July 3, 2022
“….waving through a window”
— Dear Evan Hansen
It was the quality of the cars that I first noticed. This was not a casual observation. From Fords, Renaults and Peugeots, we changed to Bugatti’s, Alpha Romeo’s, and Ferrari’s.
These were not entry level vehicles. These were top of the line sedans and sports coupes. Porches, Jaguars, and BMW’s became the dominant cars. I was sure if I accidentally hit one it would flick me off like some bug on a windshield.
We had turned on the coastal road and entered La Cote d’ Azur, the French Riviera. Gone were the charming cobblestone villages and sylvan vineyards. Now we have windswept rocky coasts abutting cerulean blue water. The contrast was brilliant in the clear sunshine.
This was James Bond country.
Crowding the cliffs, fighting for space like hungry seabirds, were a myriad of homes each clinging to the cliffs to get a maximum view of the scene. In the inlets, of the calm Mediterranean waters, boats were anchored, including some that would make any Russian oligarch green with envy.
We drove through Cannes, the home of the famous film festival, and I felt uncomfortable. The ostentatious display of wealth was everywhere and looked sticky like eating gelato on a hot day. I felt like I was looking through a window into a world I would never know and could never be a part of - I mean what is it like leaving an enormous yacht to “come ashore” only to be surrounded by stores that sell women’s shoes for $5,000 and Mens T shirts for $250. How is that real?
About a block from where the great ships dock, you will find homeless men. They can see the masts of the luxurious yachts while having to urinate on a tree because the public toilets are all pay only.
It is a beautiful place, but it also feels vaguely sticky and wrong at the same time.
Like most people who do not have yachts, we joined the masses who flock here for the hot sun and the inviting beaches. There are not many shady beaches and the best ones are private. Most beaches are covered with smooth round stones only. But that doesn’t stop anyone from enjoying the beautiful water.
The Riviera enjoys 300 days of sunshine every year. Despite the increasing population, the government works very hard to keep pollution at check. The water is very clean and clear. Climate change has changed the weather temperature and in the summer months jelly fish flock here. This can lead to some occasionally stings while swimming.
Nice is the largest city and perhaps most well known city here. It is a big city that up until 1860 was a part of Italy. The country we know today as Italy was just trying to put itself together in 1860. Napoleon III was ruling France at the time and the country was prosperous. A vote was taken and the people of Nice chose to stay with France and that is how it has been ever since.
At the turn of the century the Riviera was where you went get away from everything especially if you were rich. British, Belgian, Russians and more flocked here to spend there days in exclusive hotels and meander down the promenade in there finest frocks.
A early physician wrote the air here was good for healing respiratory diseases and all the great masters in art, Chagall, Matisse, Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, and more spent time here.
The early fishing communities died off and the place became almost exclusively the resort location in Europe. Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Nureyev, David Niven, and more had homes here.
In recent history, Nice was the site of a terrible attack.
It was around dinner time on July 14, 2006. It was Bastille day and the historic promenade was crowded with people, many more than we saw today.
Thirty one year old Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a French citizen of Tunisian heritage had become radicalized in his support for the Islamic state. He climbed into a 19 ton cargo truck. In a carefully planned attack, he pulled onto the boardwalk . No one thought anything of it at first. Bouhel then accelerated and drove at a high rate of speed like a battering ram through the crowds.
He traveled a considerable distance before the police could ultimately stop him.
An astonishing 86 people died, including 14 children, and 434 were wounded. They were from 30 different countries including several Muslim states.
Here is a small memorial
Nice has recovered. We could see security measures as we enjoyed the beach. We walked into the old town and a market for lunch. I found it striking how the back streets and alleys so resemble Naples in Italy, except less graffiti.
We are in an Air BnB in Antibes. It is a small town next to Nice and a little more accessible than the dripping luxury of nearby Cannes. Walking to our apartment we are rewarded with explosions of purple bougainvillea flowers. We are on the 7th floor of a mid range apartment building. The place is roomy but modest and we are a 5 minute walk from the beach boardwalk.
Our place has no air-conditioning so we are dependent on breezes when we can get them and sleeping with the deck door wide open is a must. We have a little deck just off the bedroom.
Sounds nice right? Just wait.
So there we were trying to sleep. Colleen has a hearing loss, so she misses some noises at time. By 1 am the city noises at last die down. The breeze felt pleasant as it takes away the persistent heat on your skin.
Out of the blackness I hear a shriek. It is a cross between a chicken and the primal death scream of a pterodactyl.
I bolted upright in the semi darkness.
“My God there is an eagle caught in the light fixture”, I think, and I looked wildly around.
Silence. I hear nothing. No eagle.
I thought I might have dreamed the noise. Traveling, strange bed, and rich food to blame. I tried to lay down again. The breeze from the open window was reassuring.
Then, like an acoustic hand grenade it went off again. Loud, forceful, hungry, and coming from just outside the widow on the deck.
Knowing my death was imminent I decided to look out on the deck into the moon light. I looked around for a weapon. All I could find was my sunglasses.
I looked out
It was a seagull.
He looked casually at me like I was no threat and then with a shrug lifted into the air into the air breeze and lazily flew away.
The next morning, Colleen asked me, “How did you sleep?”
I need to come home.
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