Day 11 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Menton to Nice
Arriving in Menton, four days ago, the lure of the Mediterranean sea and warm, sunny weather, persuaded us to stay and rest our aching legs for a while. We have had a great time, sea swimming every day, wandering around the old town among the narrow, hilly streets, and enjoying lovely Italian meals in the evening (Menton is within touching distance of the Italian border and there is a strong Italian influence to daily life here). It’s been hot! 33 degrees, according to the signs on the streets, so our air-conditioned hotel room has been much appreciated.
Sadly, the relaxed life had to end, and on the 21st we set off again on our bikes, for the official last leg of the trip: Menton to Nice, crossing the Col d’Èze, the last of the cols on the Route des Grandes Alpes. It was billed in the guide as an easy day, just 40km and 609m ascent, according to Strava, but the heat had us stopping frequently for gulps of water, before the cool descent to Nice.
Arriving in Nice, we took the obligatory pictures (see below) and spent the day wandering around. Coming from sleepier towns and villages inland, Nice certainly seems a little strange to us. It has some of the stricter Covid restrictions (a recently introduced curfew on evening drinking being one of them), and mask-wearing in the streets is common. I imagined an episode of “Doctor Who”:
The tardis materialises on the street. The Doctor and her side-kicks emerge, blinking into the sunshine. “Where are we?”, one asks. “Nice, South of France, early 21st century”, the Doctor replies. The team move forward, already thinking of a swim in the sea, sun-bathing, perhaps an ice-cream. ‘Doctor, wait!’, the older side-kick calls, a note of urgency in his voice, “the people, look, they are all wearing masks and keeping apart”. Sure enough, as they look around, they notice everyone walking in isolation, as if zombies, their faces obscured by a variety of cloth masks. The Doctor acts quickly; she whips out her sonic screwdriver, scans the nearest passer-by, who moves hurriedly to keep his distance. Frowning, she examines the screwdriver’s electronic analysis. She turns back to her team, a look of concern on her face: “It’s as if…”
To be continued…
