Day 1 Nice,France

• We left yesterday for a 18 day trip to Southeastern France mostly to visit Provence and the nearby cities. We weren't exactly looking forward to the flight to France seeing as there is a major stike going on and there are many shutdowns. The initial leg of the flight to Paris was fine except we didn't sleep as planned, instead I watched a couple of movies which I knew was a dumb idea since I knew I had to stay awake the whole next day. The second leg of the trip from Paris to Nice went fairly well except that the plane was late to take off since the De-icer workers were in a slowdown strike as were the Baggage Handlers and support staff at Nice. It took almost two hours to get our bags and we were pleased to get them then. It's amazing, nobody was at all upset with the delays, it's as though the French are so used to it that they just accept it as part of everyday life. The french call a work slowdown "escargot mode".  We took the express bus from the airport along the Mediterranean Sea to the Les Cigales Hotel in downtown Nice. It was still early afternoon so after checking in we had a substantial lunch at a pleasant bistro. The rest of the day was spent walking the town and learning the area. It was a beautiful sunny 65 degree day. We could not even think of spending any time in the room for fear of falling asleep and suffering the effects of jet lag. Nice is on the coast and has a beautiful walking promenade along the gulf. The town has more outdoor cafes than any place I've ever been. We had a botttle of wine at a little cafe right on the beach which consists of rocks, no sand, just smooth rocks, and people somehow manage to lay on them. Topless is also the norm and that's ok by me. We had an early dinner down the street from the hotel in a winebar called Caves de L'Origine. It was booked up for the evening but seeing as we were so early they thought they could accommodate us. We were tired and not very hungry so we just had a cheese plate and terrine of Fois Gras, Lentils, and Duck all accompanied by the recommended wines of course. While dining we noticed that the wait staff seemed to know everybody that walked through the door so it must have been a locals' favorite. I think I would love to try the place again. Crashed early (9 ish) and hoped to feel good for the next day.