Nice, Day 2 - Churros, chicken, crêpes...

So, with no hard feelings from being woken up from sleeptalking the night before, all of us enjoyed a nice sleep in then hopped in the car to enjoy some Carnaval festivities, but in our own way...it involved heading out of town to a real carnival (at least as I remember it!), midway games, bumper cars, goodie shacks and more!

Failed attempt at winning the claw. Just as rigged in France as in the US- maybe more!

Just in case I needed reminding that "Hey there, this is France!" Lots o' Nutella.

Faty and I enjoying some churros with chocolate...10 for 3 euros, oh the sugar high =D

So that was insanely fun, and also my first carnival/fair by the beach. Lots of kids running around, just generally enjoying themselves. Made up for the day being slightly cloudy.

Afterward, we took a stroll by the beach and stopped for a photo break on our way to a friend's for a dinner date. Very nice, and also where I learned of a very funny good luck superstition, which we participated in at the beach. What you do is grab your handy dandy water bottle and walk down to the water's edge (try not to fall in, the beach is pebbly, not sandy!). Count seven waves, then rush in for some water and rush out before your feet get all soaked. Repeat seven times, then sprinkle it in the corners of your home. Good fortune, protect against evil, all that.

We succeeded in filling our liter bottle maybe a fourth because the water kept falling out and it was slippery. Harder than it looks!

Uh...stood too close to the tide line while trying to get a photo. Water is wet.

 So, after this attempt, it was off to a friend's house for cooking and a night of socializing. On the menu was poulet rôti and gratin dauphinois...Chef Anthony handled everything, pretty much, while the rest of us ooh'ed and ahh'd at his handywork. He even brought along his chef hat and jacket from the car for photo op purposes!

Me out of frame, chickens and Chef Anthony in frame. As it should be. I am a poor poultry model.

So, to amuse ourselves after the preparations were done and the food in the oven, we amused ourselves with Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers Wii! I am no longer any good at Mario Kart (the last time I played it was on the super nintendo, cut me some slack here ok?), but at SSB I totally represented with my favorite player - Kirby, the unintimidating pink puffball who's been my secret weapon for years. The night was a lovely one, spent in great company with some most excellent food. Well fed and jolly, we rolled ourselves home late in the evening and I repacked my bag, ready to bravely depart Monday morning on foot for the solo part of my vacation.

With nothing but the bag on my back and indications to head to the beachside, I hopped a bus to Vence - a pretty mountain town not too far away - and spent a relaxing day there. I'm going to skip over it in the storytelling here for time's sake but it's quite cute and is known for its delicious spring water. A good change of pace from the business of Nice.

Until next time, when I get my hike on!