July 23-25:
Biking Along the French Riviera
When we arrived in Nice, we were greeted by our wonderful Airbnb host. He showed us around the apartment (located in Old Nice) and gave us some local recommendations. One thing he recommended was renting e-bikes (bikes with a battery-powered motor) and take it up the French Rivera. The next day we got up and went to Bicicletta Shop to rent some bikes! We are so glad we chose to do this instead of going to some other popular attractions. We had a wonderful four hour bike ride and enjoyed such fantastic views. We wore our bathing suits on the ride knowing we would want to stop for a quick swim in the ocean.
Motorized e-bikes are amazing! This was the first time we ever rode them and we were very impressed. I can’t imagine biking the road we did using regular bikes. We effortlessly rode up huge hills and still enjoyed the oh-so-satisfying cruise going down. One older woman that we passed gave me an odd look as I peddled slowly, still seated, continuing at a fast speed up this steep hill that she herself was struggling to walk up. She gave a look and then as though a light went off, she saw the battery and said in broken English “ohh… motor.”
As you will see in the photos below, the views were spectacular! We stopped about halfway and found a public beach to go swimming in. We locked our bikes up and headed down to the Mediterranean shore. We found some huge rocks away from the crowds to set our things on and went for a dip. The water felt so refreshing and was so clear! After our short beach stop, we got back on our bikes and continued along our route.
I wore my favorite $10 skirt from Aldi over my bathing suit. Unfortunately, being the inexperienced biker that I am, I thought my skirt would just effortlessly flow away from the wheels – wrong. About halfway down a hill, my skirt caught my tire. After a couple tugs the skirt came free from the tire to reveal the newly made tear on the side of my skirt. Lesson learned and now I am in need of a new skirt.
Exploring the City
Upon returning to the city area, we realized we had biked right into a protest. There were at least a hundred people chanting loudly and holding up signs. From what we could understand, they were protesting against President Macron’s recent announcement mandating that all French citizens must get vaccinated. It was a pretty peaceful protest as we watched from across the street, but it was growing in both size and volume as time progressed. We quickly rerouted to a quieter street and returned our bike rentals.
One thing that we have come to fully appreciate about France is their incredible food selection. Each meal we have had in France has been so delicious! Graham’s favorite dessert is Creme Brûlée so he was certainly in heaven.
Taking our Airbnb host’s food recommendation, we ate dinner at Le Safari. It was a long wait, but ended up being so worth it! The restaurant was a part of a big square filled with all different types of restaurants with outdoor seating. Many street performers traveled along the sidewalk performing for each restaurant. After their short routine of singing a couple songs or doing some acrobatic moves, they would walk around the tables with a hat to collect money. It was the perfect spot for dinner and a show!
Final Thoughts
The city of Nice was beautiful and we are so glad we stopped here before heading to Italy. Inside the city was a bit crowded and we have realized for us we enjoy getting off the beaten path, which is why we so enjoyed getting out of the city on our full day of bike riding along the coast. We will miss the fresh Creme brûlée, but we are sure to be back!
