Nice...REAL Nice

It's been 5 days since we left Lyon to head to Nice. I woke up on the bus outside the venue which was on the Promenade d'Anglais (the main strip along the sea). Nice is in the French Riviera so it's a huge tourist destination in summer. The venue was a smallish outdoor amphitheater/plaza. Not as cool as the Roman one in Lyon, but a decent place for a show. After soundcheck Matt & I hit the beach for some sun and swimming. The beaches were all rock instead of sand which made for very painful and difficult traversing with barefeet. No sand all over everything though, so that's something. The weather was hot & sunny and the beaches were packed.

Matt on the rocky beach...


After a few hours we went back for dinner & the gig. Catering was amazing once again. The food in France is ridiculous. The gig went smooth enough and I had to set up a mix next to me for some VIPs as Bono & Edge from U2 came down with Bono's daughters and their friends. They all hung about after the show and invited some of us up to their house for lunch. So the next day saw myself, the band, Richard and Matt journeying 20mins up the coast to the compound that Bono & Edge have together. This was truly one of the most unbelieveable places I've been. It's right on the Mediteranean with gorgeous views, 2 houses that are both as sweet as you'd expect but without being gaudy or pretentious at all. We were greeted by Bono & his wife Ali and Edge & his wife and all their kids. We had a delicious lunch on the deck and got drunk on rose. It was really surreal. Now, I'm not the hugest U2 fan as some people I know are, and I've always suspected that Bono was an arrogant prick, but I have to say that he was one of the most gracious, unpretentious people I've met and it was really interesting to see him in that setting. While he was giving us the tour he showed us this room where Ghandi would pray when he had come to this house to get well after his hunger strikes. Listening to him tell that story it became immediately evident to me why he's such a massively famous person, even outside of music. He was so engaging, genuine and passionate about the things that he was talking about, be it the work he and his wife do on AIDS in Africa or the new songs that they played the demos for us. I felt really fortunate to get to experience all of it. So, after a swim in the sea (and after I threw Matt in the pool with his clothes on), we said our goodbyes and went back to Nice for dinner.

The French Riviera




Bono's assistant had set up a table for us at a restaurant they recommended called La Petite Maison. We sat outside and had another first rate meal, enjoyed more wine and a couple of us even went for a midnight swim. It was one of the best days I've ever had.

The next day we had to leave for Spain but not until 8pm so I checked out of the hotel, went back to La Petite Maison w/Albert & Matt for lunch and spent another day of lying on the beach and swimming.

Nick on his own version of the cross...


Then for my last meal in France I found some moules et frites (mussels & fries) at a sidewalk cafe and got on the bus for one last ride...