Last Day in Golfe-Juan, 11th August 2015

It's a beautiful morning in Golfe-Juan. I slept very well last night after the exertions of yesterday and woke up to blue sky showing through the hatch.

I had originally ear-marked today for a trip to Nice and possibly Menton as well, but now the day is upon me, I'm not sure I'll do either. I've had my fill of trains and towns for the time being so these may have to wait until next time. 

The train home from Eze yesterday was pretty unpleasant. Initially it was standing room only, then after we'd been through Nice I managed to get a seat on the upper deck. Lots of European trains are two-tiered, effectively doubling the number of seats available per carriage. This proved to be a mixed blessing as there were some youngsters playing loud music that clearly wasn't to the taste of the rest of the carriage. After a few thrown comments from another part of the carriage, a very vocal slanging match developed. I couldn't understand it but it seemed to turn nasty. The next thing I know, it had turned physical - the white, middle-aged woman in front of me stormed down the carriage and set upon the younger black girl further down the carriage, both of them yelling at each other. Lots of people were shouting by this time and the atmosphere turned very edgy. I was right at the back of the carriage but put my book away and made ready to dart away if I needed to. Eventually a conductor came along and threw them both, along with their travel companions, off the train. There was a pause while everybody remaining in the carriage held their breath, then we all let out a sigh of relief and looked at each other with dismayed smiles.

For some reason, after this, the train decided not to stop at Golfe Juan and I ended up back in blooming Cannes again! Thankfully, there was another train going back my way only minutes later. 

I have a full day on the trains tomorrow travelling to Lake Guarda so after yesterday, I am reluctant to go anywhere near a train today.

I do have a few local options - one boat owner has invited me for a glass of champagne on his boat and another has invited me out to sea on his. I have politely declined both. One of the downsides to travelling solo is that even if intentions are good, you can't take the chance. Instead, I'll probably head to the beach for a bit and just potter about here, making the most of this idyllic boat life. I'm going to miss it.