Today was a strange day, which I should have predicted after yesterday’s crowded public transport.
My plan was to visit Èze village. Google Maps said I needed to take two buses. On the first bus, it was touch and go whether I’d get to the second bus stop in time. Initially, I had a cushion of five minutes but gradually the gap was narrowing. When the bus got to the changeover bus stop, I got out and my second bus went by without stopping! The next one would be in 20 minutes. When that bus came, it too didn’t stop! The driver made a cross sign with his forearms, indicating that the bus was full.
I wondered what to do because I suspected the next bus would be full too. As I was weighing up my options, my original bus, number 33, came. It’s destination was Mont Boron. That sounded interesting and I got on the bus. It was a 10-minute journey. It was a good call. I saw some hikes I could do, which had good views of Nice.
After my short hike, Èze village was still on my mind. I checked to see how I could get there from Mont Boron. A walk towards Villefranche-sur-Mer then another bus would do the trick. I hoped that by then everyone who wanted to go to Èze village had reached there already!
It was baking hot when I reached the bus stop. Alas, it had no shelter. When the bus came, it looked full. It looked ominous! However, the driver stopped. It had room for about two more people.
The route to Èze village was scenic. We had great views over the coast and surrounding villages.
At Èze village, people were moving upwards. The old town was above the arrival square and everyone was walking to the top.
I walked up and soon encountered scenic narrow lanes with beautiful, picturesque sections. The destination was the Exotic Garden perched at the top of the hill with scenic panoramic views of the surrounding area.
Entrance was €10. The garden was set in the hillside too. The paths through it went up and down — sometimes stairs, sometimes inclines. The exotic plants turned out to be cacti and succulents. There was a Mediterranean section too. Most of the garden was exposed to the sun. One part provided shade and some water fountains to refill your water bottle. A nice touch was the contemplation area. I found some seating (unfortunately not sheltered) but the water coming down from streams had a slight cooling effect as the wind blew.
After leaving the garden, I gradually made my way down, going wherever the view was interesting.
At the bottom, I was thinking about what to do next. One option was to take the Nietzsche Path down to Èze station a few kilometres away. It would take about an hour. Then I saw that the bus to Nice was about to begin its journey (Èze village is the terminus). I decided it was too hot to hike down to the station and got on the bus.
In Nice, I went to Starbucks and had a coffee. After that, I went to Lidl and stocked up on food for the next few days.
