Nice 5th to 8th October

Surfing the Cote D'Azur

Nice (it's pronounced niece i swear) is on the southern coast of france on the Mediterranean in the area known as the Cote D'Azur. Most people would tell you that there's nothing remarkable about Nice. There's a lot of shopping, some very expensive restaurants and really really rocky beaches. We arrived on the night of the 4th, went to our hostel then went out for an impressively large meal but apart from that it started out in expectedly unremarkable fashion. The morning of day two we moved to our new digs.

The fifth of October was the day of my first french surfing experience. Queue remarkable, for this was my first Couch Surfing experience. For those of you that have never heard of Couch Surfing it is a network of like minded people who for the majority share a common interest in travelling and meeting new and interesting people. It is divided into two groups. Hosts and surfers. You can do both. Hosts willingly offer their couch, a spare bed or a space on the floor to complete strangers, usually travellers for free. Couch surfers do just that. They receive the kindness and bed etc of their host. However it is not a one way street. Most of the hosts see this as an opportunity to meet new people, enjoy showing foreigners their city, country etc. They typically try to spend time with their surfer for these reasons. It is a network based on trust and the belief in if not repaying kindness then paying it forward. Everyone has a profile, hosts receive reviews from their surfers and vice versa. In this way people can learn about one another before deciding whether they're suited to potential hosts or surfers. It's a lot like internet dating in some ways and i suppose some people probably use it a little for that too. Their seems to be an innordinate number of males offering couches etc. Hosting was something that my flatmates in Sydney and I talked about for years but never got around to mostly because we thought ourselves to busy. I'd like to think i won't make that mistake again in the future.

So our hosts, Cindy and Ludwig live in a little one bed apartment in Nice. This wasn't a problem for them. In fact they solved the space problem for their guest by putting us in their bedroom while they took the fold out couch. No amount of persuasion would change their mind. That gives you a good idea of the nature of many of the people that host couch surfers. We arrived at 11am then talked, ate and drank until the afternoon. What a way to start! These two have both travelled, now they work and are doing their masters degrees. Cindy even works in the tourist office in Nice and was a wealth of info on which buses, trains, trams and sights would help us make the most of our visit. We checked out the Medievil hill top village of Eze, Monaco and the famous casino, St Jean Cap Ferrat (one of the wealthiest and most beautiful little villages on the French Riviera), as well as Nice and it's old town and other bits and pieces.

One of the highlights was eating in the cellar of a little restaurant called Bistro Du Fromager. It's a cheese restaurant where dishes are are nearly all based on cheese. One of the meals is actually a pasta dish that is prepared then poured into a hole in a huge wheel of parmesan. The pasta is the tossed in their before being served. Heaps better than just sprinkling some shaved parmesan over the top. Now for those of you that have never heard of it there is a cheese from the alp region of the east of France called Comte. It is one of my all time favourites. I didn't know before that night but apparently it can be used to make a fondue. INCREDIBLE. The owner of the restaurant comes to your table and matches the wine to your taste, budget and your meal. If you don't like it he takes it away and brings another bottle and he does it with a smile.

I've tried to avoid relaying accounts of day to day activities such as eating and drinking however it would have been an oversight not to mention at least one french eating/drinking experience. After all, that is one of the things they are renowned for.

Cindy, Ludwig, you guys are fantastic. We hope to be able to host you somewhere sometime in the future.