Nice: Day One

After spending 11 hours in the air, we arrived in Nice around 3:30 local time. The flight from London wasn’t full so we breezed through passport control and customs — no lines, yay! After exiting the customs area, we met our driver who escorted us directly to our hotel, the Palais de la Mediterranee on the Promenade Des Anglais, one of the most sought after locations in Nice.

The Palais de la Mediterranee opened in 1929, and it was restored in 2004. The Art Deco style remains both inside and out. Our room is nicely furnished and spacious by European standards. And the location can’t be beat. You walk out the front door and are treated with an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea!

After settling into the hotel, we set out on foot to explore the area — and find food. Shops, cafes and restaurants line the street across from the beach and the streets behind our hotel. We found a neat area which was designated for pedestrian traffic only. Along that stretch were many interesting places to eat. We eventually selected a small Italian food restaurante to provide our first meal in Nice. Tres bon!

After dinner, it was dark outside, so we strolled around checking out the local sights and shopping in the stores along Promendade Des Anglais.

When we arrived back at our hotel this evening, we decided to investigate the small casino on the first floor of the hotel. Compared to Vegas casinos, this one is not notable, but it did have some really cheap slot machines, so we decided to take $20 and entertain ourselves for a while on the 20 cent slots. After playing for a few minutes, Gary hit a jackpot and won $200! We cashed out immediately and walked out happy — not a bad way to end the evening.

Tonight, we will try to get caught up on the sleep we missed while crossing the pond. Tomorrow we plan to visit Monte Carlo.

NOTE: For a complete photo album of Day One, check out the Photos section of the blog.