A beautiful sunset as we wander the streets looking for dinner!
The bus departed Arles and wound its way along the coast to Nice. Its no
wonder the area's nickname is the Cote d'Azur -- the water is a beautiful
shade of blue. It looked just like it does in the movies!
We arrived right around noon, but even with the beautiful setting it was a sad moment as we had to bid René au revoir since Nice was the final destination. Gen and I had a lot of fun talking and hanging out with René.
That afternoon was free so we walked up and down the waterfront by our hotel. Afterwards, we headed down to one of the beach cafes to have some sangria and people watch. We saw the occasional topless sunbather, and the vast majority of them were not French models which was very disappointing :). We did run into Dick and John several times. Apparently they were doing their own people watching...
Gen and I didn't do any swimming or sunbathing. One thing that struck us as odd was the fact that Nice's beaches were incredibly rocky (a lot of small smooth, round rocks). Some
of the nicer beaches trucked in real sand, but for most
places, it looked like it would be really uncomfortable walking across the beach.
Our tour had their final group dinner that night. It was a fun evening although sad knowing that it was the last night of the tour. Many people were staying for an extra day or two or continuing on to other travels, but it was still a bit sad. We'd had so much fun on the past 15 days.
After dinner, the group walked back to the hotel and Patrick broke out some champagne for a goodbye toast. Everyone recounted their favorite moments on the trip and we bestowed a few gifts on Patrick. First were camouflage shorts in honor of Ellwood's vigorous tour in Normandy. The second gift was a small stuffed donkey. During one of the bus rides Patrick explained how all the donkeys in France lived a happy life and if anyone saw donkey on a menu, it was only because that donkey led a full and happy life only to die of natural causes.
The next day, Gen and I took it easy and explored more of Nice. Quite a few of our tour mates went to Monaco, Cannes, etc. We met up with KC, Frans, Darlene, Jim and Linda for another last supper.
We arrived right around noon, but even with the beautiful setting it was a sad moment as we had to bid René au revoir since Nice was the final destination. Gen and I had a lot of fun talking and hanging out with René.
That afternoon was free so we walked up and down the waterfront by our hotel. Afterwards, we headed down to one of the beach cafes to have some sangria and people watch. We saw the occasional topless sunbather, and the vast majority of them were not French models which was very disappointing :). We did run into Dick and John several times. Apparently they were doing their own people watching...
Gen and I didn't do any swimming or sunbathing. One thing that struck us as odd was the fact that Nice's beaches were incredibly rocky (a lot of small smooth, round rocks). Some
of the nicer beaches trucked in real sand, but for most
places, it looked like it would be really uncomfortable walking across the beach.
Our tour had their final group dinner that night. It was a fun evening although sad knowing that it was the last night of the tour. Many people were staying for an extra day or two or continuing on to other travels, but it was still a bit sad. We'd had so much fun on the past 15 days.
After dinner, the group walked back to the hotel and Patrick broke out some champagne for a goodbye toast. Everyone recounted their favorite moments on the trip and we bestowed a few gifts on Patrick. First were camouflage shorts in honor of Ellwood's vigorous tour in Normandy. The second gift was a small stuffed donkey. During one of the bus rides Patrick explained how all the donkeys in France lived a happy life and if anyone saw donkey on a menu, it was only because that donkey led a full and happy life only to die of natural causes.
The next day, Gen and I took it easy and explored more of Nice. Quite a few of our tour mates went to Monaco, Cannes, etc. We met up with KC, Frans, Darlene, Jim and Linda for another last supper.
The next day John, Pam, Gen and I caught a taxi to the airport. John
recounted how he chased down a pick pocket in Turkey and forced him to
give his wallet and some of his own money back. France was amazing and
the tour was full of fun and interesting people! Gen and I couldn't have
hoped for a better 10 year anniversary trip! Everyone says it, but we'll
be back as this trip was truly amazing!