• Tasha Goddard
  • Tasha Goddard

Nice November 2023

Solo rejuvenating trip Read more
  • Trip start
    November 14, 2023

    Stroud to Swindon

    November 14, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Got here very early. Train to Swindon, then to Bristol, then bus to airport, then plane to Nice.

    Fingers crossed that my Easy Jet under-seat compliant bag is actually the right size.

  • Swindon to Bristol Airport

    November 14, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Now at airport and through security (my bag got diverted because of paints in my pencil case - oops). And still a fair wait. I managed to finish some homework for one of the courses I am doing and uploaded it from the iPad using the airport WiFi. It occurs to me I could actually get the laptop out and do some work. Not gonna, though!Read more

  • Nice & night night

    November 14, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Have arrived. Tram was fine, though I think I validated the ticket wrong, or didn't validate it or something. But no-one checked, thankfully.

    Lovely apartment in a beautiful old building with a very ancient feeling lift - but it's on the fifth floor, so I will happily use the lift.

    One of my biggest bugbears about AirBnBs and other holiday rentals is that they only ever have tiny cups. So I was very happy to find lovely big mugs. And lots of other beautiful and useful things, actually.

    No instructions about WiFi (or anything, really) but I found it and worked it out. Nipped to the corner shop to get some milk (only had UHT, but it tastes a lot better than the UHT milk I remember), biscuits, I've creams and yoghurts. Probably could have got a bottle of wine or beer, but didn't. To be honest, I think I'll be going to sleep quite soon, anyway, and I have my tea (yes, I brought tea bags with me).

    It's a studio style apartment with a bed area, a dining area, a sofa (and huge TV that I haven't figured out yet either) and a nice little kitchen. Perfect for a shirt solo trip and preferable to the other studio apartment I stayed in in Nice in March, because that one you had to get the sofa bed out and put it away. This one has both a sofa and a bed.

    Anyway, looking forward to some Nice time tomorrow.
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  • Morning(ish) wander round Nice

    November 15, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    It's pretty warm here!

    I slept in a bit and did some work before heading out, but had a nice wander, both along the sea and some parks and avenues further in.

    Stocked up a bit on food and am back eating some baguette and beurre (I know it wouldn't be good for me, but I feel like I could just eat baguette with salty butter all the time!) and doing a bit more work.

    Then I'll pop out again a bit later, maybe when it's a bit cooler!

    And I will make some proper plans for the rest of the week, to include museums, hopefully theatre, cinema and a train trip to Menton. But just some of those will do if I can't manage all of them.
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  • Evening wandering round Nice

    November 15, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Gets dark so early, which just feels wrong when it's been 20°C during the day. Was lovely walking along the Promenade des Anglais watching what people are doing at that time of day. Back at the apartment eating pasta with lots of lovely fresh vegetables. And drinking a cool beer. And watching Apple TV. Perfect.Read more

  • Afternoon wanderong in Nice

    November 16, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Worked until about 1pm and then had lunch and headed out. Went to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, but got there quite late so a lot of rooms were shut for a gala. I bought the Nice museum pass, though, so can go back and also go to a bunch of other museums.Read more

  • Early and later evening in Nice

    November 16, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    And then I hung around in the old town because I had a ticket to the theatre and it would have taken too long to go back to the apartment and then walk back again. Had a galette with Roquefort and spinach and the profiteroles, and got told I speak very good French.

    Then went to see Diner de Cons at a lovely tiny little theatre in the old town - Theatre des Oiseaux, check them out if you ever have a chance. It was wonderful. I picked it because it's familiar to me, as I wasn't sure how well my French would cope with a play, but it coped brilliantly and I was laughing so much.

    Then wandered back along the Promenade des Anglais again to get my fix of the sea.

    I successful day, fitting in lots of things I wanted to do and getting almost 17000 steps.
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  • Friday treat

    November 17, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Worked a lot today, but squeezed in a quick zip round the first floor of the Musée des Belles Arts and now enjoying some Crémant and a Millefeuille from the Patisserie and a movie on the laptop

  • Saturday

    November 18, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Got out and about earlier today, after a lie-in. Went and tried out the public transport and give my feet a rest and went to the Matisse Museum which I really enjoyed and included an exhibition of Shirley Jaffe paintings, which I really liked. (Didn't take any pics inside as wasn't sure if it was allowed and didn't see anyone else doing so.)

    Came home via the Patisserie to grab a baguette (didn't get one this morning) and another little cake (Paris Brest) and then did my work in the late afternoon evening, which I found worked really well, so may repeat this for the final couple of days. More daytime wanderings will be good. I may try a train trip to Menton, or maybe even a bit further.
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  • Menton

    November 19, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Took the train down the coast to Menton for a change of scenery. And now waiting for the train to take me over the border into Italy and then hopefully another quick train to Bordighera, which I thought looked interesting.

    So nice being on a train. The plane was insanely cheap, but I do enjoy the journey so much more by train, so maybe I will stick with train trips in future. (And obviously much more environmentally sound decision - and, yes, I know, staying at home would be even more so!)
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  • Last full day

    November 20, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    And I spent much of it working. But also having last day (when I did my big trip it was last week) blues and wanting to be home already.

    I have to fill a few hours tomorrow between check-out and flight, with rucksack. I guess I will get lunch somewhere and have a final wander round the old town.Read more

  • Old Nice

    November 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Used my time to have a really good wander in Old Nice. Love those winding streets. And I had a pizza and a beer before grabbing the tram up to the airport. (Now sat on the train home.)

    Trip end
    November 21, 2023