Swompdonkey

Updaterino for anyone who cares to read it...

I am in Montpellier, awaiting the train to Barcelona. Why did I flee Nice so precipitously, having spent barely 12 hours there? Simply put, Nice is not Nice. I mean, the city repulsed me. Yesterday, the day's travelling began with a 200 yard sprint, me carrying both heavy packs, to an early train that was about to leave from Venice (Yes we really did want to get out that badly.... hadn't worked that hard since Infantry training in Gagetown N.B. in '97).... The day's travelling ended with us stepping off the train in Nice, greeted by the overpowering stench of a big pile of dogcrap that someone had stepped in. The smell actually made my eyes water...

Dogcrap. It is everywhere in Nice. It should be on the city's coat of arms. It is the perfect symbol for this city that Emily and I both found to be quite grimy and unremarkable. Granted... you can say "Aha, James, but you did not take the time to sample the city's many charms" To which I reply, if you have to wade through three football field lengths of manure and detritus to get to those charms, is it really worth it? I have heard people say that Marseilles is the pimple on the otherwise lovely countenance that is Mediterranean France, but I would point out that a nasty boil has developped in the area of the French Riviera.

To be fair, I did make the moronic decision of showing up in Nice sans logement during the Cannes Film Fest and the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, so basically, you can call the Nice fiasco my comeuppance. In spite of everything, I gotta say that the scenery around Monaco, Cannes, Nice and points West on the Cote d'Azur is as good as people say it is. Also, somewhat to my surprise, the Nicois were all very friendly, and none mocked my Canuck accent when I spoke French. Em and I managed to find a shithole room for quite cheap in a city where every fleabag dive appeared to be booked, so to celebrate our success, and mark her imminent departure for England, we did dinner and drinks and managed to salvage something from yesterday's debacle.

Today, we got up early so that she could catch her plane to Gatwick, and so that I could grab the first thing smoking out of the area. I am gonna miss Em, who has been an amazing travelling companion with her patience, great sense of humour, and ability to mix powerful concoctions of narcotics to keep my sickness at bay ;o) Definitely a true friend.