Déjà-Vu in Eze

Peur du jour: 11 Avril 2012- Climbing from sea to sky a second time around

Starting from Eze-sur-mer

So last time when I was in Nice, my favorite thing I did was a trail called le chemin de Nitsche (Nitsche's Path) from Eze-Village to Eze-sur-mer. Elyse, Lauren, and I hiked for maybe 45 minutes down and an hour back up from the old medieval fortress city perched in the cliffs to the edge of the Mediterranean sea. We got so many great pictures of le paysage (the countryside/landscape) and of us enjoying the sea and the trail. Of course, I lost all of my pictures from this, my favorite day, of travel.

The very beginning of the path, starting from the sea side.

So I was determined to do it again! This time, Marc drove me to Eze-Sur-Mer and I just did the hike up. And it was kind of a trip, because how often do you get to relive your favorite day of vacation? The weather was about the same (it was unseasonably warm in February, and it has been unseasonably cool this week in Nice) and the trail was the same and the beautiful view was the same, but the similarities stopped there. This time I was much more prepared for the hike (I had a water bottle, short sleeved-shirt, and a hair tie), and I was voyaging toute seule (though I kept imagining Elyse's laughter as we talked about how incredible Lauren was for bolting to the top).

Flowers in bloom along the winding path

And maybe I'm just being overly sentimental, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much had changed since the last time I'd walked the trail. How much my French has improved, how much more I feel at home in Montpellier, how much more I feel attached and tethered to France, how many great friendships I've made and strengthened, how much I've grown as a person, how much happier I've become. It's amazing how much can change in two months.

The rocky cliffs that overlook the wonderfully blue sea

And I was just so darn happy to be walking that path again. I think I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole time. Like a big goofy golden retreiver, bounding up the mountain side.

What it looks like from the top!- My view from Eze Village