Same Song, Different Verse (Our Holiday in Nice)

We keep going back to Nice. We can't help it. It suits us. We have visions of traveling elsewhere, but in my mind it is in addition to and not instead of. Nice has been good to us. We know how to be there, just be. At this point in our lives, other trips we are committed to making regularly are a lot of work, and none of us want to make that sort of effort for what is supposed to be a trip purely for pleasure.

There were some snags in our relaxation plans this time. E's nose met with the corner of a coffee table in a way that was rather alarming, so we have added "ambulance ride" to her list firsts. That was on our first full day there, and it was surely not the best way to begin what was to be a relaxing week. However, we soldiered on, and by the end of the week, we'd managed to enjoy ourselves despite some restrictions on water play.

Thanks to two other big trips in this past year, plus our move to a new house, our budget was a bit low, but we still managed to make the best of things. Because we get an apartment for the week, we could eat most of our meals in and eliminate excess food expense. Our one big splurge was ice cream every night, which is a mainstay of our holidays in Nice. But all our activities were free. Picnics on the beach, a walk up to the Chateau, playing in the fountains of the Coulée Verte both day and night - these things were easily accessible and truly fun. We had a good time, even though we were a little bit broke.

Now we are home again, and that holds its own kind of pleasure. Going to Nice in early October seems perfect to me, as we get all the sun with temperatures that suit us, plus lower prices than in the high season, and then we come back to autumnal London, to dig into the coziness that the shorter, colder days can offer us. I'm sitting here in a wool cardigan and fake fur lined boots, happy as a clam. My children are dressing up in multiple layers and are not disappointed.

Next comes Halloween, then we enter the lead up into Christmas, with all the lights and foods and mulled wine and everything that we love about those dark days that are made to sparkle. I'm ready for it.