Le Randonneur: Nice

5 September 2015: Yes, Nice. It's complicated...

Chloé must return to Providence next week for her autumn (and final) semester at RISD. Looking at transport options here in the southern Alps, we decided that she would take a bus today from Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée to Nice, spend the night in a hotel there and then travel by train to Paris tomorrow.

We therefore planned a relatively short (ca. 4 hrs.) hike today from the Vacherie de Roure to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée. Mary and I would see Chloé off on her bus and get a room at the village's hotel (or places in the gîte d'étape). For only the third time during our hike on the GR5 (the previous times being the days when we hiked into Pralognan and Modane, towns with several hotels), we did not make a reservation in advance. That was a mistake.

The hotel was closed this weekend for some special, undisclosed reason ("exceptionnellement"). The gîte was closed a couple of years ago for safety concerns (risk of falling rocks). The auberge in the next village on the GR5 (Rimplas) had no vacancies. There was no one in the village (according to the woman running the little épicerie) who would offer beds to travelers. A trail competition nearby was putting pressure on accommodations in the area.

Faced with this problem, the solution was obvious: Mary and I would accompany Chloé on the bus to Nice, spend the night there and then take a bus back to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée tomorrow morning to resume the hike.

So here we are in Nice, after a pleasant evening with Chloé. It was strange to see the Mediterranean as our bus drove into Nice. Of course, we did not go near the water – that's for later, when we walk into Nice!

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The hike from the Vacherie de Roure to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée was downhill all the way, starting with a pleasant section in a forest.