After being offline for a while, I am back. And I’ve landed in France. Nice, France to be exact. Okay, interesting backstory here…realizing that I may never acquire a long term visa or citizenship in Italy, I found the opportunity to apply for a long term residency visa in France. I applied, (very easy), I was granted the Long Stay Visa within 6 days! Italy was not going to approve me for their long stay visa or citizenship. So was this a newsflash to me? No, I knew this long ago…I just liked the idea of seeing so many countries and then coming back to my home in Italy. So my plans have changed, France may now be my home permanently with long visits to Italy and America…no decision as yet but thrilled with France.
Are the French nice? Very much so. Many English speakers in the tourist cities and towns. The French Riviera is simply gorgeous. The turquoise blue water is like a beautiful picture. So many landmarks, statues and works of art are everywhere. The Nice area is laid out very well, many beautiful green spaces, great shopping and of course, great food. The ‘Boulangerie’ is quite addictive, I try to ignore them. Not always successful but a few words to myself to pace myself but dang, these people bake fabulous baguettes, croissants and pastries!!!
And Nice? Ah so glad you asked!!! First, second largest airport in France. Beautiful city, I love so many cities and Nice is a must see. The anchor of the French Riviera. The Promenade de Anglais (The English Promenade -boardwalk) is very wide. Clean, beautiful to walk for a couple miles. Beaches are sand and many are small stone beaches. The water is that turquoise blue that calls you to come see! The temperate climate in the Cote D’Azur makes it quite inviting – supposedly average temps between 40 – 80F. It’s always a great adventure to walk back into the French neighborhoods, where the restaurants and stores are home to mostly French citizens and here is the best shopping and eating!! Like Italy, it seems most restaurants are single proprietors. The food is excellent. Quite a bit of the Italian food here also. And last night, for the first time in years, I stepped inside a McDonalds. The menu is quite similar and quite enhanced. The food in Europe tends to be a better quality due to higher standards and laws. This McDonalds had a coffee bar and patisserie case. Who does that???? I was desperate for wifi and that was an easy one to utilize. I’ve noticed a couple other US food ‘chain’ stores, Starbucks, Burger King, Five Guys…but they are few and far between.
I like the transportation systems. As usual I am quite interested in how municipalities move people around on public transportation. The Trams and Buses are electric and new. Many motorcycles and cars, but the cars in general, are smaller than what we have in America, due to the cost of gas – about twice what we pay per gallon, many are electric and really small. Same in Italy as France. The architecture of the many apartment buildings resembles New Orleans – more ornate and quite lovely. Like Rome, Nice doesn’t seem to have any skyscrapers. Laid out by the ocean and sprawling up to the mountains surrounding. France drives on ‘our’ side of the road. I see numerous electric charging stations on the streets. You park there to charge up.
Ah yes, if you are visiting France or Italy, please remember to address the French people with a ‘Bonjour’ before you ask or tell them anything. It is a normal part of the French culture and so important. And with a smile. For the Italians, ‘Bongiorno’. They also smile and say to each other. I have not been turned down for any information requests using this behavior. I represent you. And the reputation of American tourists is a big responsibility. For all of us. And smile. It’s hard for someone to ignore you or be angry when you are smiling. One more thing…I am so grateful for this life. What a blessing – of course the French bread and croissants are heavily in that gratefulness!!!
I do need to add the language issues…French is a beautiful language. They add numerous ‘letters’ at the end of words or anywhere in the word, that are silent. Versus the Italian language where just about every vowel and consonant is said. And ‘si’ (see) and ‘oui’ (wee) are ‘yes’ in each language, but I am struggling with ‘si – oui’ as my effort for ‘yes’. So far they are tolerating my minuscule efforts!! They always seem to have a curiosity about Americans. I act as normal as I can most days.
The lovely breeze off the Mediterranean Sea keeps the air clean or so it seems. With electric trams, buses and trains…a very nice place. I’ve started doing a bit of travel and will post some places you may not have heard of, but worth a look.
Photos from walks, rides and just eating around Nice!
