so I slept well, which would help the walk day... I walked out of the small town of Ospedaletti and once I got far enough away I could see how it would become a pretty harbor town once the construction was done..i would have another day of side walks and the few places where I did get height challenged, I just stepped off the sidewalk into the street, but there were only two sections like that and early in the day..a few times I saw the pilgrim emblem attached to the wall along which I was walking, signs like that just really feel great.. The weather was sunny and at times muggy..so I had to watch the hydration.. as I was walking through the few towns remaining of italy, I felt a bit melancholic.. the way people drive aside, the italians are great to deal with as a visitor... people are helpful, they dont make you feel bad about the language barrier...and will help enable any sort of communication possible.. it was an expensive country for restaurants and I paid more for lodging at times than I would have liked..but I was also still learning the ropes of walking by foot..from a buddhist perspective, when you travel, you really get a strong sense on having to rely on the kindness of others, because i need help with directions, help ordering food, having someone prepare it for you...trust that the place your staying is made safe by the host and cleaned..yes there is money exchanging hands often...but without the help of local people..
i could not travel at all..and in italy i felt safe in their hands. Ventimiglia was the last big town in italy.. it did have a pretty historic core going up into a hill.. I walked along the coast around it.. but realized I got stuck... so I had to spiral up through it to get to the street that would get me into france.. the people that I asked directions here, spoke only french or italian nothing else... there was something forlorn feeling about the town... so in that way I thought it was like a border town. I had a final stop in a place called Latte to get water and then through a bunch of car tunnels..with side walks!
And before I knew it I crossed into france, it was around 4pm. There was the old Border Post but it was no longer manned, borders are now open.. instead the parking lot seemed to be a place for trailers now.. Menton as I approached looked quite affluent.. there was a sign saying in french that it was the Pearl of France...it had modern high rises but also again an old charming part of town.. on my entry I approached the yacht harbor... which housed a big collection of fancy looking boats... the water here, perhaps because it is more shallow had a beautiful turquoise color... I started looking for a room... I was a little dubious because it did not seem to have anything cheaper looking. I ended up going to what looked like more of a chain hotel and the other customers did not look too wealthy, but here too there was sticker shock... realizing I was not getting anything cheaper... I accepted the room.. the man who ran it spoke great english so my fears of language issues at least the first night where not a problem...the lobby had free wifi, and I managed to get two of my friends from Seattle on skype, again my wifi bars were low so the video did stop working... but not before I got to see the proffered cats... they were drinking coffee in the morning, and off to a cheese fest and I was off for a beer and bed.. I stopped at a little bar for snack and beer and then off to my room again... and it was a good night sleep..
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