We fell in love with train travel again today as we skirted the Mediterranean all the way from Genoa, Italy, to Nice, France. Wonderful views greeted us around every bend in the geography. Italy with weathered buildings and snow capped mountains and flat terrain next to the sea gave way in France to pastel colored and more modern buildings and cliffs that jutted into the sea.

When we set foot in Nice, the weather was superb–bright and warm with a cool breeze. We are immediately impressed with Nice. The walk along the Mediterranean, the Promenade of the English, is beautiful. The old town is so very French. We ate at a wonderful bistro. How do the French cook with such panache and satisfying taste? My starter salad was called prawns and spinach. It came in a heavy glass square bowl with grapefruit and orange sections over baby spinach and shrimp with a light cream sauce seasoned with basil. Simple, different, tasty and elegant. The meal got better from there, but ended with caramel ice cream and caramel granola sticks topped with whipped cream with sprinkles of caramel. Kathy and I went for a walk to burn a few calories. Nice is an elegant city. It has history and we will see some of the historic buildings tomorrow, but it is in the middle of the French Rivera on the Mediterranean coast surrounded by bays and mountainous cliffs so the scenery is outstanding, the weather is fantastic and the city ambiance is outstanding. WEG

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