Snippets from Eastern Europe & French Riviera, Sep 2011

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ROOM KEYS PLEASE!

Budapest; 29^th August, 2011

Our hotel receptionist in Hungary said that “we have the most beautiful women in Europe” in response to a query of what were the Hungarian specialities, the other two being Goulash (a beef stew) and the Hungarian language.

Granted the receptionist was pretty and helpful, I’ll give her the benefit of doubt on Hungarians being the most beautiful women (as this is my first stop in Europe) but I still don’t think her beauty could justify my husband’s forgetting to return the room keys and carrying them all the way to Vienna! Or I could look at it as a good example of “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”!

NOT-SO-FRESH TOWELS

Vienna; 29^th August, 2011

Much as I like brown hair (and have made several failed attempts to colour my black hair brown) I was not at all happy to see a few strands of golden brown hair when I grabbed a “fresh towel” to wipe my face after checking into what was claimed as a 4star hotel.

120 SECONDS IN ITALY  

Autostrada A2; 1^st September, 2011

When it comes to driving long distances I am invariably the navigator. Not because I am a master navigator but because my driving skills are limited. I can only drive an automatic car at a maximum speed of 100 km/hr, am always on the slowest lane if it’s a highway and prefer not to change lanes even when it seems that I am stuck forever behind a RV or a truck.

Since European cars are mostly manual ones, the driving from Vienna to Heiligenblut in the Austrian Alps was being done by my husband. The nearly 500 km distance was being covered smoothly until the navigator (yours truly) fell asleep at the most inopportune moment. After driving south on A2, we had to take A10 towards Spittal and continue on Route 100 and 107 to Heiligenblut. Instead we went steadily down south on A2 as I snoozed.

By the time I woke up and realised that we were headed in the wrong direction, it was too late. We had almost reached the border town of Arnoldstein from where there was no way to turn back. With no other option, we went straight to Italy (thank god for the Schengen visa) where there was a check post but our car was not checked and continued south in Italy until we could find a U-turn (which was not more than 2 minutes).

Thanks to me, Italy also made it to the list of countries, in our Europe 2011 trip, with a bang. However, we returned a few days later to explore the Dolomites, which was again not part of the original plan. More on that later…

FREE BELGIAN CHOCOLATES
Cannes; 12^th September, 2011

Opposite to our studio apartment in Cannes, where we’re staying for a week, was Leonidas – a shop selling ‘fresh Belgian chocolates’. On our second day of stay we strayed in to a display of various dark and semi dark goodies. I chose a dark one. I am a person who has tasted up to 92% cocoa (was a bit bitter even for my taste) and when the shopkeeper said that my first selection had orange inside it, I was abhorred.

Rejecting that, I told the handsomely tanned man behind the counter, “I want dark.”
“Bitter? Sweet?”
“Bitter,” I said, and he pointed out a few options.

I chose a rectangular block and when Santa asked, “How much?”, he handed over the two pieces and said, “Have a nice day”, with a bright smile. Free ‘fresh Belgian chocolates’! And I didn’t even have to put my charms on display ;-)

Btw, the chocolates were really fine. They just melted in the mouth…a perfect balance of bitter and sweet...rich and decadent…

CAP d’AIL
French Riviera; 13^th September, 2011

After Santa finished ‘working from France’, we decided to explore the coastline via train. Went to the Cannes train station where we obtained a day pass of unlimited train travel for 12E per person. This was a summer special and was waaay cheaper than the actual fares.

Finally boarded the 4:16 train but, realized that it wasn’t going to Cap d’Ail, our destination for the day. Cap d’Ail is a small town, near Monaco, and is known for the La Mala Beach, a 10-15 minute walk downhill from the train station.

We got down at Nice to board the next train which would take us to Cap d’Ail. Between trains we had enough time to go to the Office du Tourisme, gather a map and find out what to do in Nice. When I said we had one hour to spare, the tourism officer straightaway directed us to the Old Town, which we decided to explore on the way back.

The walk down to the beach, along the coast, with the deep blue sea and the sky meeting in the horizon, was simply beautiful. There were steps in between stretches of slope which led out into the ocean. Where you could sunbathe or make it your own li’l picnic spot by the sea.

La Mala Beach was very beautiful and very calm and serene. The beach was a pebbly one, like most beaches of the French Riviera. Though I liked the landscape and the scenery, the beach was not my type. It had some sort of snootiness associated with it, or so I felt. In all probability it was due to the 2-3 fashionable beach restaurants lining the shore and also the yachts dotting the waterscape. It could also be due to the fact that most of the people had left by the time we reached, which was around 6 or so, and the few people around did not exude any warmth.

The place was ideal for snorkeling as the landscape was rocky and there were a few caves which looked dark and haunted, to say the least. We saw a few people snorkeling around. On seeing the cave, Santa recalled how scared he had been when he had tried to enter the cave after swimming up to it. (He had been here earlier, in 2004. The photo is from that time. We didn’t take our camera this time)

Since we hadn’t had anything to eat after my home cooked breakfast of stuffed omelette, we decided to grab a bite. Unfortunately the kitchen of the restaurant we went to was closed. There were some chocolate croissants on the counter and we grabbed two of those along with two glasses of strawberry milkshake.

After snacking we started the climb back to the station and took the train to Nice.

FAUX PAS IN FRANCE
Nice; 13^th September, 2011

On the way back from Cap d’Ail, got down at Nice, as planned earlier, to explore the Nice Old Town. To rest our tired feet, and my aching back, after exploring Vieux Nice, we decided to make use of the happy hour being advertised by an Irish pub.

We sat outside, next to a table where there was a man, probably in his 50s, accompanied by an attractive female in a sleek black top, who looked much younger.

A “smoking hot” (you can well imagine whom I quote here) waitress, in pink and white chequered hot pants and a black spaghetti, with kohl lined eyes came up with the menu. I selected a Radler – a mix of lemonade and beer – my only other drink in Europe this time, apart from wine and at times water; while Santa opted for a Kilkenny. An Irish beer, Kilkenny’s history goes as far back as the 14^th century, and is a lighter version of Guinness.

Waiting for the waitress to come back and take our orders, we tried to eavesdrop on the conversation in the next table. They spoke in English and since it didn’t turn out to be interesting enough, we switched back to people watching and conjuring up stories about them. This is the best part of Europe. You can sit in a café and let the world go by without anybody bothering you.

In the meanwhile, another waitress, in a black top, passed by with a smile but without taking our orders. Santa was getting impatient now and so when he saw this woman in a black top walking towards us he geared up. As the lady neared our table, he flashed a bright smile and drooled a “Hi”, while his hands started turning the pages of the menu. While the “Hi” was reciprocated with a confused smile, she hastened her steps when she saw the menu.

Turned out the lady was the one sitting at the next table! All this even before he’d had a drink! I couldn’t hold my laughter even as he tried to explain that he was confused by the black top. Or maybe it was the lack of a drink the whole day that led to this faux pas. Finally we got our Radler and Kilkenny…served by the “smoking hot” waitress…

ONE NIGHT STAND WITH NICE

Nice; 13th Sep, 2011

After our drink, we took a stroll towards the Promenade des Anglais and the beaches lining it. The beaches were all pebbly, which are perfectly alright if you have your shoes on. Walking barefoot on pebbly beaches is quite difficult, I must admit. But on the other hand, pebbles are much better when you come out of the water. No trying to get rid of the sand sticking to your body all the way to the bathroom. I realized that an ideal combination for me was a pebbly beach but one which becomes sandy as you go into the waters. Getting into the waters across the pebbles is quite a balancing act (and one at which I suck). I guess my demands are too many. Anyway…coming back…

The promenade was lit up as far as we could see. It was a full moon night and the moon had made its appearance behind the citadel of the Old Town, situated up on the hills. We captured the scene in our mind’s camera as we didn’t carry a physical one. Stretching out in front of us was the curve of the Baie des Anges. Behind us was a lively world of laughter and companionship, a world of aromas – of food, of wine, of smoke – of love, of life.

We returned to that world from the beach and though not too hungry, the line of restaurants was too much to resist. So we sat down for a crepe and a glass of wine (of course!). After placing our orders, we spotted paella on the menu but it was too late to change. Probably I am destined to have paella in Spain! (I hope someone’s listening to this ;-)

By the time we finished dinner, it was almost 22:00 hours. Our target was to take the 22:34 train back to Cannes, and to do that we needed to some brisk walking, if not jog. We’d have made it had I not seen an array of souvenir shops and if Santa hadn’t told me that we could always take the next train an hour later, at 23:34. Before he could complete his words I had disappeared into one of the shops.

After browsing around and window shopping we reached the train station around 23:15. When we looked up at the information board, it said the next train to Cannes was at 06:23 hours. Puzzled we searched the board again, but there was no train to Cannes at 23:34 pm. We looked around for the information counter and then we notice a printout in big bold letters saying that the last train to Cannes from Nice was at 22:34 hours. The reason was “travail” (French for work) in the line.

At this point, we recalled that the lady at the ticket counter had told us specifically that the “last train from Monaco was at 22:03” which would reach Nice at 22:34 hours. We had preferred a mute printed timetable over her updated information and were about to pay the price for that. I looked around and saw that we were not the only ones. There were at least a dozen other people who were in a similar situation. Among them was a Southeast Asian lady who had a flight the next day and she was desperate to reach her destination. 

So, we had missed a train. Now what? There were three options:

1. We could take a taxi and go to Cannes

2. We could spend the night at a hotel in Nice, i.e., if any were available

3. Spend the whole night at a club. Clubs here are typically open till 5-6 am

Option #3 was almost immediately vetoed by Santa with the reason that the next day will be wasted due to lack of sleep, etc. Signs of ageing?

Option #1 looked pretty expensive as the two-three taxi drivers we approached quoted a fare of 100E to Cannes. 100E!

Now for option #2.

Started walking away from the station towards the city. On the way came across a dorm which was full, a hotel which charged 80E for two persons and another hotel with a similar price. The price of 80E made us wonder whether it is better to take a cab, because staying back means we’ve to purchase tickets the next day which cost 24E for two. Essentially, it was the same. We decided to explore some more. Found a cheap one at 24E per person, but there was no vacancy. Damn! At this point I was reminded of a similar experience last year in Rome, where we kept 'Roming' in the dark for a room and had to pay an exorbitant amount for a few hours!

Deciding that the next hotel would be the last one we explored, we walked into a hotel which announced a rate of 48E for a double room. Were rooms available there? Yes! We went straight for the reservation. The young man at the reception was busy video chatting on Skype and smoking. Realising we were potential customers for the night he paused everything.

We got a room on the 3rd floor. It was a slice of space, complete with carpet and pictures hanging on the wall. Even the red colour of the carpet could not hide the abuse it had received from spilt wine. The windows did not close and thank god for the curtains. Turning a blind eye to everything we set the alarm at 6:00 am and plopped on to bed.

We reached Cannes the next day around 8:00 am.