We Made It!

​Fri-Sat, January 30-31, 2026 — Marrakech, Morocco to Nice, France

We were up early yesterday and snagged a taxi as soon as we left our small alleyway. I’m not sure why the taxi was even in the Medina or if the driver had intended to pick someone else up. He spoke little English or French but seemed in a very good mood. The ride to the airport was 100 dirham so he seemed particularly pleased when I handed him an extra 100.

Next stop, France!

The plane ride, tram, and train to get into downtown Nice were no problem. It was a beautiful day, and I had completely forgotten what a cool city Nice is. It’s in the tradition of a lot of European cities: stone-lined walking streets, ornate four and five story buildings, red tiled roofs.

View outside the train station
One of the main thoroughfares 

During our ride through Europe in 2016 (with Dex and Kylie) we spent the night here before continuing in to Italy the next day.  Meg and I scouted out the hotel as it was only a few blocks from where we are staying now.

We stayed in the corner top room with Dex & Kylie in 2016
Same hotel
Happy travels - 2016

Last night, I finally decided to see about my, er, “intestinal condition.” (TMI, but Meg’s and mine are opposite!)  I asked ChatGPT how to find a doctor and it turned out to be incredibly easy!  The first method, the Doctolib app was a bust only because the final verification step required a phone call or SMS text to verify my phone number. (With our Saily eSIM, we have internet access and data. This means we can email, use Apple iMessage, FaceTime, or WhatsApp for texts and calls… but, we can’t call or receive calls from a landline or traditional, old school SMS texts). 

The next method however, the doctors.com website, worked! After typing in my contact information and medical complaint at 10:30PM, within minutes, I was contacted on WhatsApp by two doctors for an online video appointment! I happened to choose the 30 euro doctor as opposed to the 75 euro doctor (cheapskate!) Ten minutes later, I was talking to the doctor, and before I knew it, had a written prescription emailed to me for Imodium and a three day dose of Azithromycin.  Since there are pharmacies everywhere, we only walked half a block to get the prescription filled in the morning for a whopping 16 euros (~$19).  Wow, easy as pie! Take that American health care system! 

Thank you, Dr. Fortuna!

In an attempt to force some French into our brains, Meg and I have been trying to watch some French TV. News and serial dramas? No way! Too fast, too complicated.  Children’s cartoons? Just about. At least if the French subtitles are on. Unfortunately, I’ve also noticed that French seems to make me very, very dumb! At “le pharmacie” this morning, I was asked for my phone number. I stammered and stuttered, stopped and restarted. And, when I was finally done, I was pretty sure I had swapped the first two numbers!  Sheesh!

Today, Saturday, we decided to head over to where we’ll be taking our classes starting on Monday. The Institut de Francais is in the small neighboring town of Villefranche-sur-Mer (something like, “Franche Ville on the Sea”).  It’s an incredibly picturesque, 700-year-old town built into the hillside around a natural harbor. In the summer, the beach is apparently a popular spot (Lonely Planet lists it as the number one free activity to do in Nice… when it’s not 50 degrees.

No sunny weather today
Villefranche-sur-Mer Harbor
Our home for the next month
Villefranche-sur-Mer from above

This evening we had a fantastic Ramen dinner along one of the many busy walking streets in Nice (my stomach is finally better). 

My stomach and I loved it

Afterwards, Meg was determined to watch the women’s final of the Australian Open (we are 10 hours behind). To her credit, she found an Australian bar and talked the bartender into finding the Australian Open so we could. Game, set, match!

À votre santé!



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