Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Nice Ville does not translate to nice city

i'm struggling to like Nice. from the moment i got off the train (perhaps even earlier) i knew this was going to be difficult.

it's a world away from Paris. there's an abundance of bleached hair and bronzed bodies. way too many poodles for my liking. lots of old people. and way too much rollerblading along the esplanade. it's another version of Miami (or rather, how I imagine Miami). last night i walked past a tacky café with Wham! playing very loudly (wake me up before you go-go). it seemed perfect, but not in a good way.

the beach is pebbles. signs advise you not to swim there.

it feels like this place was special many decades ago. now it's full of people on the edge of life, still trying to be beautiful. and poodles.

maybe i'm not trying hard enough. maybe i need to stop comparing everything to Paris.

i did have an amazing food experience though, improving my vision of Nice. Went to a bakery and asked the woman if what looked like croissant aux amandes was in fact that. she said yes, but pointed to a tray of brioche aux amandes, saying they were bigger (plus grande). the croissants were pretty small, so i opted for the brioche. it was warm, just out the oven, and pretty fucking unbelievably good! crisply on top and soft and warm in the middle. i was tempted to return for more. but that would make it less special. thinking about it now is having a strange effect on me. so good.

i walked around for a bit this morning, and will head out again soon to explore some more and to buy my train ticket out of Nice. i was eager to do this earlier, but forgot my Eurail pass.

bought a few supplies from a supermarché and the woman at the check out was rockin out to Bob Marley. that was pretty cool. she was quirky. looked at my mandarin and said 'une clémentine!' and giggled. to which i replied 'oui!'.

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