Nice to Meet You!

Bonjour mes amies!

Pil thinks she's So Cute with the title--because she's in the city of Nice, don't you know.
It's not just me being cute. It actually said "Nice to Meet You!" at the airport. Let me take another sip of my chilled Provencal rose.  Very refreshing after my long journey.  I am very glad to be here.  What I have seen of the city so far is lovely and so glamorous it reminded me of Hollywood.  I got my first glimpse of the Mediterranean, which startled me with its impossibly deep blue color.
I hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly.  Usually something happens that causes frustration or disappointment.  This trip started out that way, and I hope all the problems are over.
I use a shared ride van to get to the airport, and I've gone with the same outfit for years, and they have been reliable and courteous.  This time their website didn't work, so I had to call the 800 number to reserve my ride.  I'm pretty sure it was an international call number.  The nice young man had an accent, and he'd never heard of my airline and had a hard time with it even after I spelled the name five times.  Ok, but it got done taking twenty minutes instead of the usual five on the web.
Time for pick up.  I was waiting at the curb when I got a message that my reservation had been canceled.  What?!!!  Noooo.  I called customer service and explained.  My call got dropped, and no one called me back.  I called back.  Nada.
Fine.  I had to get to the airport, and international security is no joke.  I called a taxi.  Fortunately the guy came right away, and traffic was light.  Also I'm flying premium economy these days, so I didn't have to wait in line for check in and got routed to a fast lane security clearance.
Clearly I'm here so it worked out.  Our flight arrived late at Heathrow, but I still had time to change terminals and pick up some Fortnum and Masons tea at duty free.
The flight to Nice was happily uneventful.  The bus into town went right along the coast to the Promenade des Anglais.  Somehow the sight of some beautiful buildings combined with that deep blue water lifted my spirits instantly.
I found my aparthotel easily and received a kind and helpful welcome.  The charming young man at reception even gave me a bottle of water.  I went out and got a few groceries.  They are moving me across the street tomorrow, but this is a nice place in a great location.  Rue Massena is pedestrianized and within walking distance of lots and lots of fun stuff.
Tomorrow I am going to do some city orientation and wander the Promenade and visit the old city.
A demain.