Nice: Day I

After a rather uninspiring four hour delay at Gatwick, we finally landed in Nice to perfect blue skies and bright sunshine. We'd spent the last fifteen minutes of the flight trying to guess which azure blue bay was which - but Nice itself is impossible to miss. Situated on the 7km stretch of the Baie des Anges, the city is all Mediterranean colours and promenade.

We're staying at an apartment we found on airbnb (more about that later) that's tucked away from the main drag at the base of the old chateau and overlooking the old port. A short bus ride from the airport and a ten minute walk from one of Nice's popular pedestrian squares, it's an ideal haven for yacht watching, people watching, sunbathing and eating our bodyweight in cheese.

Once we'd settled in, we spent our first evening exploring the Vieux Ville. All pastel colours and crumbly buildings, small ruelles wind their way around the base of the castle mount and round every corner there's some picturesque building with blossoming balconies. We tried to grab a table at a restaurant recommended by our apartment owner (Le Comptoir on rue de Marché) but it's obviously a very popular choice for the locals so ended up at L'Equive with bruschetta des agneaux flaming with cognac (my mum), steak tartare frites (me) and a massive bowl of pear sorbet (to share). And the chance to galvanise my rusty French.

We went adventuring on the way home and got happily waylaid watching the late night skaters and bathers from the promenade. Une bonne nuit if ever there was.