The Rivera
My friend Molly, a veteran world traveller, said to me before I left for France, “ Be prepared for the day your train doesn't come.” I think she meant with all the travel, expect some delay. As we waited in Èze for the 82 bus that would never come, I thought of Molly. Earlier that afternoon, we hopped off the train from Monaco in Èze on a whim. My friend Steph loves Èze and she has good taste so we decided to check it out. The train station, Èze-sur-mer is 1400 feet below the Village, so it was an easy decision to take a bus up the hill. Even though the bus was 30 minutes late, our spirits remained high as we crawled up above the beautiful Rivera to the ancient town of Èze.First order of business in Èze was to peek at the bus schedule. 5:50pm was the last bus to the train station, and it was 4:45 so we had an hour to explore the picturesque town. The views from the village were stunning. Overlooking the Rivera, the view reached from Monaco to Nice. The village streets dipped through stone arches. At every narrow turn there was another view and garden. 
The town boutiques were hidden in caves and romantic restaurants lined the streets.
The town jewel, the exotic gardens were located at the top of the village. Exquisite plants and sculptures scattered the hilltop. 
I loved Èze and have it earmarked as a place to return.At 5:40pm we were back at our bus stop. 5:50 came and went and soon the town bells struck six o’clock. I was looking into an Uber at about 6:30pm when our 82 bus passed us going the other way, headed up the hill. We figured it would make it’s final four stops and come back down the hill and pick us up. We were wrong. That same bus came down the hill but it wasn’t the 82 bus. It was an 83. Same driver, but different number and destination sign. Someone who had been waiting with us at the 82 bus stop starting running across the street. We heard "This is the last bus down. It's going to Nice" So we too sprinted to the bus and boarded. For €1,50 we drove through another little village and down into Nice. Eventually, our google maps made it apparent that we needed to get off the bus although we weren't sure exactly where in Nice we were. We hopped off and walked to a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner and a break. After a delicious meal and some map planning, we boarded the local Nice tram and arrived at a stop near our apartment. At 9:45pm, Sadie said as she walked up the stairs, “I didn’t expect when we left this morning that we would be back this late.” She was right, but that was the beauty of being in the flow of the day. We really had nowhere to go, and nowhere to be.We arrived in Nice on Tuesday evening after a very easy TGV ride from Aix-en-Provence.
The town boutiques were hidden in caves and romantic restaurants lined the streets. The town jewel, the exotic gardens were located at the top of the village. Exquisite plants and sculptures scattered the hilltop. I loved Èze and have it earmarked as a place to return.At 5:40pm we were back at our bus stop. 5:50 came and went and soon the town bells struck six o’clock. I was looking into an Uber at about 6:30pm when our 82 bus passed us going the other way, headed up the hill. We figured it would make it’s final four stops and come back down the hill and pick us up. We were wrong. That same bus came down the hill but it wasn’t the 82 bus. It was an 83. Same driver, but different number and destination sign. Someone who had been waiting with us at the 82 bus stop starting running across the street. We heard "This is the last bus down. It's going to Nice" So we too sprinted to the bus and boarded. For €1,50 we drove through another little village and down into Nice. Eventually, our google maps made it apparent that we needed to get off the bus although we weren't sure exactly where in Nice we were. We hopped off and walked to a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner and a break. After a delicious meal and some map planning, we boarded the local Nice tram and arrived at a stop near our apartment. At 9:45pm, Sadie said as she walked up the stairs, “I didn’t expect when we left this morning that we would be back this late.” She was right, but that was the beauty of being in the flow of the day. We really had nowhere to go, and nowhere to be.We arrived in Nice on Tuesday evening after a very easy TGV ride from Aix-en-Provence.