Way back in September, we embarked on our first European adventure and it is hard to believe it was already 10 months ago! After spending four nights in Rome, we woke up insanely early (4:30am) to quickly shower and then head to Roma Termini Station for our very early train ride to the airport. This was by far the best and cheapest way to get to the airport (8€ each), as Uber or a taxi was going to set us back approximately 40€ – 50€ depending if you looked up the fare calculator or asked the owner of our apartment. The only downside of catching the train, was lugging our luggage at an ungodly hour across all the cobblestone streets. The train was super clean and comfortable and within 32 minutes we were at the airport. 

Once we were boarded on the plane, somehow the only three Aussies heading to Nice were all sitting right next to each other. We spent the next hour chatting with a younger traveller who was spending a few months travelling abroad. When we landed in Nice, we offered to shout her a ride in our Uber (and Ubers in France turned out a whole lot cheaper than Ubers in Italy, it was only 16€ for all three of us to get from the airport to our accommodation) and off we went to check out Nice! 

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I have to say, our accommodation in Nice was by far the best place we stayed at. Hotel Lido Studio Apartments in Nice was beautiful. Large comfortable bed, small kitchenette with a microwave and sink, a fridge, closet space and cosy bathroom, and was very cheap compared to some of the other accommodation we had in Europe as it was only $440 AUD for the three nights. There are plenty of cheaper options as well as hostels to stay at in Nice or surrounding towns, but we are so happy with our choice and would not change it for anything (they even had a lift to make it easier to get your luggage to and from the ground floor!) I could have spent weeks here and would have felt at home. The added bonus was that it was only a block away from the beach, and had a supermarket a short walk away where we ended up getting all our meals from once we stumbled across it. 

Carrefour City was a local convenience store which had your normal grocery items such as cereals, breads, cheeses, fruit and veg, but also had a ready-to-eat section, which ranged from pastries to freshly made sandwiches, salads to hot food. The hot food was incredible. They had whole roast chickens or part roast chooks, pizzas, roast potatoes, and the most delicious Potatoes au Gratin. After our first night where we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, we ended up buying half a roast chicken, Potatoes au Gratin or roast potatoes, some salad and a drink and dessert along with some fresh croissants or cereals and milk for breakfast, and it would cost us no more than 16€ all up. It was super cheap to eat in Nice and the food was some of the best we had the whole trip. 

As Nice was our relaxing part of our trip, Luke used this time to catch up on his gaming and managed to find a computer lounge to play WoW. This left me to cruise the streets of Nice by myself, shopping and sampling all the delights this city had to offer such as mouthwatering macarons in every flavour you could imagine, the French version of a crema pasticciera croissant, crepes, eclairs… the list goes on!

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While in Nice, the absolute one thing you must do is to go to Castle Hill. It is in Old Town and you can either walk up the stairs or access the free lift to the top. The views from above are sensational – apparently even more amazing at sunset – and we spent a few hours walking around. There is a park, lots of shady trees to relax under, so many different viewing platforms, and a large man-made waterfall. There is also live music and spots to buy something to eat so you have everything you could need to spend a day or even a few hours here. 

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Whilst in Nice for the three nights, we also ventured to Monte Carlo in Monaco for a day trip, and that will be in the next blog post, but for now, enjoy the video below which doesn’t even begin to capture the beauty of Nice, with its charming people, delicious food and epic sights. Au revoir!