Friday, 4 January

Fine

Genoa to Nice

I woke up at half past seven and we were ready to leave at eight. As we still had time I took a walk with Kitty and Zhongxiong and bought some tiny souvenirs nearby. We did not leave Genoa until nine forty-five. On our way, we passed through Varazze, Savona, Albenga, Alassio, Imperio, San Remo, and Ventimiglia. We reached the border at one forty. The weather today was fine and the sunlight was bright. We found that though the highway was quite steep and winding, it was wide. The road surface was good too. The coastal view was beautiful. The summer resort areas of Italy could match those of Southern France. If I had the time, I would visit again. We had lunch at the famous restaurant, La Mortola, at the border. The food was really delicious while the price was still reasonable.

We crossed the border at three forty in the afternoon. We reached Nice at half past four and stayed in the Hotel Luxembourg. The hotel was comfortable and again, the price was not high. I stayed in Room 99, and Zhongxiong in Room 102. Both rooms had a bathroom, and the cost was just 2400 francs. The total cost was 3800 francs, including tax and other fees. I went for a walk through the market with Kitty and Zhongxiong. We returned to the hotel at eight. We went together to Petite Brouand, 4 bis, rue Gustave Deloye, for dinner. The atmosphere was quite good, and the food was good too. This time I paid for the dinner and had spent 11000 francs. The restaurant was owned by a woman. Though she was not young, she was still very charming. On her fingers there were three rings with big diamonds. She treated us very well. She said that the restaurant had been opened for seventeen years; at the time she had been about the age of twenty. We returned to the hotel after dinner.

After some discussion, we decided that starting from tomorrow we would travel to different places and specify a gathering point each day. I certainly agreed, because we want to go to Avignon earlier and visit Palais des Papes.