Can you tell what it is yet?

Look closely, can you see what is missing from these photographs?

What if I tell you that today has been declared a Snow Day? Aha.

This is one of those moments when I love French logic. All the buses are cancelled in the entire region for the whole day because it might snow this evening. There is snow on higher ground but none here on the coast yet. I am coming to the conclusion that my plan to avoid winter altogether this year probably won’t work…

So for today it is all too tempting to put on my horrendously 80s cardigan (confession, I’m actually wearing it right now), curl up under the blankets with a mug of hot chocolate and read. Whilst doing this occasionally is no problem, and arguably even necessary to restore order, I am aware that here in Nice, with a much lighter workload, it’s all to easy to curl up in a warm nest. Even when travelling. I want to step out of my comfort zone, both in France and in my walk with God. It’s scary and sometimes the blankets call your name (and the hot chocolate!) but I need to do it, to persevere, to take risks. Because that’s where all the fun is.

Coucou les Alpes!

Saturday was mountain day! We took the bus up to Isola 2000 which is close to the Italian border, in the Southern Alps. The journey took 2 and a half hours, and buses and I aren’t always the best of friends, but this was 100% worth it. We followed the Var river upstream closer to its source, driving along the steep V-shaped valley (merci GCSE Geography!) as palm trees turned to pine trees, it got narrower and narrower, and the valley sides got steeper and steeper until they turned into mountains.

We passed dozens of hilltop villages, some of them appearing to teeter on the brink, with all the houses piled up on top of each other and a church tower crowning every one. As we got nearer the Alps we drove through tunnels carved through the hillside. The descriptions we found for it were the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Disney ride, and Mario Kart.Isn’t it weird the descriptions have gone full circle and we are now using the man made to described the natural (and maybe a bit sad?) We all thought it though – I even saw a little dilapidated rope bridge missing a few wooden slats…

Then we passed the snow line and we were there! There was snow everywhere, and everytime we turned the corner of the hairpin bends, there were the Alps in full view. It was so sunny for a January day. And how beautiful! It felt great just to be on top of a mountain and breathe really deeply, it was such a good feeling!

Surrounded by snow and pine trees, Laura and I chilled (literally, sorry, I couldn’t resist) on some deck chairs on the mountainside while the others skied and snowboarded down the slopes. We drank hot chocolate in probably the most memorable setting of my life, and then moved inside when we couldn’t feel our toes to warm up with some vin chaud and crepes au nutella.

Miam miam

A slightly hairy moment occurred when we thought we were going to miss the last bus back to Nice and be stranded in the mountains overnight ( would that really have been such a bad thing?) but we made it in the nick of time and half dozed, half watched the sunset fade over the mountains on our way home.

It was so beautiful that no words I use can really justify it at all. Mountains are such powerful imagery used to show the awesome might of nature and our Creator, that it was almost a bit surreal to actually be on a proper one. Now whenever I sing of the mountains trembling or soaring above them, I have a real mental picture to help me envisage it. Result.

Cannes

Cannes is about 45 minutes away from Nice on the train, and though there are similarities in these Riviera cities, there is a different feel to them. Cannes feels a lot paler, a lot of the buildings are a creamy colour compared to the bright yellows and reds and terracottas of Nice. The Croisette is Cannes’ answer to the Promenade des Anglais and is lined with designer boutiques. They were closed when we walked past and so all of the jewellery was removed from the stands, but they’d left the price tags out, so there was a lot of very expensive air on display – it felt like a scene from the Emperor’s New Clothes. The beaches are sandy and you can see out to the islands just off the shore of Cannes, which is where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned. I think we’ll revisit and go to the islands when it’s a bit warmer. For now we settled for a now traditional picnic by the port:

Cannes is of course most famous for its Film Festival, and though it isn’t until May, you can spot clues to its existence all year long such as my identical hand twin à la Friends:

Or this good looking guy:

There was also a flea market by the beach. You know me and that I love anything that is old and ratty, I was in my element. 3 of us found rings amongst the various market stalls for 5 euros each – I doubt they’re 24k gold but they are pretty and a memento of our day out. We climbed to the top of the tower in the old town and were rewarded with a view over the whole of Cannes:

I can’t believe I have been living here for four months; the time is flying by so quickly that I feel I have to make the most of every moment as it won’t be long until I’m back in England. I’m having a strange nostalgia this week for green fields and punting on the River Cam (totally rose-tinted glasses as it would be FREEZING to do that right now). I will be getting my English fix in a couple of months when I have two of my best friends and my best sister coming to stay. I can’t wait! I love chances to be hospitable and it will be fun to share my current life with important people to me.

I feel like my French has improved so much since I moved out here, but that’s not the only thing apparently. Two people this week have told me I sounded American (it must be rubbing off on me) and another old lady told me that I move my hands too much when I talk to be English, I’m more like an Italian. So there you go. Ciao! (gesticulates wildly)

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Monaco, darling

For the princely sum of one euro we took a trip to Monaco. The bus journey alone is worth the price, as it’s along winding coastal roads with views of seaside villages and local ports. It was the last weekend of the Christmas markets, so we got our last vin chaud of the season and pottered about, whilst watching a Rio de Janeiro style carnival come past for five minutes and then disappear. It was my first time in Monaco so I have no idea if that was Monegasque normal.

For the first weekend in January it was warm! We took in the scenery and shed layers simultaneously.

I found the port side area a little strange as there are lots of yachts and practically skyscraper style apartment blocks, and it just looks a bit sad. Up in Monte Carlo you can see the hotels and casinos which give Monaco its deluxe reputation. Being with fearless Americans (and an equally fearless Canadian) we actually went inside the Hotel de Paris for a little peek. I think the concierge knew we weren’t there to inquire about bookings somehow.

My favourite part of Monaco was the old town. It was so quiet and peaceful in the area surrounding the palace. Everything felt light and airy and relaxing. There was also this gigantic photo frame which frames the view over the port, so we couldn’t resist taking this beauty:

As  I am such a dutiful daughter, I did take pictures of some of the cars we saw, though I fully admit I haven’t got a clue what they are.

As an aside, recent activities also include: seeing La Delicatesse, a beautiful film in a cinema with the most comfortable chairs ever (Le Rialto), finding a château behind our apartment and sunbathing on the beach.

Nice Old and New

Happy new year everybody! I hope it’s a year filled with joy, peace and love for everyone.

2012 is here, and what better way to celebrate than by sharing some old pictures of Nice with you? My friend’s parents visited Nice in the 80s and bought a guide book ‘To Love and Know Nice’, which they kindly sent me when they heard I was moving out here (thanks VP and JP!).

I looked through it before moving out here, but seeing it this Christmas when I now know it and love it was really interesting. Especially when my friends Laura and Lane’s apartment makes the front cover:

Nice hasn’t actually changed that much – people still saunter along the Promenade des Anglais, even if it’s not in short shorts and long socks:

From the promenade to the architecture, the English left their mark all over Nice when it was their favourite spot to escape the harsh British winter. Those Victorians had strange taste, this pink castle can be seen east of the port and is aptly named Le Château de l’Anglais:

  Here’s a picture of the fountain in Place Massena with no Apollo statue – you can read why it was removed (and now replaced) here, which is also a really good source of information about all things Nice:

One of the best parts of the book is also the descriptions – the following picture is accompanied by the text which reads – ‘this extended metropolis, sprawled out languidly like a sunbather at sea’s edge, nibbling patiently at the hills where, but yesterday, the olive trees were seen to quiver.’ They do not write guide books like this any more!

I’ll leave you with the final page of the book, just because I love it and I can:

_____________________________________________________________________

The boring legal bit: The book is ‘To love and know Nice’ by Jean Valbonne, ed. Minerva 1982