In Between

I left Ibiza and came back to my home base, Nice, where there is a certain lady always ready to welcome me with open arms and ears.

Meet Grand Queen Irene

You had to know Queen Colette was real royalty.

Meet the Grand Queen, the royal genes supplier, the one and only, the class act, the lady of all ladies, my mommy, Irene.

The kind of person who will look classy in the middle of a dump.

Never too vocal, never rude, always polite, but ruthlessly opinionated.

Smart but not showy.

Generous and giving.

Wise.

Stubborn.

She is a gem, and recognized as such by all of us.

She is my base for my nomadic errands.

Nice, you could do worse for a base

Nice is one of the best cities in the world, in my unbiased humble opinion. It combines so many attractive traits that it makes it almost the perfect place to live. if you can afford it.

This is where I grew up, and this is where I come back whenever I get the chance.

This is where Grand Queen Irene reigns uncontested.

In reality, Nice is ruled by its mayor, Christian Estrosi, a somewhat controversial but well-liked political figure who has taken as a mission to make Nice a preferred destination for tourists and retirees alike. The Grand Queen is, not so secretly, in love with her mayor, praising him endlessly for all his initiatives to make Nice more beautiful and more livable.

One of the Grand Queen cherished memories, meeting the mayor.

Nice has it all, picturesque seashore, glamour, history, culture, gastronomy, an ideal setting between the Mediterranean and the alps, the perfect climate, and most importantly, my childhood memories, popping out here and there at the turn of some of its sunbathed streets and in the musical accent of its people.

I will be back in Nice in between some stages of my journey, knowing there is a warm bed waiting for me, a fridge packed with home cooked meals, a woman impatient to hear my stories, and a list of unsolved iPad and iPhone issues that I will fix for her (usually OS updates or spam that she tends to take personally).

What is next for the Queen?

In a few days, the Queen will fly to Paris, the city par excellence, to attend the AWS Summit at the Palais des Congres.

Did you know the Queen was actually born in Paris?

Then the next stop is Palma de Mallorca, another balearic island.

That post was an homage to Grand Queen, she deserves one.