Bye bye, Nice

My version of sunglasses includes my prescription spectacles underneath. I know it looks weird, but it is such a cheaper option than wearing prescription sunglasses. I have an extensive sunglasses collection at home. What a crime that I am unable to wear them, due to my decreasing eyesight. (Sigh!)

The last class at the language school was devastatingly sad for me. I wasn't ready to leave. Alph.b provided excellent learning programmes. I had grown very fond of my class members.

We had 5 o'clock drinkies. I was so sad that I was such a wet rag ...... I was still feeling rotten with my chest infection. After one drink, I went home to bed. Oh boy.

On the way home, I saw a cool little smart car smiling at me, trying to make me feel better.

My final day in Nice was weighted with sadness. I hadn't eaten a great deal over the past few days, so I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch. The chicken in mushroom sauce was a sensational taste explosion. YUM!!!!! Sitting in the sun, with all my senses on high alert, I fought a terrible battle inside my head. I needed to stay positive about leaving Nice, but I was really down in the dumps.

I went back to the apartment, changed into my swimsuit and headed for a little beach near the port. It was only a few minutes walk. The flags dancing in the breeze were a pretty sight.

I took a photo of the sun-kissed buildings, faces turned towards the light like sunflowers.

I took a snapshot of an apartment block that faced the water. My new american friends own an apartment there. What an adventure for them to leave America and come and live in France. Their "yachty" lifestyle married beautifully with the port of Nice.

I descended the stairs to the tiny beach. I was not prepared for what I saw. There were a group of sunbathers. They all seemed to be over the age of sixty. Their skin showed that they were regular sun bakers for many, many decades. It would have been obscenely impolite to photograph them - but it was an interesting sight. A couple of the elderly women were topless. ... and so the stereotype of topless sunbathing at the French Riviera lives on.

The next day, I rose before the sun, in order to walk to the bus station. I "selfied" in the full-length lobby mirror. With an immensely heavy heart, I had farewelled I. the night before.

The streets were absolutely empty. So empty, in fact, that I was able to walk the entire one-hour trek trundling my little suitcase on the road.

I have NO IDEA why on earth I took this photo. But it shows a sky beginning to lighten as day breaks.

My leaden-heart sunk into my boots, on the bus trip home to Gap.