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January 9 Monday Bicycle touring France Nice to Ajaccio Corsica Yesterday we ate lunch alongside the River Loup by the hippodrome -- a hippodrome isn't where they have hippos on roller skates, or even fat girls, but rather horses -- I wonder what size skates they take? The river water was very clear -- we could see foot-long fish swimming. Lots of mallard ducks and a white swan too. We were looking at the houses along the river bank and wondering how people can afford it here. They always take two vacations a year. This is what we figured: The houses are smaller, so it costs less to furnish and heat them. They use very little heat and use shutters to keep the heat in. They use lower wattage fluorescent bulbs and never have more than one room lit. We never see a house with lots of lights burning brightly. They only have dressers -- no closets -- so they don't have room to buy lots of clothes that they never wear. Their cars are smaller, so they use less gas, or they use motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, bicycles, or walk. And things are closer together here. The don't eat out often. They eat small quantities of food. They don't have fancy stereos or TVs, and certainly not more than one. They drink in moderation -- plus it's cheap -- so are cigarettes. They don't have air conditioners. All their appliances are smaller; fridges, washing machines. Most people don't even have a dryer. They wash lots by hand and hang their clothes up to dry. They don't even shower everyday, so they save water, heating the water, soap and shampoo! As well as the time it takes to do all those things. We ate breakfast on a beach while watching beginner sailboaters. A rubber raft pulls four in a row out to open water. When they are pulled they form a perfectly spaced line that is silhouetted in the sun's golden path. There are hundreds of seagulls. We cycled back to Nice. The beaches are pebbles here. Doesn't look too comfortable, but I guess that eliminates the sand in one's shorts. We went to the Matisse Museum. There are Roman ruins here. Nice was founded in 4th-century BC. I took a picture of the ruins with a lady sleeping in the sun. The other day I took a picture of a Russian church on Nicholas II street. It is the largest Russian church outside of Moscow. It has five onion-shaped domes made of intricate tiles. We ride our fully loaded touring bicycles to the ferry terminal. We don't want to miss the ferry we have waited three days for. Sharon has a shower at the station. She says there is (make that was) lots of hot water. We load onto the ferry and secure our bikes. We are directed to the seventh deck where passengers without berths are. We stake out spots in the deck chairs and settle in for the overnight trip to Corsica. |
