~ Sunday, November 23
On Friday, I woke up late. I cooked and ate lunch, then went to the gym to train. I had not been able to train in a gym for a while, so it felt good. The training session ended up being longer than I had planned. After that, I was invited to a dojo in Saint Laurent-du-Var (about a 10-minute drive away) by a young Judoka, so I decided to participate. The dojo was big. When I arrived, many young children were practicing. After that, the adult class started. I think there were more than 30 people on the mat. I was able to practice and teach Judo with many young Judokas. It was a fun session, but I sprained my ankle and big toe. After the practice, one of the Judokas invited me to dinner. He told me he had a friend who was a chef at a nice restaurant. He called the chef to ask if it was possible to open the restaurant just for us, and the chef agreed. The food was amazing. I appreciated him and the restaurant staff for the meal and their hospitality. When I returned home, it was already past midnight, so I took a shower and went to bed quickly.
On Saturday, I was invited to lunch by one of the Judo teachers, so I went to his house at lunchtime. We had lunch with him, his girlfriend or wife, and his friend. Since the weather was nice, we decided to eat outside. That is a very French thing—they love eating outdoors. Surprisingly, it was not very cold for November. The sunlight helped. After finishing the meal, I relaxed on the outdoor couch and ended up taking a 20-minute nap. I returned to my Airbnb apartment, then went cycling by myself. I headed toward Nice, but I gave up halfway and decided instead to relax near the beach. I parked the bike and enjoyed watching the Mediterranean Sea. There were quite a few people who were simply sitting there, doing nothing but looking at the view. During lunch, one of the people told me that people in Nice “pay for sunlight” (that the city is more expensive than other small cities), and I agreed. Since I arrived, it has been sunny and warm. Because of that, there are so many people along the beach even during this season. I am scared to imagine how crowded it must be in the summer.
Today, I woke up late again. I woke up a few times during the night for some reason. I still feel a bit under the weather. I spent most of my time reading a book about French history on my tablet. I should spend more time studying the history of France. On Friday, after Judo practice, an older Judoka asked if I wanted to go somewhere with him on a small trip, and I wrote down the address of my Airbnb for him on a piece of paper. We planned to meet around 1 or 1:30 PM on Sunday, which is today. I wasn’t sure if he really meant it, and I couldn’t contact him because we didn’t exchange phone numbers. At 1 PM, I went outside, but nobody came. I checked again at 1:30, and he was waiting in his car. He had meant it. I got into the car—he was in the driver’s seat, and his son was in the back. As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed some spider webs and how old the car was. He said he bought it two years ago for 2,500 euros. I’m not sure when it was made, but it was definitely very old, which he agreed with. Whenever the car went over a bump, I could hear cracking noises. Also, when he talked, he didn’t pay much attention to driving, so it was a little scary. I think he was very excited to speak Japanese with me. He said he has studied Japanese for three years, almost every day. He knows a lot of Japanese words, but he struggles to connect them. He lived in Germany for more than 10 years, but he said he has forgotten English. So it was a bit difficult to communicate with his broken Japanese (no offense) and my broken French (I am still working on it). I was impressed by his memory of Japanese vocabulary, though. He is 80 years old, by the way, and he has a long white beard, which makes him look like a real Santa Claus.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I eventually realized we were heading toward the mountains. I was very glad because I knew people could enjoy both the mountains and the sea in Nice, but I had never had the chance to see the mountains. We had a few random conversations, but we didn’t talk much because of the language barrier. We arrived at the top of the mountain, where I could see the Mediterranean Sea, all the nearby cities (Nice, Antibes, Cannes), and even a faint view of Italy. After that, we went to another place called Fort de la Tête de Chien. “Tête de Chien” means “Dog’s Head.” He explained that the shape of the fort looks like a dog’s head. From that spot, I could see Monaco right below us. There were quite a few tourists speaking different languages. Now, I can distinguish whether people are speaking French or not.
After enjoying the view, he invited me to dinner. He wanted to go to a Vietnamese restaurant in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where I am staying, but it was unfortunately closed. Eventually, he drove toward Nice again to find a Vietnamese restaurant. I was not sure why he recommended Vietnamese food so strongly. After about 20 minutes of driving, we ended up at a small shop that sold “Japanese meals,” such as poke bowls, yakitori, and karaage. I ordered a bowl called “Traditional,” which had rice and marinated salmon on top. We didn’t talk much in the shop either, but I could clearly see how excited he was whenever he spoke Japanese, which was incredible. He took me back to my Airbnb apartment. Although I had been a little worried about what might happen—considering he was an elderly person I had just met through Judo—I enjoyed talking with him and seeing all the beautiful scenery. I appreciated him for inviting me on this short trip.
I am leaving this Airbnb in Cagnes-sur-Mer tomorrow morning and moving to a different place in Nice. The stay has been fantastic for the price I paid. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I have to move on to the next plan. I regret buying so much food when I arrived. I still have pasta, rice, and other food. I have to pack everything and get ready to move to the next place: the center of Nice.
