Taking it Nice’n’Easy…

There’s only one word to describe Nice – fabulous! Walking through the port, daydreaming that all those glitzy super yachts might one day be mine, supping café crème on promenade des Anglais and people watching from behind my en vogue oversized (and fake) Chanel sunglasses, day trips to chicest of the chic Monaco, palm trees swaying in the warm Mediterranean breeze… ahh yes, I could have gotten used to the good life on the French Riviera.

Sadly, my French course in Nice only lasted 3 weeks and when it was time to leave my lovely French host, I actually cried! 25 years old and I was blubbing like a baby! I had a great host, she was in her 40s and lived alone so it was just she and I in the apartment – we got on amazingly!

We went about our own lives fairly independently and would only chit chat for an hour or so in the evening but it is incredible how quickly we bonded, she was such an interesting lady, she had endless stories to tell and endless patience with my faltering French! I will definitely keep in touch with her. Plus she had the most fantastic rustic old apartment, just around the corner from the Nice’s famous flower market. Walking through the hundreds of stalls selling fresh fruit and fresh flowers every morning on my way to the bus stop was like a daily treat for the senses!

I adored Nice, it felt to me like the Paris of the south. It is dynamic; with bustling streets and lively bars and restaurants. It is cultural; with museums and chateaus and beautiful buildings. It is fashionable; with yachts and rich people and, of course, my good friends Elton John and Bono living around the corner. But Nice has one up on Paris – a fantastic Mediterranean climate to boot! It really does have everything you could wish for. Whether you want to live the high life or kick back and take it Nice’n’easy (see what I did there?), I recommend Nice!

Zoey