Day 27 - Seeing Èze had been on our to-do list since we arrived. Today, was the perfect day to head there. The hilltop medieval village is nearly a suburb at about 8.5 km from Nice. Bus #83 got us there, eventually. First, we had to take Tram #1 to Vauban. There are no markings as to the location of the bus station nor the actual stop which is on the other side of the regular loading area. We got directions. We were among the first on the bus. That was great because as our bus proceeded to other stops, it filled to capacity. More than a few tourists along the route were left behind as we zipped past them. Our bus was a free transfer because we had each paid €1 for the tram.
Most of our bus got off at the village but it continued to Monaco. We walked up into the older part of the village. We saw a fair number of restaurants and art shops but primarily hung out near the church. The upper area is called a garden, and a way of getting tourists to cough up six Euros. We didn't need the view as we had other plans. We must have spent an hour walking around the narrow streets. They were more touristy than our recent day in Tende, France.
We'd read about the trail that leaves the village and heads down to the sea. People had said it's rather rugged mostly because of the loose stones. Yet it definitely sounded easier to walk down than up, so we found the trailhead.
At first, we weren't really sure we were going the right way as we didn't see signs. Eventually, we noticed new, yellow, spray-painted trail markers. We followed them. A coastal highway and the train tracks run close to the sea. We'd seen the Èze beach area on our way to Menton and Monaco.
So, rather than bussing back, we'd set our sights on returning by train. It was all downhill from there, so to speak. We picked the hottest day of the year for today's outing. Some areas were exposed to direct sunlight. We usually rested in places with trees. It took us longer than expected because we had to tread carefully. One misplaced footstep might have meant a fall and bruises.
Nearly at the end of the hike, we spotted a sign for those going up which mentioned the distance was just 2.1 kilometers. They were pretty hard ones though. Going up would've been cardio but coming down was a workout for our legs. Washed-out stairs made for difficult footing most of the way.
The last bit, walking down the tarred road was the hardest. Holding back my weight on wobbly legs took more effort than choosing an appropriate rock on which to step. We did walk to the train station and paid €3.10 each from the station to Nice-ville. This will surely be a day to remember. Definitely at least until tomorrow as I'll be moving around slowly for a whole day.