Those who do not learn from history, it has been said, are destined to repeat it. After almost habitually starting our trips at stupid o’clock, this one was different. We started our journey as usual, up at some reasonable hour, quick breakfast and on the Tube. This time it was to the Heathrow Express at Paddington Station and a British Airways flight to Nice. Landing in Nice brought the usual smile to our faces. A new city to explore, new things to see. We were greeted by 19 degree sun and palm trees. Some of our favourite things.

We jumped on the local bus at the airport which took us to the centre of the City. The bus travelled along the Promenade des Anglais which overlooks the Mediterranean. There are no tall buildings in Nice. Everything is 6 stories or less. We strolled along the Promenade des Anglais and the stony beach all afternoon. Nothing like the sea and warm sunshine to soothe a traveller’s breast. A little slice of Heaven!

Although we were soothed to be in the sunshine our tummies were soon telling us that it was time to eat. There is, without question, a definite Niçoise style of cuisine. There is a common theme of ingredients. One can expect to find white bread, cheese, tomato, fish and, alarmingly, some parts of the sheep best left unmentioned.

One thing that caused no bother at all was the lovely, tiny cups of delicious espresso. From the coffee cart on the street to the high street restaurants, espresso is a work of art in Nice. The café au lait in the hotel was some of the best I’ve ever had. Warm milk and coffee with a strong taste that envelopes your head cannot be beat.

It was easy to tell the locals from the tourists. One way is that the tourists, like us, were enjoying the sunshine in our t-shirt sleeves. The locals were still swathed in their fur coats and scarves. French women have such style! We found some dinner in a restaurant near the hotel. Our high school French served us well once again and a nice thin crust pizza (no one has really heard of multi-grain in this country) and salad was served.

Our second day started with a lovely breakfast in our hotel. Including, of course, a lovely cup of coffee. Another very warm day and we placed ourselves among the tourist with our shirt sleeves and sunglasses. The locals were still unsure so fur coats for all of them!

We walked to the Matisse museum only to find it closed for renovation. This lead us to the Archaeology Museum and some very interesting Roman ruins. We immediately recognized the Roman baths and the same construction we found in Bath, England, which we visited in February. We explored a Roman amphitheatre and village ruins. Some of it dates from before those in Bath. The later additions are clearly similar to the construction in Bath.

There were signs around Nice advertising the Paris to Nice Bicycle Race and today was the finish. We stood near the finish line for an hour only to watch the pack fly by in about 10 seconds in a final sprint to the finish line. The race was won by Alberto Contadore from Spain. We were caught up in the spirit of the race and it was a very exciting finish. Our day ended with a tiny cup of the delicious dark elixir.

On the third day, we look the train to Monaco. The rails run along the edge of the ocean providing magnificent views. You travel high on the mountain looking down on the beautiful colour of the ocean.

Monaco is just like the pictures you see in books. Built up the mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. A 3 room flat would probably set you back a few million Euro, if you can prove yourself worthy to own property in Monaco. Monaco can prove to be a bit tricky to navigate. There are public elevators that take you up to the top of the mountain and attractions are not terribly well marked. I guess they like tourists, however only a little bit. We visited the Oceanographic Museum which was very interesting. The whale skeletons were my favourite. There was a very interesting aquarium and an exhibition of expeditions to the Arctic Circle by Prince Albert I in 1906 and Prince Albert II in 2005. These expeditions were in the name of exploration and conservation.

I can confirm that Monaco also serves a delightful tiny cup of espresso. We walked around the old part of the City, toured the Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer were married and now buried. We also saw the Palace which overlooks the harbour which houses some of the biggest yachts in the world. We visited the casino in Monte Carlo which was opulent, but we were in over our heads there to be sure.

The French just ran the fastest train in the world. Five hundred kilometres and more an hour. Turns out that while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. On the fourth day, we intended to visit Menton which is a village by the sea. We purchased our ticket from the kiosk and presented it to the conductor. We were informed, in monosyllabic fashion, there was a strike! Lots of other trains seemed to be working, just not the one that we wanted to go on. Little in the way of explanation, or trains.

Plan B involved a visit to the Modern Art Museum. Modern art is not my favourite thing and this simply confirmed it. Packing tape stuck to a red canvas and lumpy burlap cloth bound with string just isn’t something I can wrap my head around. Anyway the day went by quickly enough and before we knew it, it was time to gather our things and head for home.

We have learned to plan something for our last day on any of our journeys. Too often we have found ourselves with nothing to do on the last day but head for the airport so we have taken to ensuring that there is a plan of action. This morning we were off to the Chagall Museum. What a treat for our last day. His work is an explosion of colour. It is exhibited in a wonderful modern space. Chagall specified that the paintings be displayed with no glass or barriers to allow the most unencumbered access to his work. It is a wonderful museum.

We hopped back on the bus and headed to the airport. Another successful journey and another page in the adventure book.