Nice

After a quick stop in Genoa, Italy, which was by far the most amazing AirBnB we've stayed in, just in not such an amazing city, we pushed forward to Nice, France. We were expecting a longer delay when crossing the French border, but we were only stopped for 5 minutes while a few police officers walked through the aisles looking at everyone and, from what I can only imagine, either profiling or looking for someone.

When we arrived in Nice we walked less than 3 minutes to our new AirBnB building. Olivia, our wonderfully French host greeted us and showed us up to our little studio for the next 4 nights. I love french accents. They sound so sophisticated. Olivia mapped out places to see, neighboring towns to visit, places to eat, and her favorite things to do. After she left we dropped our bags and left to see and touch the sea for the first time in almost 2 months. We walked out our front door located at the top of the main street, which is walking and trams only,  with palms trees around us and a salty breeze in the air. 

A 12 minute walk and we were standing on the edge of the French Riviera. The beach, while not comfortable to walk on barefoot, is made up completely of round stones that have been tumbled and rubbed smooth by the sea's currents and waves. We sat on the beach with Parc du Chateu illuminated to our left, and the rest of Nice's seaside stretching out to our right. The headlights of the cars driving along the sea's edge looked like a diamond necklace dazzling in the night. We sat there for a while enjoying the sound of crashing waves and the round rocks being pushed and pulled into the ocean with every passing swell.

In need of dinner and a spot to camp out for the evening, we made our way through the cozy streets of the Old City until we found pub row- a handful of American and Irish style bars. Before arriving in Nice we had looked into spots that may be preparing a Thanksgiving menu, and Wayne's- the restaurant we decided to camp out at- was one that I saw online. We sat inside in the classic woody American-ish bar which had dozens of signed band posters and photos (The Beatles, ACDC, Snoop Dogg), ordered a burger to split, a drink, and chatted with our adorable waitress, Jackie. Born and raised Copenhagen, an ex English ballet dancer, and now a freelance Cyclist Magazine writer- we hit it off immediately. When we asked if they were doing a Thanksgiving menu tomorrow she enthusiastically said they were and that the whole spread would be starting around 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. We were psyched and so happy to have found a turkey dinner, especially at a place that we enjoyed hanging out at.

Excited for tomorrow's holiday, and to save some extra food money, we went back to our mini apartment to have some rose on the balcony while listening to Christmas tunes... Too early? Maybe.

DAY 2- Thanksgiving in Nice! 
This was my first Thanksgiving away from home, which is bittersweet! Last year's Thanksgiving was one of my favorite holidays, sharing the day with Mike's family and learning his traditions, and then spending the evening at my brother and sister in law's (still weird to say) Friendsgiving- missing everyone and those traditions today. But! We are in Nice, France! A city that quickly found its way into our top 5 favorite cities on this trip.

Our day started by strolling down the main drag and stopping into H&M where Mike picked out a sweatshirt and scarf for his birthday and then we checked out an open air market in the Old City. It's the daily fresh flower market, but other vendors selling produce, baked goods, seafood, and prepared salads set up shop, too. We bought a baguette, apple, a couscous salad, and a shaved carrot salad then walked down to the beach to brunch. It was so hot in the sun that we instantly regretted not wearing our packing our bathing suits. Instead, I was in a sweater... Poor choice. 

After our picnic on the beach we climbed to the top of the hill to Parc du Chateu- a lovely hill-top park with stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and Nice. We wandered through the park for an hour or so, stopping to take in the views of the aqua water, and finding our way to the man-made waterfall, which is very cool. 

Back down at the sea's edge, we followed the boardwalk around the base of the hill and found our way to Place Garibaldi, a square on the outskirts of the Old City. It was just after 1:00pm at this point, so we decided to start heading towards Wayne's through the cute old streets lined with shops and little restaurants. We got to Wayne's right around 1:30 and our waitress from last night, Jackie, was working today. She looked at us with a bummed out face and told us that the menu actually wasn't being served until 6:00pm.. oy vey! We're just too excited for a Thanksgiving meal!! But, alas, we'd have to wait.

Since we couldn't eat turkey yet, we had to find another restaurant for a cheap bite to hold us over until 6:00. We explored more of the Old City's corners and found a cool pizza shop sandwiched between a fork in the road. We split a yummy chorizo pizza (our best pizza yet!) while watching a loony woman talk to herself in the middle of the road with her shoes off as garbage trucks tried to drive around her without squishing her. 

After lunch we still had to wait 3 hours until turkey. Our day was essentially consumed by buying time until our Thanksgiving meal. We had passed a cool watering hole called Distilleries Idealles, which from the outside we thought had big brew tanks making their own craft beer, but it turned out they were just decoration... Lame. We went in anyways… Countdown: 2 and a half hours until turkey... We milked our beer while I wrapped Mike's presents for his birthday tomorrow. With an hour and a half left to kill, we grabbed drinks and sat on the beach watching the sunset, finding heart rocks, and enjoyed the evening air. 

Finallllly it was (almost) 6:00, so we went back to Wayne's. We sat inside and could tell that Jackie was avoiding us, which could only mean one thing. "It's okay!" Mike and I reassured her as she timidly walked towards us hiding her face in her scarf. "I saw you guys round the corner up the street and I sprinted inside and started yelling at chef to cook chicken or anything for you. But he told me the dinner was off because no one called to reserve a plate. I've never been so embarrassed in my life!" We all laughed together, because it truly wasn't a big deal! We ordered a basket of chicken wings, which were kind of like a little tiny turkey leg, and in the meantime jumped on our phones to research and call other spots that may have a thanksgiving meal- and we found one!

We arrived at Ma Nolan's, an Irish pub, around 7:00 to a rowdy, jam-packed group of soccer fans watching a big Brussels vs Madrid game. We sat on the covered patio and listened to French chants and singing, and ordered our feast. Round 1 was butternut squash soup, which was yummy! Round 2 was what we has been waiting for all day: turkey, gravy, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, stuffing, and a hidden piece of ham (not sure why). The final round: pumpkin pie, which unfortunately has a disappointing crust (tasted uncooked). So, alas, we had our thanksgiving meal after a wild goose chase. It wasn't nearly as delicious as the feasts that are prepared with love back home, but it was a fun little taste of home and a great memory for the books!

DAY 3- Happy 25th Birthday, Mike!
How cool to wake up in Southern France on the day you turn a quarter of a century old? So awesome! While we lounged in bed, Mike opened his birthday gifts and did a really great job pretending to be surprised even though he picked them out yesterday, then we left for brunch.

Our AirBnB host, Olivia, recommended a spot called Deli Bo for brunch- so that's where we went! We took the long route by the water and up through the Old City arriving at the cafe around noon. We ordered celebratory mimosas, I got a delicious veggie and goat cheese quiche, and the birthday boy got a yummy club sandwich. 

After yesterday's regret of not wearing our bathing suits, we weren't about to make that same mistake today. From brunch we went to the beach for a birthday swim! It was a bit chillier than yesterday- outside air temp was mid-50's, but that didn't stop us from diving in. The salty water was so refreshing, and then the afternoon was spent sun drying and sipping on rosé. 

As the afternoon sun faded away, it was time to have a birthday beer at none other than our favorite spot, Wayne's! Have you figured out that we're creatures of habit yet? If it ain't broke don't fix it. We sat out on the patio next to the outdoor heater, enjoying the people watching and chatting. A while later, we left to catch the sunset on the beach and to walk along the boardwalk. As we walked, we found a rinky dink carousel which we decided to ride. I've seen carousels in so many cities and have never had a reason to jump on, so for Mike's birthday it was the perfect excuse! It was probably a 2 minute ride, but we giggled the whole time feeling so silly. 

At 7:00 we had a reservation at another recommended restaurant, Ark. We were sat on the upstairs balcony, which looked out over the sea. Mike was generously given dinner out as a birthday gift, so we decided to ball out for his birthday. We started with tuna and salmon tartar (ohmygoodness), then I ordered cod with roasted veggies (ohmygoodness) and Mike got duck with goat cheese (ohmygoodness). It was all SO GOOD! Happily full on delicious food we decided to head home to have a relaxing night in. Mike blew out his birthday candle on a pint of chocolate ice cream.

DAY 4- Poor Kids in Monte Carlo
We decided, since we had explored most of Nice, to explore one of the neighboring cities on our last day in the area. We hopped on a quick 20 minute train and spent the afternoon exploring Monte Carlo.

When we got to the fancy train station we couldn't figure out how to exit the building, but once we finally did we went down to the harbor to admire all the ginormous, fancy, and beautiful yachts. Parked across the port was Lady Moura- the #28 largest privately owned yacht in the world. Holy hell. I thought it was a cruise ship! 

We walked along the harbor and then up the hill to the Monte Carlo Casino. The roads are bordered with the red and white racing edges because in May the Grand Prix race takes place through the streets of Monaco, which would be so insane to see. Up at the casino the parking lot had gorgeous cars parked in every spot. Very James Bond feeling. 

Honestly, we didn't do much of anything in Monaco because we couldn't afford to even step into any of the stores! Even the "snack shops" had overpriced coffee. Having only spent a few hours in Monaco, which was very cool to see, we left to head back to Nice.

Back in Nice, we were pretty exhausted, so we had a low key night. We went to Wayne's where Jackie was our waitress again and split a huge plate of nachos as we watched cricket and curling on the TVs. Around 5:45pm, just before Jackie's shift ended, Wayne's got slammed with customers and she became overwhelmed because she was the only waitress working. She gave Mike a free beer because she had the wrong one poured, so we, in turn, asked her to join us for a drink after she got off work, on us. She and the bartender, Tom, finished their shift a little after 6:00 and we all sat outside and had great conversation for a couple hours. Our final night in Nice and we finally made a couple of friends! We were sad to be leaving the next day, as we would have loved to get to know them both better, but we exchanged phone numbers and connected online, so hopefully this won't be the last we see of them!