Another day of travel...
We again were warned of the early start - we all had to catch the first train service down Mt Rigit to the coach.
(1) arose at 6:45am for breakfast at 7am. We left the Hostellerie at 8:10am and caught the 8:20am train down the slopes.
(2) This train is one of the steepest trains around... the angle was ~45 degrees, and we took turns taking photos of people seeing how far they could lean towards the train cabin floor.
(3) back on the coach, we passed thru Italy to get to the French Rivieria, with one service stop within Italy.
(4) reaching the French Rivieria mid arvo was eagerly anticipated - we all crowded the seaboard side of the bus (left) snapping away at the picturesque scenery. This was my very first sighting of the Mediterranean!!!
(5) part of the tour was a stop at a Perfumery factory. For us guys, there was a Ferrari experience exhibit outside... I didn't have my camera on me, but a friend took a photo of me with this Ferrari... must remember to get a copy of this!!! Honestly, inside while the mandatory tour was provided, I struggled to differentiate the scents, although I did like the one which was supposedly more sensual and appealing to the guys...
(6) We briefly passed and saw Monacco; but Nice itself was like a beachside version of Paris. Kinda reminded me of Melbourne with the main tram line... We had free time between 4pm and 7:30pm when we were to meet for a group dinner at a local restaurant, so I ditched my bags in the hotel and went for a wander on my own. This paid off because the weather was perfect and warm - I got a lot of photos of the main downtown street - whereas the following day was more overcast. Nice on a sunday arvo is fairly quiet, but there were a few street entertainers.
(7) dinner was not very good - altho honestly, the waiter was quite uptight. At our table we did mistakenly use the salad dressing as a dip for breads, which may have rubbed the waiter up the wrong way, and we did ask for balsamic and oil for the breads... 2 of us on the table shared a whole bottle of red - drinking had started early!
(8) we walked across town to the bar - Chez Francis (Francis Bar) where I had my first ever tequila shot (and a 2nd!). Interestingly, I didn't really feel the punch or the effects of the alcohol... O_o. I had a beer as well... I did come to the realisation here that with the same amount of alcohol the others (anglo Aussies) were getting very stupid and started dancing on the tables to the live band - for me this amoutn of alcohol just wasn't going to get me that loose and stupid (not sure of the right way to describe this...)
(9) While at the bar, I happened to see on a tv screen the US Open final between Federer and del Potro. Returning to the hotel, I watched the entire 2nd set and the start of the 3rd. At this point, I decided to sleep. I later woke up at 4am-ish to see Federer on the way to losing the final 5th set...
[Addition to Sat 12/09 post: I had seen a bit of the US Open semi between Federer and Djokovic]
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