"Very Nice!"

[Yes, I did just quote Borat in my post title. No apologies.]

Our train from Barcelona to Nice was delayed by wildfires in the region, so our 4-hour train ride turned into 8 hours, and our 7-8 hours to sleep in Montpellier, France turned into a delightful 4 hours.

After crossing the border into southern France, however, I finally finished my behemoth Churchill biography, which was written by the late Roy Jenkins, himself an MP. I thought to myself that Churchill might have liked that, as he was not only a Francophile, but he had a special love of the south of France and spent a significant portion of the last years of his life there. The perspective of an MP added a great deal of value to the book, and it was amazing to read about the election that made Churchill Prime Minister early on during WWII, as well as his leadership of Britain during the war. The quotes of his wartime addresses and speeches to Parliament are compelling, and if you have heard them before, reading them will make the oration ring in your mind. I probably got chills about a dozen times while reading the book's excerpts from Churchill's wartime speeches. And while the book was long--roughly 1,000 pages--I cannot help but think that any lesser treatment of a figure such as Churchill would be somewhat of an injustice. Reading about his life, from the cradle to the grave, left me with a profound sense of destiny for our lives; reinforced the need to harness, develop, and use our talents; and reminded me to seek to have the perspective to realize when the time of our calling has come--our "such a time as this," so to speak. Multiple figures who worked or interacted with WSC later reflected that they were thankful that, from time to time, God puts men as extraordinary as him (despite his many faults and flaws) on this earth.

But I digress--you probably clicked on this to read my post about Nice, not a preview for an episode of Biography on A&E.

[If you want the short version: It's Nice, France. I went to the beach. Pics here.]

If you want the long version: Nice is a pretty idyllic place. From the beginning, the contrast between Spain and France was quite noticeable. The city was much cleaner and generally nicer than anywhere we had been in our two weeks on the Iberian Peninsula. It has beautiful beaches, bright blue water, and pleasing architecture. We only had a full day there, so we checked into our hotel, walked around town for a bit, and then I went to the beach while Nate opted to take the 30-minute train to Monte Carlo, Monaco to see that city and its famous casino.

The beaches in Nice are pretty, but not quite what I had expected. They were all rocks, which is why the water is so clear (i.e., no sand gets churned up in the waves). After about three hours on the beach, I climbed the hill above the town to get to some of the viewpoints and the site of the old castle.

One thing I liked was that the main road along the waterfront is named "Etats-Unis" (United States). So there it is--if you come over and liberate France twice in a 30-year period, they will name a street after you.

After Nathan returned from Monaco, I ate dinner with a nice glass of Côtes du Rhône, and then I went to sleep pretty early, as I wanted to wake up around 4:45 am for my trains to Cinque Terre. Nice is a beautiful place, and I can see the allure of the Cote d'Azur of southern France. On the whole, the area is very peaceful, chic, and relaxing. Hopefully I can return with Jen in the future.

- R