Moving Day....

Moving day has arrived!  I pack up everything and bid farewell to Sandrine and her family.  Staying with them has been such a great start to my adventure in Nice.  Without them I would probably still feel completely overwhelmed and also I would not have met the people who I am really enjoying spending time with.  Of course I am a bit nervous to be moving into a place all by myself over here but kind of excited too.  Over the last 10 days being here I have been able to get to a good comfort level.  Also the fact that I know a few people here who have been great and said if I need anything they are there makes it all seem ok.  As I prepare for the move there is an unexpected change for Sandrine (her husband is going out of town) which means she will not be able to drive me to my new place since she will need to be picking up her son at the same time as she would have been dropping me off.  Ok...Plan B is the bus.  I figure it can't be bad.  I took it in London with all my stuff...what could be different.  Just so I know what I am doing and where I am going I take the day to figure it all out.  I find the bus stop by Sandrine's house, which is relatively close, just up a slight hill.  I totally can handle

  it.  I do the walk into town and find the address of my new place and the bus stop happens to be just a few feet from the building...Thank goodness.  As I head back to the house to get my stuff and catch the bus I am feeling good.  This is gonna be a piece of cake.  Get on the bus, no changes, then get off and move in.  Oh I was so wrong...there was no piece of cake involved in this ride at all.  The bus arrives as scheduled.  I buy my ticket and start to move towards a seat.  Now this bus driver is the kind who likes to keep the bus moving apparently because I am not two steps in before he takes off.  Let me just remind you that I am hauling a 28kilo (61lb) suitcase on wheels.  Since I am in motion towards a seat the bus taking off just gives my suitcase the extra bit it needs to really get rolling.  Luckily I still had my hand on it but lets just say I choose a seat by being kinda launched into it by my suitcase not really of my own free will.  Once settled in my seat I felt a bit better till I realized there was no handy scrolling display telling you what stop was coming up and the bus driver was not announcing the stops.  I tried to keep looking out the window for familiar locations and that was going well until the bus really started to fill up.  Before I had a chance to even think about moving locations on the bus I was trapped in my seat and the bus was packed.  Everyone was shoulder to shoulder and could not move at all.  I started to have a small panic attack since I knew my stop was coming up but I couldn't see out the window and there was no way, unless people decided to be nice, I was getting off the bus with all my stuff.  The bus came to a halt and I knew we were either at my stop or right next to it so I just decided to get off.  I stood up and tried to go towards the front door since it was closer but the 2 young girls in front of me said no, you should go the other way.  They seemed nice so I trusted their judgement.  I tried to start moving and the only person who got out of my way was the the girl who said I should go that way.  I pushed the bus stopping button so the driver would open the door and he just looked at me and said the bus is full.  I just looked at him and said "Ya clearly it's full...I want off!" and pointed to the doors he refused to open.  This yelling and pointing went on for a bit between us then I finally just started moving towards the door.  No one would shift out of the way or help me out at all so I just had to push my way through running over a lot of toes with my suitcase.  He finally opened to doors for me after I banged on them and I was free of this hellish

My Little Room

bus ride.  I walked the few feet down the road and rang the buzzer to head up to the new place.  So, I had seen photos of this place and knew it was small but I had no idea just how small.  I went up 5 floors in the elevator...which is the old kind with the metal cage door you have to close first then you close the 2 wooden doors on the inside...then I walked up the last set of stairs to the 6th floor.  My first reaction was ok...this is small but I can do it.  Then I walked in....there is one small window that opens onto what looks like a small cement tunnel so very little breeze is let in however you do hear the gentle screeching and rumbling of the trains that pass by.  Those of you who live by or have lived by the trains know what I am talking about.  They did install an air conditioner which is nice but super expensive to run.  Now if you look at the photo you will notice an angle in the ceiling.  I can only stand up straight from about the edge of the bed to the kitchenette area which is about 6 steps with my feet end to end.  I also can't raise my arm fully above my head because my hands hit the ceiling.  Are you getting a true feeling for what this space is like?  Don't think I am complaining because I am not...I just want you guys to really know what I am in.  This place will definitely serve it's purpose and the price is right.  Also when chatting with one of the other people I have met here, I was talking about where I was moving into and she said "oh you are moving into the attic room." and I said "I guess so"  She then went on the explain how a lot of the old house here had attic rooms that were separate from the house for the servants to live in.  Well guess what guys...I am living in the servants quarters where you don't get fresh air or are able to stand up straight in most of the room.

The adventure continues....I am really happy to be in my own space and have my own time with no responsibilities.  It is great and I am so thankful that I am able to do this.  Inspite of all it's quirks this little room is really a good space for what I need right now plus I can say I lived in an attic room and it allows me to be walking distance from the amazing pebble beaches.

Beautiful Nice Pebble Beach