. There was only one horse that was not rideable, and Diogo immediately changed horses with me. The rest of the horses were ok. I almost got thrown off by one, another slipped in a turn and almost went down . I had a lot of fun, but I felt like I worked too hard. I was right. Two days later I could barely walk I was so stiff and sore. And it's only been three weeks since I played back in Florida! What's that all about???
For the next part of my trip, I was determined to walk part of the
Camino de Santiago pilgrimage . Logistically, I had a few issues to deal with: I had 2 large bags from my trip that I would have to store; I would Have to arrange transportation (bus, train, plane, taxi - or all of the above) to the starting point, which is in the middle of nowhere; I would have to arrange transportation from the end point (also in the middle of nowhere) and take me back to wherever my bags happen to be; and then figure out the next part of my trip. If you're 20 years old
then this is a piece of cake. At my age however, I was looking for an easy way out. Also I was only planning on doing seven days of a 30 day pilgrimage and I felt I was not doing this whole thing justice.
I talked to Vic and Lynn (the couple from Australia) before they left the airport for. I explained my dilemma, and Vic, in his worldly way, said "Why do not I do something else?". He suggested that it was a good time of year to motorcycle in the Adriatic. He highly recommended a company,
Adriatic Motorcycle Tours , that was run by a couple of young fellows from Slovenia.
So after they left, I went back to my room and browsed the Internet checking out the company they recommended. Sure enough there was a 15 day bike tour through the Adriatic departing May 8 and returning May 22. Perfect! I could still go to Nice for 5 days then fly to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia (It's OK, I had never heard of it either), and be back in Toronto May 22. So I booked the motorcycle trip, and booked my flight to
Nice. Actually, I was relieved about not doing the Camino walk - it just did not feel right at this time. I will definitely come back and do it when I have more time.
One of the reasons I am going to Nice is that two of my dear friends from Atlanta, Jody and Ella Dyer offered me the use of their apartment in downtown Nice. I had heard that Nice, in addition to being a beautiful city on the French Riviera, it is a great place to be based since their are many opportuniies for day trips. When I checked in at the airport in Lisbon on my way to Nice, I had 2 large bags, one with my motorcycle gear, and the other one with my clothing, etc. There was quit a long queue qt the check-in counter. When It was finally my turn, the check-in clerk weighed my bags, and reluctantly informed me that I was 13kg over the limit, and their was a 15 euro (or $ 22) per kg load for the excess baggage. I looked at my friend at the counter next to me and she had the same problem. We both shrugged.
My home in Nice
Thanks Jody and EllaThere was not much could we do about it, so we paid up and moved on.
On the plane, this woman introduced herself, Marie-France, and offered to help me out in any way while I was in Nice. Marie-France Had just arrived back from a trans-Atlantic sail on The Club Med 2. I was intrigued by this and made a mental note maybe the next time that I cross the big pond, I should do it by boat instead of flying.
Monday, May 1 to Friday May 7, 2010 - Nice, France
We arrived in Nice about 7:30 pm, an hour later than scheduled. It was raining, dark, and miserable generally. I took a cab to the downtown area, and followed Ella's instructions to their apartment. Their place is a fantastic flat in downtown Nice. Unfortunately taxis can only get within a block or two of their place, so I was dropped off and the taxi driver attempted to give me directions. I walked in the rain with my two bags and my backback, stopping a few times to get directions before finally reaching my destination. The apartment was fantastic. A two bedroom
flat right in the middle of Nice. I dumped my bags, went out for a quick dinner, and then went back to watch a movie before retiring to bed.
Over the next few days I did: a walking tour of Nice; the Hop on - Hop off bus tour (one of my favorite ways to see a new city when you have limited time); visited the Museum of Modern Art (highly recommended!), the Musee Matisse and the Chagrall Musee; and walked the Prommenade des Anglais.
On Wednesday, I decided to take Marie-France up on her offer to help me out. She had a meeting Thursday morning at 11am so we agreed to meet at the train Station in Juan-des-Pans, a small village between Nice and St. Tropez. We met at 12:30 and had lunch at a beautiful restaurant on the waterfront. Marie formerly worked for a multi-national pharmaceutical company and was now retired. She was very worldly and belonged to an international business group, which got her invited to many significant functions. In fact, she invited me to a V-E celbration party at the home of an international diplomat. Unfortunately, I had alreay booked my flight to Slovenia,
as much as I wouold have loved to have gone.
After lunch, she drove me to the neighbouring town of Antibes. She had another meeting at 2:30, so she dropped me off with plans to pick me up at 4:30. I walked through the town and found my way to the Marina. The Cannes fim festival and the Monaco Formula 1 race both start next week, resulting in some of the largest yachts in the world being docked there. These included: Paul Allen's (co-founder of microsoft) Octopus, which was the largest private yacht in the world in 2007; the Maltese Falcon, a 213 foot Sailing yacht, fully computerized, and the Christina O, formerly the yacht of Jacqueline Onassis. Not too shabby!
She dropped me at the train station and in 45 minutes I was home. Just in time to put my feet up before going out for dinner with one of Jody and Ella's best friends in Nice, Rachida. Rachida has a business teaching English, with large companies comprising her customer base. She is also a world traveller,which gave us many things to talk about.
Friday morning I woke up early, cleaned the apartment and took a
taxi to the airport to catch my flight to Lbujljana, Slovenia. I have definitely had enough sightseeing and am ready to get back on the bike again.
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Very...
Nice is on the 'list' now, beautiful! And btw..NOBODY has more fun than us!