Bad start to the vacation.

Air France delayed our departure by almost two hours; a chatty high school kid in the row behind me talked all night; and the Paris-Nice flight had to be rescheduled. As a result, we didn't arrive in Nice until late afternoon, three hours behind schedule. By the time we took a taxi to the station, a train to Villefranche and then lugged our baggage a quarter of a mile to the Hotel Welcome, it was after 9:00 PM.

But things got better immediately. Our room, although of moderate size, had a balcony overlooking the harbor, just 30 feet away. What a great view!

The evening was warm and quite pleasant, so we had dinner outdoors at Les Palmiers in Place Amélie Pollonnais, next to the hotel. Al indulged in his favorite, moules frites; while I had my first of many Mediterranean pizzas.