Yip, it’s officially the most terrible pun ever. ‘Nice’ is actually a really nice place. It’s one of the oldest human settlements in the world, dating to at least 300,000 years ago, and could be as old as 2 million. And it’s only been French for the last 150 years, previously belonging to Italy, which is evident in a lot of the architecture.
Because it’s sunny here nearly all the time, when it actually rains heavily, people have no idea what to do. The traffic stops, the drains overflow and the streets flood with water. Today it rained and everybody was standing at doorways of shops, looking in awe, as if fire was falling from the sky.
They wouldn’t last a day in Scotland.
It’s quite a big city too, the fifth largest in France: it took me four days to realise there was a beach here! Sadly there is a downside to Nice, and it’s in the prices. A pint of the cheapest, scummiest, mystery-brand beer will cost you at least €6.50! I went out in town with some people from the hostel the other night, and when I (eventually) woke up the next day, I thought I had been robbed.
