My last day in Paris found me in a tiny bit more of a rush than I was originally planning. My original flight from Paris to Nice was supposed to be later in the day, but because of a ATC strike called just the day before, that only affected the afternoon’s flights, I had to reschedule to an earlier flight. So, I scrambled to make sure the trash was removed, linens in washer, and all my belongings were in my still far too full bag. Then hastily finished some post cards, before I dashed out the door, dropped off the key, posted the post cards and hopped onto the metro to make my way to Orly Airport. All this done with a bit of a limp – I had twisted my ankle a couple of days before.
The day before I had requested “assistance” for when I arrived at the airport. It was my first time doing this, and it didn’t work out super well. I was able to go through the shorter check-in line, the woman at the counter said she called for a wheel chair, but I had to go to another area to get it. I went there, and they said no wheel chair was requested for me, and that I should have requested one. I had, the woman who checked me in did, but at the assistance desk, there was no assistance to be had, other than being walked to the head of the security line. Then I eventually make my way to the gate – got there just in time to have an intense discussion with the gate agent. I went through the whole wacky story, smiled through some awful customer service, explaining that I can make it down the jetway as long as I don’t have to stand for a long period of time. The gate agent finally understood, and let me board before the general boarding call. Whew!
The actual flight was unremarkable, other than this was the first time I actually bought something on a flight, other than a snack. EasyJet has a sky catalog, just like other airlines, but the difference is that EasyJet stocks most of the items on the plane. I’ve been bemoaning the fact that my iPhone’s battery drains far too fast when I am using the map and directions function – which is often. I bought a device that will charge my phone three times over, on each one of the full charges of the thumbsUP device. That is pretty handy. I paid 38 euro for it. A bit pricy, but I knew I wasn’t going to find one in Nice, and I didn’t want to wait till Barcelona. So far the thing works like a dream. Hopefully it will hold up.
Once the plane landed, I got out to the bus platform to take bus 98 into downtown Nice. It was raining like crazy. I really think the rain followed me, but perhaps that was just because I was tired, sore and had a cold coming on. My host told me to take the “Port” stop, but the driver passed it without stoping. I ended up one stop away, in the pouring rain.
My Airbnb host, Laurent, texted me and asked if I needed help finding his place. I responded that I was trying to find him, but had to backtrack to the stop, so I could follow his directions. He told me to stay where I was, he was coming to get me. That was extremely wonderful of him! At that point my mobile phone died, and I was in the process of hooking it up to the charger, when he found me and escorted me back to his flat. He showed me the room, and gave me the internet key. I got myself settled, then collapsed on the bed to charge my phone before I went out to find some food.
The next day I just roamed around, found lunch at a cafe, then walked some more. I think I was starting to come down with the cold then – I was kind of in a fog.
That night I awoke at 1:30am and was thinking about my ongoing itinerary, and checked my flights. I realized that the last flight I booked earlier that day to Malta was made on the right day, but wrong month. Argh! Luckily, the flight was inexpensive, but I was aggravated with myself for the waste of money. That’s what I get for booking the flight on a site that had no English option! The next day I booked myself a new flight, for the correct date, and prepared my bags so I could move to my new flat closer to the ocean. By that time in the morning I was officially sick with a cold, and just wanted to get myself into the flat and sleep for the day. Alas, that was not to happen. When I arrived with my bags, the host said I could leave them, but I couldn’t come back until 5:30pm when the flat was cleaned.
I roamed a bit more, my head a cloud of sinus congestion, trying to find food, and then figure which museum I was going to see, to pass the time. I remembered a cafe I read about that was known for its Socca, a kind of chickpea crepe. Once I found it, I realized it was the same cafe I had had a cafe creme at the day before, and had seen a few people lined up for their serving of socca. So I made my order of socca and a rose, and sat to enjoy both and fortify myself for my visit to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, which was directly across the way. It was a great museum, well laid out, and has fabulous views from the rooftop.
After the museum, I stopped at the Monoprix to pick up some provisions, and made my way back to the flat. My cold had progressed through the day, and it took me a few moments to figure out how to open the fold out sofa, and get it made up. That was about it for me for the next couple of days, which I spent mostly in bed.
Tomorrow, I’m planning on taking the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of Nice, and the next day of Monaco. Stay tuned for updates!
