For our last bit of just-the-2-of-us time in Europe, we revenu to the Côte d’Azur, last visited in the late nineties. We remembered it as a place to lay back, relax, explore a village or two along the Vintimille-Cannes train line and swim in the clear waters off of the (very) rocky beaches. With its central location, Nice was an obvious choice and we found a place on the Promenade des Anglais.
Up and down the promenade, signs announcing the upcoming Nice Fete sa Rentrée struck a chord: it was time to begin prepping for our own re-entry.
To get back into the rhythm of the real world, we spent many mornings on email working on our admin: a gardeners’ visit, our cleaner, storage, our return to work notices . . . During beach time and dinners, it was more sober conversations about how this trip had changed where we wanted to head in our next chapter. Should we chuck it all in and buy a small beach-side property in a foreign country? Learn to speak another language? Do it now or wait a few more years? Go back to normal life but plan another break in five years? All were discussed with no definite clarity except we knew we wanted a simpler life upon return. Maybe not immediately, but at some point.
For the 2 of us, the best escape from what was now preoccupying our minds was a trip to the beach. With a couple of days at Castel, a day at Saint-Laurent-d'Eze, a few cross-the-Promenade swims and a trek to an old favourite, Cap d’ail's Plage Mala, we worked on drowning our real-world sorrows in the great big blue.
When that didn’t work, we moved on to nightlife, hoping that the French wine, food, music, and dancing in the streets would bring us back to the present. Nothing like being a committed tourist. We enjoyed laneway dining at its best, some jazz at Le Shapko and a number of happy hours at Lou Pastrouil.
For our last attempt to be present, we wandered. The trams, trains and busses can get you anywhere along the coast, and we hopped on and explored Antibes, hiked up to Eze and spent an evening at a free concert in Cagnes-sur-Mer. It's all magical and the sun and crystal clear water never lets you forget why it is the Cote d' Azur.
On our last day, we stayed closer to home and toured the Musee Massena, the Belle-Epoque villa on the promenade which is now dedicated to telling the history of the Riviera, with emphasis on Nice. On our visit, one floor curated a timeline of local film.
In the end, none of these adventures could put off what was staring us in the face - it was coming close to the end of our middle-age-gap-year. It would be a challenge to just sit back and relax through our remaining three weeks, but we were determined to do our best.
2 big diversions were still yet to come.
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