Yet another time in Nice

Yet another time in Nice.. This beautiful city in France is a tourist destination. If you go down this blog, the first post is about my last trip to Nice.. That was two years back and the weather was still chill.. Now its a more pleasant though a bit chill.. And I am staying in Holiday Inn at downtown Nice. Last time, though I was here for a month, I could never visit downtown. This time, I am living down there thought for just a week. Yet to visit the old town.. Dont want to miss that this time..

Unlike last time, one finds lots of people on the beaches now. I still havent got a chance to go to the beach this time. That way, I am missing the Holiday Inn in StLaurentduVar which is at the beach.. but the drive to office in Villeneuve Loubet is beautiful as we take the seaside road instead of the motorway. Food here is a problem. especially lunch at the TI cafeteria. Its difficult to get vegetarian food and whatever u get is uncooked food with no salt, spice or anything.. The hotel doesnt even provide a microwave.. So it is difficult to even bring food and heat it up and eat.. And anyway, I came without any food items this time..

Talking about food.. During the training today, they served a pastry here.. Something like a bun stuffed with a sweet butter like thing brown in color. The filling reminded me of the spread that they put in the "Kaya toast" in Singapore. Tastes and looks similar. That was really good.

This is an update to the existing.. Its Friday today.. and we are closing to the end of the day.. The training has almost come to an end and tonight we plan to go to Cannes where the film festival is going on ..

I dont know what time the sun rises here these days.. But till 9 its quite bright here.. When we leave office by around 7:30, its still very bright..

My hotel booking is till tonight.. But now since I have extended the stay till Tuesday, I had to find another accomodation. Most of the hotels are fully booked as the tourist season has started and the rooms available are at exhorbitant prices. Now we have found a place in Villeneuve Loubet itself for the next three days.. Staying in Villeneuve Lobet means its difficult to get around without a car.. So nothing planned for the weekend.. I wanted to spend a lot of time at the beach.. but moving to villeneuve loubet i wont be able to do that.. only me and karthik are going to be left for the weekend and both of us are not driving.. May be I will try to spend some time at the beach tomo morning and shift out by noon.. and then sleep thru the afternoon.. Got some work to do and then read something for the rest of the time...

Karthik is planning to look for some trip for Sunday.. I am not planning to go to Monacco yet another time..I will prefer to stay back here.. Hope he will be fine by himself..

22 May
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Friday was our first wedding anniversary. But we happened to be away on that day.. Me here in Nice and Anurag in Kochi busy with the registration of our land.. So finally we have a piece of land that we can call ours..And that is our gift for ourselves on this anniversary..

Weekend was a relaxed one.. Friday night we took a train to Cannes.. Cannes seems to be a small place with nothing to see except the film festival.. When I told the receptionist at Holiday Inn that we are going Cannes, she said she went there on the opening day and saw Aishwarya Rai. She was wondering is Aish was completely Indian. Her green eyes seems to be a wonder.

Saturday I slept late into the day. At around 12:30 we checked out of the hotel and left our baggage. Went to Noori's for an Indian lunch. That restaurant seems to be having tie up with lots of tour operators and surviving just by the Indian tourists from these tours. After lunch, we spent time at the Promenade/ English Walkway and then walking on the down town streets. By 3:30 we went back to Holiday Inn. I took a cab to move to the new hotel Le Galounet in Villeneuve Loubet while Karthik stayed back for his Monacco tour..

Le Galounet is a small hotel in a quiet village part. A very friendly couple runs this hotel. I just slept and read whole of the remaining day. We had a dinner of the readymade Ashirwad stuff and some bread. Sunday was another lazy day. We went McDonalds for a lunch of french fries and milk shake. and then spent some time at the beach. We thought of looking at the shops around but everything was closed. So the rest of the day was again sleeping and reading and a dinner of ready made stuff. For the first time, I switched on the TV during this trip and watched a French movie. I dont know the name of the movie and couldnt understand a word of what was being said. The movie went on the lines of a couple going to some remote island for vacation and due to work related emergency the lady decides to come to the city. But the helicopter looses control and lands at another isolated coast. The rest of the story is about how the lady and pilot escapes from there.

Finished reading two books over the weekend - "Amrutham thedi" by Malayattoor and "Manasi" by Madhavikutty.. Started the third "Lanthanbatheriyile Luthiniyikal" by N.S.Madhavan...

With that the weekend ended. This is my last day here during this trip and I am all excited about returning tomorrow.. Flight is at 7:30 from Nice and a 2 and half hour transit time in Frankfurt. It is almost 12 noon here .. half a day and a night left before bidding goodbye....