We pre ordered a big Uber to take us to the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. When we were taking bags down I could see that the car was going to be too small. Dave ordered another one right away and they both turned up simultaneously. Our driver was from Mali and had a plan to return and be a farmer. The train had some delay in loading, for some reason, and we were lined up like cattle waiting to board. The 5.5 hour train ride was rather smooth. We talked with an Australian couple next to us and played musical chairs with the luggage. The luggage issue was something most of the passengers had to deal with and I helped a few older ladies with their bags. When we arrived in Nice there was a very long line for the elevator. If the load was too much the elevator would not ascend and we watched several folks have troubles. We also noticed a sketchy woman insert herself at the head of the line and when we were boarding I made it a point to block her out. "No Cutting" as we would say in Junior High. Of course our load was too big and the elevator would not go with me in it. So I put my bags in and got out to take the stairs. As I backed out the sketchy lady jumped into the elevator. It was just a few seconds later that she grabbed Dave's but and pulled out his wallet. He confronted her immediately and then batted the wallet out of her hand. By the time I climbed the stairs and the elevator door, Dave is yelling at the lady while picking up his money and wallet off of the floor. Leslie and Kristine had already swung into defensive mode. They blocked the exit, grabbed her hat and coat and were making sure that she did not pocket anything. I took over restraining the pickpocket while Kristine went in search of the police. Leslie made sure that none of Dave's stuff was in the coat. The pickpocket got panicky at the sound of "POLICE" that we kept yelling. After the near constant police presence in Paris we were shocked to find that there was not a single police officer in the entire station. We know because we looked everywhere, we even asked at the info-booth only to get a shrug as a reply. At this point we could not keep her with us and we could not leave if we had too stay and hope a police officer would show up. So we let her go and yelled pickpocket after her as she fled. Crisis averted as Dave was not missing anything and so we Ubered over to the apartment.
Nice and open in the entryway
Inspiring folks around the world to grow a mustache
The gates don't open until the train is ready
But they let us in too early and we had to wait
The tine sign on the train car identifies the car that we need
We traveled through the farms of France
The wheat has been harvested
Dave is as inscrutable as ever
Tiny towns
Faces in the mountains
A limestone quarry
The River at Avignon
Big mountains in the distance
We packed a picnic lunch. Such a fine spread that we had comments from passengers walking past
When you travel first class your train seat can be preselected
We are not traveling along the coast
Looking out
The blue blue water
We are in the Cote d' Azure
Also known as the French Rivera
Tiny coves
POLICE!!!! PICKPOCKET!!!!
No hat, no jacket ands now missing her toenail clippers, used to snip through cables, and tweezers used to do a sneaky grab, this pickpocket may still be running from the train station
In the apartment we have a fantastic view
The promenade is busy day and night
Our dinner reservations were waiting for us
So much to choose from
The choice overload has shut down Kristine's brain
Chlorofil, Night and My Blood
Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear
Sardines in a can
Yum!
A big block of cheese
A lamb shank
A veal chop
A salad
One very large helping of ravioli
The special baklava
The incredible rum bomb!
There is more rum where that came from
We actually took the majority home
The Bala au Rhum was the bomb
The coast curves around
On each side off into the distance
