Nothing Brings Clarity Like A Little Conflict.

In Sitges I met some amazing people including the love Zavvi (Xavier). 20 year old gay Canadian from Montreal. We kept in touch and decided to meet up for his last two days in Europe.

We decided to head to Nice to sun worship and relax before Zavvi's long flight home and before I head back to work. Nice is absolutly stunning with its rich blue-green sea and famous Promenade des Anglais.
We needed something cheap and central (virtually impossible in Nice) so I booked the hotel Paradis. The hotel was in the centre next door to Louis Vuitton and the Promenade des Anglais and the sea are 80 meters away. It worked out €40 a night each so I wasnt expecting much but it was perfect. Dont get me wrong, its not a luxuary hotel but it was clean and the staff were helpful and friendly. The location was ideal for walking to the beach and Promenade des Anglais - there were some pretty shocking reviews online but it was ideal for me and I would definitly recommend it (if you want a good budget hotel for sleep, shower and central location).

The night before I decided to stay awake as I didnt want to oversleep and miss my flight. I spent the night updating my ipod (every holiday should have soundtrack and my soundtrack for my Nice adventure included lots of cool french music including Air, Mc Solaar and Nouvelle Vague) I then fell asleep an hour before I was due to get up, Typical! Luckily Andy and Lauren woke me up and I had a mad dash to the airport! Zavvi had his phone stolen in Spain so all our communication and arrangements had been done via facebook - I really didnt realise how much we rely on mobile phones. I was late, he was late so I didnt meet up with him until we boarded the plane. My plan was to sleep on the plane but this plan didnt work out. Instead I chatted to the cabin crew and drank vodka (it is acceptable to drink vodka at 7am when you are off on your holidays). I was a little tipsy when I got off the plane (again this is acceptable as I am on my holidays). Zavvie is from Montreal so his first langauge is French so I kind of left it to him to ask all the questions. The journy into Nice is pretty easy. Take the 98 bus from outside the termainal and that takes you along the prominade to central nice and its €4 (bargain). Our hotel was easy to find (made even easier as Zavvi did all the talking) we dumped our stuff and headed to the beach :)
Neither of us had slept so we decided to find a nice part and pay for sun loungers so we could sleep. The weather was stunning, the sea has unmistakable deep blue colour. Its not a sandy beach and the pebbles can be pretty hard on your feet but its fine once your in the sea.
We spent quite a few hours on comfy sun beds, reading, sleeping, listening to music, listening to the sea and generally doing not much at all. This beach provided large fluffy towels, also there were changing rooms and showers and a restaurant serving good food.
We stayed on the beach all day then headed back to the room for shower and change of clothes then headed to the old town for dinner.
We sat outside in the rain (it rained all evening but was still warm) and chatted about our familys, our friends, holidays, travels and education. I had Salad to start, red snapper for main, lots of french bread and a cold beer (perfect). We then headed to a bar near the hotel for coctails. We went back to the hotel and slept til it was time to check out then back to the beach for Zavvis last few hours before heading back to Canada.
We decided to go back to the private beach as the beds were soooooo comfy. They are pretty expensive but worth every euro (€16) and it also meant that Zavvi could shower and change before catching his flight. We had a lovely breakfast on the beach..my breakfast was amazing! Freash orange juice, a quater of fresh pineapple, freshly cooked croissants, french bread, jam and butter - will definitly go back!
Zavvi left at 2 and I stayed on the beach til 6pm. It was nice to relax and sleep and gave me some "Janice time". I got halfway through my new Paulo Cohello book and left it either at the airport or on the beach - very annoying!!
I then took the tourist train (I felt like a complet twat on the train but I needed to kill an hour). I then got the bus back to the airport and came home.

I had a great time and will definitly go back this summer, even if its just for the day. I am home feeling alot more relaxed with a clearer mind and a sun tan (bonus). I had a good chat with Daniel on the phone(my friend in Singapore) and have decided to try and visit him and his faily over Christmas. Ive been letting alot of people and situations get me down lately. Sometimes we all need conflict as nothing brings clarity like a little conflict.... as long as we dont become bitter! I have alot of inspiring people in my life and have alot of truely amazing friends. Am I happy? Im certainly content... but there are definilty things that I want. A trip to Corfu has been added to my list of wants for 2009 and a return trip to Sitges... I am a holiday junkie!

My name is Janice and I am addicted to holidays :)