Nice, Côte D’Azur

“Où es tu?” “Still in the office.”

“Are you ready to go?” his voice was full of excitement and enthusiasm.

“Yes. Give me a few more minutes. I have to finish off some work, then I am good to go.”

“Okay. Shall we meet at the usual meeting point?”

“Yup. In about 15 minutes, ok?”

“À tout à l’heure.

We walked pass all the familiar skyscrapers, crossed Tower Bridge, then continued our short and quick steps along the Thames River, heading home. Surprisingly, the day was sunny and mild. However, that didn’t bother us much as our minds had started to flow freely. Our imaginations had gone as far as seeing the majestic and picturesque snowy mountains; the clear blue sky that was lit up by the scorching sun; the hint of fresh Oxygen that seemed to have lifted and rejuvenated our entire bodies and souls. Picture perfect!

So near yet so far, no longer would be. Our steps grew shorter and quicker as we were approaching home. Without wasting much time, we had our lunch and made sure everything needed was packed.

As we were traveling with EasyJet, we chose to fly from London Gatwick Airport. We were lucky enough to get a true bargain for the tickets to Nice. It was almost half the price of what we saw 12 hours before the day we booked our tickets. It always doesn’t make sense to me to pay £18 or more (single trip) to get the express train to the airport. Instead of paying double the price for Gatwick Express, that departs every 15 minutes with traveling duration of 30 minutes, we opted to take the normal train that takes roughly the same duration by just paying half the price!The only thing is that the train makes 2 or 3 stops before the Airport to let passengers get off and on the train. I don’t see why that would be a problem.

The public transport in London is quite a ripped-off anyway, so better watch our own pockets than feeding the train companies with more money for poor services!

“Ping.” The seat belt sign was switched on. A few minutes after the air hostess went through the safety procedure, the plane finally took off. As we got higher up in the sky, I gazed through the tiny window and I saw millions of golden and silver stars shining from the ground. It was an overwhelming view that made me think how tiny we are and how big the universe is! It took about 1 hour and 35 minutes to get to Nice, Côte D’Azur.

Just 15 minutes before landing, there was an amazing view through my little window again! The moon was full, bright, and round, reflecting its shadow on the water of Mediterranean Sea. It was so magnificent! I missed this shot! What a perfect shot not to be missed! I regret, still do. The Airbus finally touched the ground of l’ Aéroport de Nice Côte d’Azur. We were officially in the sud de la France!

An extraordinary region where you could find 3 S’s: Sea, Sun, Snow. Well, you will get the snow at this time of the year in Isola 2000 – our destination, which is the closest ski resort of la Côte D’Azur. It was already 10-ish. After we had checked-in to the hotel for the night in Nice, it was then time to hunt for food!

We were very near to la Promenade des Anglais and not far from le Negresco, the most well-known hotel in Nice. It looks very grand! The stroll along la Promenade des Anglais was breathtaking; the palm trees, typical Art Deco buildings, the clear sky that was full of stars, sea breeze that blew flying kisses upon my face made me feel like I was in another world!

We walked pass Place Massena, then another few minutes to Cours Saleya in the old town where restaurants are lined up on both sides of the street. More often than not, wide selections of restaurants tend to slow down our decision making process. We finally chose a restaurant which the menu sounds nice and Mediterranean. We both had Pavet de Thon aux Petits Légumes à la Provençale (Tuna served with Provençale-style Vegetables). Simplement délicieux!

Our eyelids grew heavier and droppier. The restaurant looked emptier than before.

“Tout va bien?”

“C’est parfait.”

“L’addition s’il vous plaît.”

“Voilà!” “Merci” “Bonne soirée.”

T