I tied up the loose ends of my life in the city (temporarily): finished a last paper, cleaned, and packed. By the time I was done, it was about 4am and I went to sleep. I felt a rush of emotion that quickly transitioned from stress to excitement. I had an early morning flight to Nice, France. Life was beginning to feel a little heavy in the city. Not having anything planned for the trip except a hostel in Nice for the first two nights, and a train ticket home to Paris from Annecy a week later, the possibilities felt even more infinite than usual. No strict plans, “just going with the flow” as all the cool kids say.
NICE:
I was welcomed to Nice by stepping onto a beautiful vast (7km!) walkway along the Mediterranean Sea, with white painted bench chairs and luscious green palm trees along the other side. It became my favourite part of Nice. Without an obstruction of view, I could see that the sea was so large and wide as if it could consume me whole. I breathed in the fresh air, felt a light breeze against my face, and closed my eyes for a moment as the sound of soft waves rippled through me. The abundance of desire in my heart was content, and I immediately felt at home. Though I barely knew what to expect prior to arriving, I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be: home.
Again, I was lucky to meet wonderful people on this trip. One of my fondest memories was being by the beach at night, with bottles of cheap wine, great company and conversation. The girls and I talked about everything that day: about life, love, our desires and goals. It was as if we knew each other much longer than the few hours we had. I spoke with Luke about our favourite books, a mutual one being Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (philosophical literature I highly recommend). Is everything in the world really connected or is it possible to be ruled by absurdity? Not really reaching any conclusion to any of our questions, we laughed and knew it didn’t matter anyway. It’s about the effort of trying and becoming more connected in any way we can.
CANNES:
Unpopular opinion: Cannes is overrated. Perhaps I went on a rather gloomy evening, but the photos from online are clearly oversaturated, the palm trees were just as present as in Nice, and the the curvature of the landscape often blocked the view of the sea. (I sat by a seaside restaurant, but the height of the sand in front of the patio blocked the ocean [20th on my highlight reel]). I just didn’t feel anything for it, and didn’t see anything more special than I already had seen in Nice. I’m sure it gets livelier during Cannes festival and later in the summer. I also went just for an evening for a round trip train fare of only 15 euros, so it’s definitely still worth checking out for yourself anyways.
EZE and MONACO:
I decided to take a half-day tour to Eze and Monaco. I booked a tour on TripAdvisor here and it included some nice scenic spots in the two cities and round trip transportation from Nice. I paid 49 euros and I think it was worth it. I definitely would not have been able to have seen so much by myself in a mere couple of hours
The town of Eze was like a fairytale dream. Curved pathways taking you through colourful brick buildings in the hilltop village, above the French Riviera.
Monaco was stunning, and wealthy. Perfect for a few hours of walking through town, and taking a look at the casinos.
Annecy:
A “catastrophic” (as the couple beside me called it) thing happened on my way to Annecy. Please recall I had nothing planned between Nice and Annecy. In my head, I had the idea of travelling from Nice to Marseille to Lyon to Annecy as it was cheaper and I’d get to see more cities. So, I bought a bus ticket from Nice to Marseille. While I was innocently enjoying the beautiful beach in Marseille and casually reading a book on a stone bench under the warm sun, the movement of my leg pushed my phone to drop inside a slit I hadn’t even noticed before. The one thing I depended on for my trip. And no, it was impossible to retrieve it. So here I was alone in Marseille, without a map, without a place to stay, without my travel apps to help me figure out where to go next, without my comfort of safety I could use if I was ever in real danger. I know it sounds silly as I’m realizing my dependency on technology, but I’ve never travelled without a phone before and I was stressed. I almost wanted to go home back to Paris. But hallelujah your girl made it.
I grabbed the address of a hostel in Marseille from a couple beside me and borrowed their map. At the hostel, I then planned, mapped, and wrote directions to Lyon, from Lyon to Annecy, to a hostel in Annecy. And i made it! I unfortunately didn’t feel comfortable doing hikes alone in Annecy as I originally wanted to in case I got lost (which I often do). I didn’t even know what time it was in the mornings when I woke up. But cheers! I MADE IT old school. 😏 Capable. Without technology, I had to rely on people for even the most mundane things like asking for the time, or the closest grocery store.
Annecy was even more than I imagined, the lake that connected the town and the mountains shimmered even under the rain. There were so many swans. The old town was dreamy, and did remind me of Venice. Venice of France, they call Annecy. But that would be an understatement. Life was even slower in Annecy. I actually felt very very strange at first. I couldn’t hike, I already walked through town numerous times, I didn’t have a phone to pass the time, so I read when I didn’t feel like making conversation. When I finished reading, I just let things be. I took more walks, practiced more gratitude, probably talked to more people, and even had the time to play a really interesting long game (1hr+) of chess. I was so accustomed to being busy, even during my travels. So this was a pleasant change of pace.
A note to conclude: As Luke shared, the most important pleasure in life should be the pleasure of taking care of yourself. Until next time.
– Amy
*names were changed slightly
English