Yesterday I left Alassio by train. I had a nice workout at the club. I found a good spot up by the padel courts to use bands and the artificial grass. I watched a little bit of my new Chinese friend, but unfortunately, she lost her match.
I ran into another player on the platform in Alassio, Eduardo from Brazil, who is nice enough to help me with my luggage a bit. Now he knows how to pack.. small roller bag, medium sized tennis backpack with two rackets… someday I’ll learn that packing skill (on my bucket list!). He was playing multiple tournaments and visiting his daughter in Paris.
I had to change trains again in Ventimiglio, which should not installed escalators in the last week nor an elevator. But with two people to carry up my big suitcase, it wasn’t too bad and I got seats this time on both trains each of which was about an hour in length and quite relaxing..
I walked the 10 minutes to my hotel which was easier in Nice than in Florence (wider and smoother sidewalks), passing some patisseries and a Lidl along the way. My room was ready on arrival so I dropped my bags and of course went to Lidl to buy my carrot salad and a baguette..yum!
After eating I walked to the Colline du Château, or Castle Hill, first towards the Mediterranean Sea then along the long Promenade des Anglais, which stretches for miles in Nice. I stopped by the touristy “I Love Nice” sign (hint…take a selfie from the back…you won’t have to reverse the picture to read “I Love Nice” and it will be less crowded).
I walked up the steps (quite a short and easy hike up) and found a park at the top, lovely views of the port and city and a waterfall, along with a few Roman ruins, particularly of a church. There is no castle on Castle Hill…Louis XIV had it razed. Nonetheless, the views were worth the hike up even though it was overcast and a bit hazy.
I walked back down after an hour or so and walked past the Place Massena with its Sun Fountain, five statues (Earth, Satan, Mars, Mercury and Venus) and Apollo (there’s a story there…the sculptor originally had carved it with a “large” member…people objected so he was cut down to size so to speak (earning the nickname “the virgin). Brightly colored buildings form a background to the Sun Fountain and there are lots of shops and restaurants in the area and on the nearby pedestrian shopping street.
It was a busy and interesting day in Italy and France.