IntrepidFromDC

Arrived at Beziers train station.

I heard rumors there were rumblings in the purdy that community to keep me off the ballot so I'm playing catchup. I think I've posted more cat pics than dog pics now and humbly ask for your reconsideration (ala Pete Rose)... these posters were in the window of a veterinarian's office.

More of the southern French countryside. All the photos and the one before are from the train ride from Nice to Beziers, hugging the Mediterranean coastline.

Halfway from Nice to Beziers, the scenery is beautiful, this route hugs the Mediterranean more than the Arles to Nice route. No doggies on the train to prop up my HOF candidacy, but...

I'm looking forward to meeting you, Denise and Russ! I'm on the train from Nice to Beziers right now, glad this one has wifi because it's over 4 hours.

Last pics from Nice, dinner tonight at a Michelin restaurant included housemade strawberry rum, ceviche and sea bream. Fantastic to finish another town with an excellent French dinner.

Note the building with fake windows to avoid the window tax, like in Lyon.

These pics are all taken in the "old part" of the city. The pics I shared of Nice from the first two days are from the newer part. Both are great pedestrian areas.

The tour ended when we climbed Colline du Château, a steep hill that dominates the city and divides Nice into two parts: the eastern part with the port, and the western part with the rest of Nice and the beach. At the top of this hill is the only place you can see both the town and port closely. The hilltop has a nice large park.

The tour continued into Vieux Nice, the old part of the city, and the marche.

We started by walking past the Opera House and the candy shoppe Queen Victoria always visited for afternoon tea before the opera. The candy is all homemade.

Today is all Nice. The 2-hour walking tour began at Place Massena, where alot of Napoleon stuff happened and the signing that transferred Nice from Italy to France soon after Italy was unified from the various kingdoms into the "boot" shape we recognize today. around 1860. The 7 figures atop columns in the square are called the "7 Buddhists", one for every continent and the concept is they are all communicating.

After today, just 5 more days until Carnival Venezia! Beziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne and two and a half days in Barcelona. I hope to return to Lyon, Arles and Nice, maybe in two years. For now I am trying to plan another Italy/cruise trip in September again. May and September are my favorite months to visit Europe, hotel prices are still reasonable and throngs of tourists haven't arrived.

Today is my last day in Nice and I have a great walking tour planned that starts after lunch. I ordered the plat du jour and they were generous with the saffron. The head-on prawns were great and the linguine was al dente.

Antibes, one of our stops, I left out! Very small charming town. All of the towns we visited are worth a one-time visit imo.

On to the last stop of the day, a major disappointment for every single paying customer on the minivan except me (3 Australians and 2 couples from Texas), Cannes. The tour promised a chance to take a photo on the red carpeted stairway at Cannes, but it was all roped off because the annual event was happening. Samir was very excited about Michelle Obama having been spotted at her hotel. Anyway, as today fizzles out, here are the pics I managed to get from the front seat as we battled Cannes traffic. It was a great day with a not-so-great ending.

Close enough... David.

Clue #3... Look at these eyes, then look at the dog's eyes.

Last clue is going to be pictorial and I am afraid will give it away too easily but I don't want to drag it out and can't think of a lesser clue...

Dude your guesses are cracking me up!

So two clues... it's a human name, and look closely at the face. I'm afraid clue #3 will give it away too easily.

Look closely at the face that gives clue #2

Pomeranian Spitz mix

Can you guess the dog's name? Clue, it's a human name.