View of the old town from Castle Hill
Nice
But so worth it!
and up . . .
and Up!
Up
On our way to Monaco / Menton Bus
Our second day in Nice we went to explore Monaco and Menton. We walked from our hostel towards the bus and wandered up the hill. We realized we could go to the top of the city and get a view of all of Nice from Montée Château (Castle Hill).
We thought we were walking towards an elevator which would take us up to the top, (the faster and most efficient way up, as we were planning on climbing the hill in Monaco in an hour) but ended up winding up many many sets of stairs through the Parc du Chateau. Eventually we were just feet from the top and we had inadvertently climbed a mountain. The views were spectacular!
Marrakech to Marseille to Nice
As I said we left Marrakech at the crack of dawn. Fortunately for me I sleep on planes. By the time we landed I was in a new country, on a new continent and well rested!
We weren't sure how we were going to get from the airport into Marseille, but the options are straight forward and right in front of you.
Bus or train. The train station was a few blocks away and the bus was loading so we picked the bus. Good call! As we arrived at the downtown train station in Marseille we found out that the next train to Nice was leaving in 15 minutes. We tried to buy a train ticket from the bus counter but to no avail, they sent us over to the machine. Quick transaction in English and we were still 11 minutes from departure. We had purchased 1st class tickets, I wanted to see the difference between French rail travel and Moroccan. (Spoiler: No difference!!!)
We were still 11 minutes from departure but hadn't eaten anything all day. We did gain an hour flying to France but it was around noon and we were ready to eat, we found the platform entrance and a sandwich bar just off the platform so we bought a pasta salad, 2 chocolate croissant 🥐, 2 drinks and 2 water €20 later we sprinted to the train and made it with 5 min to spare.
We were once again in a compartment that seated 6. This time we didn't have a prescribed seat, as we were the last ones boarding most of the compartments were full but we found one with two people in the window seats, so we sat by the door. (Like A, B, C seats on a plane facing each other. The B's were empty.)
The one difference we did discover is that more people try to sneak into first class in France. Turns out the girls sitting with us were on second class tickets and were forcefully evicted from there seats. (As were many down the train car) So we got the window and free entertainment!
We arrived in Nice already WOWED by the scenery. The train had gone through Toulon, Cannes, Antibes and Cagnes-sur-mer. The Côte d'Azur is appropriately named - the Azure Coast.
The sun was sparkling off the ocean and the water was 20 shades of blue. However, once we reached Nice, the main street and hotel were away from the beach and we had to go for a walk, after we settled in, to find the water.
Our hotel was a little family run hotel with six rooms(I think) en suites and small kitchenettes included.
The hosts were off getting lunch when we arrived and ran up to the door as we were about to call the cell number by the door bell. We were planning to be here for two nights so we dropped our stuff and headed out to explore the city.
Inside Hotel Aday
Hotel Aday in the Souk Market
Many acrylic choices
Recycling anyone?
The Balloons
Tombstones in Nice
I am in Investment Banking thus it is necessary to make a pilgrimage to the birth place of tombstones.
The next morning we left at 4:45 to go to the airport the taxi was waiting outside as we had called it the night before and once again we forgot to barter. The €25 taxi ride should probably have cost €10, but we didn't think about that until after we were in the cab heading to the airport.
The Marrakech airport is stunningly beautiful. Crystals and light and lots of space. It was a joy even though it was only four in the morning.
The fisherman!
Before went to the palaces we walked past a spice merchant. His youngest son was very nice and chatted to us about Canada and Morocco and his university and before we knew it we had been hooked, reeled in and were delivered to the net that was his father. The father explained every spice in his shop, gave us taste and smell of each, quizzed us on our knowledge of dyes and perfumes and served us tea.
We bought some eucalyptus, clay for the face and some soap. And when we were finished our transaction he took us over to his friend at a restaurant introduced us and gave us advice on the menu.
Shiny fishing lure!!!!
Met people . . .
We then went off to explore the palaces and promised the restaurant owner we would return, two hours later when we did return they were overjoyed that we remembered and knew exactly what to serve us.
We talk to the young man seated beside us from Norway, and had a wonderful meal in the Kasbah.
After lunch we set off north to the Souk section of the Kasbah. We want to do around for an hour and 20 minutes the first 25 minutes intentionally the other 55 minutes trying to find the exit. It is a maze of stalls and shops, places to eat, places to buy, places to smell, places to see. We escaped, eventually, by finding a taxi, who directed us to another taxi, who then took us took pity on us and drove us back to the hotel. We still forgot to barter!!!!
In the taxi on the way back to the hotel we practised our Arabic with the cabdriver, it gave him a good laugh. Apparently I had been looking at classical Arabic, and not the common language that they use in Morocco.
