Sorry to keep you waiting, I’ve been having too much fun! The last 2.5 days experiencing France for the first time has been amazing!

My flights were with Emirates, both on A380’s, were as good as long haul flights can be. The quality service and in-flight entertainment helped!

I arrived in Nice around 1.30pm on Thursday 24 May and operating on adrenaline made it onto a bus and found my Air BnB in the old town. After a much needed shower I was set to rendezvous with my friend Anita on the Promenade des Anglais. We found each other, headed to a bar, ordered some drinks and a share platter and that’s when it began to feel surreal.

Anita is three weeks into a three month trip and she is a living, breathing testimony to the benefits of travel! It was so nice to have a friend to hang out with on my first stop.

Anita had already booked a day tour to Provence for the following day so I joined it as well. Needless to say when my head hit the pillow that night I was out like a light.

We were picked up at 9am on Friday by Adrienne who is French-Hungarian, a very confident driver and a knowledgeable guide. Anita and I were joined by a honeymooning couple from Singapore, so there was plenty of room in the mini-van.

First stop was Cannes; playground of the rich, famous and stars of film. We walked on the beach, had fun with some cut outs and were shocked by the size of Sly Stallone’s hand prints!

Next we went to the picturesque town of Grasse, once famous for it’s leather but then became more famous for producing perfume to hide the offensive smell created by the tanning process (I believe urine was used). We visited the Fragonard perfumery, which created Chanel No 5 for Coco Chanel. As you can imagine it smelt like citrus first, then had lingering rose, lavender and jasmine notes. It was very interesting to observe the process and factory workers in action. More entertaining was the perfume robot in the gift shop (unfortunately I didn’t get a pic)!

After snaking uphill into the pre-Alps we arrived at the hilltop village of Gourdon. The village is so small in size and population it closes over winter. We managed to order lunch dispite the language barrier, to the amusement of the wait staff. Conversation was free flowing, along with the rose, and soon Adrienne was looking for us, as we missed the arranged meeting time considerably.

The last stop involved a stomach churning but scenic drive down the mountain to the medieval town of Saint Paul de Vence. The walled town is now home to artist studios and small shops.

We were back in Nice by 5pm and Anita and I met up for dinner later. We said farewell after dinner as she was flying to Prague the next day, however, we will be meeting up again in July.

Friday 26 May I had a late start as the jet lag took hold. In the afternoon I visited the Museum of Modern Art. It had a big collection of pop art, by local and American artists, in numerous large galleries over three floors. It also had a recently renovated terrace rooftop that offers 360 degree views of Nice.

The MOMA entrance fee of 10€ also allowed enterance to a number of other museums over a 24hr period. So I walked to the two closest, which was the Natural History and Archeological Museums, neither were very big but both were interesting.

I then walked to the Port and, like the many private jets at the airport, the large number of yachts confirmed that Nice is a favorite destination of the immensely wealthy. I think many visitors were also there for the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco (go Ricardo!).

After one last walk along the Promenade, I had a Cambodian salad for dinner (as I was missing chilli!) then headed back ‘home’ to pack.

Today I’m catching the train to Lyon. I’ve ensured I have a widow seat to observe the French countryside on the 4.5hr ride. It looks like it may be raining and muggy when I arrive – can’t all be sunny days!