Nice, Cote d' Azur

 After two days in Lyon, we hopped on yet another train headed towards the sunny south of France. All good things must come to end and we had to schlep it in second class and we also had to switch seats at the Cannes and Antibes stops!

 This is the view that we had from the train for the most part of the journey. The coast of the south of France is breathtaking!

 We arrived at Nice mid-afternoon and after settling in, we took a walk and realized that people here did a lot of this.

 And this.

 So we jumped on the bandwagon and paid for a spot on the private beach of Sporting Plage. Obviously, there's nothing like the sand back home but the sea water is pretty top-notch, endlessly blue without lumot in sight.

 D: The perfect beach kit: cut-offs, bright tote with essentials. Elle UK (magazines are so cheap here! hoarding all my favorite titles at less than P300), and a Pimms and champagne cocktail with raspberries and strawberries

 We decided to head back up at around 9pm. This photo was taken a little after the sun set.

FUN

No different than the other cities we had visited, Nice also had a bric a brac market, selling clothes, antiques, accessories, etc.

 Lovely handmade shell rings 

 Plates and jugs

 They also had random boutiques on many street corners selling hip brands like Opening Ceremony, Acne, and APC. This city wasn't as shopping-oriented as others but it had enough to satiate a shopper's appetite since it also had Galeries Lafayette and the main shopping street Av. Jean-Medicin.

 We're both running out of clothes to wear at this point, but at least Nice allowed us to do without the layers. Time to bring out clothes that brought us back closer to home. Shorts, shirts and sandals for lots of walking under the sun!

FOOD

 Upon the receptionist's recommendation, we went to the main city square for dinner at Le Safari. Being a sea-side town, Nice is known for its sea food. Le Safari also came highly recommended on the Fodor's France handbook we have handy.

 Complimentary olives and onion bread

Unexpectedly delicious! The flaky bread had a buttery flavor with some sweetness from the onions.

 Marinated beef stew cooked in red wine with ravioli

D: This was really flavorful and rich. It was a bit too savory for me, but not unbearably so. The portions were huge though so half of this went uneaten. :(

 Avocado and crab meat salad

Best salad ever! This was so fresh and the tomatoes were so sweet and juicy!

Codfish and potatoes in lemon butter sauce

P: All the ingredients packed the dish with flavor and the codfish carried it so nicely. The anchovies and pepper went especially well with it!

The south of France is ticked off our bucket lists but now all the other ports along the Cote d' Azur (aside from Nice) are on the lists!