Nice: On the Promenade des Anglais.
During our lunch at "La Calypso"
Jean-Denis talks about "canyonning" extensively.
He seems to really enjoy
walking, swimming and jumping
into waterfalls
during these day trips
in the many rivers of the South-East of France.
An important aspect of canyonning is going down waterfalls
attached only to a cord.
The French word for this activity is
"en rappel."
Seeing that I am interested,
he offers to teach me how to do this "rappel" thing.
He picks me up around 5:00 pm at Albert's and Sarita's villa
where a bunch have been chillin'
all afternoon long around the pool.
Jean-Denis is a safe rider and I enjoy
our short motorcycle (Suzuki "DR" 800cc) trip to the
Mont des Mules above Monaco.
The vue of the Principality is exceptionally crisp.
Again, physical life without haze often looks like
a good 3D computer-generated animation.
There is not much to know
to start going down a cliff "en rappel."
Jean shows the moves to me once
and I repeat them many times
falling down the short way
and walking up the long way.
I always enjoy rollerblading on the "Promenade des Anglais."
This is where I learned how to roller-skate
during the Summer of 1981.
That Summer, the Captain and I created the "Flying Rollers."
Speed, Thierry, Vanessa, Albert, Julia and I
(from right to left on the picture and Julia's holding the camera)
are here again tonight.
I am happy to say that I introduced almost all of them
to rollerblading in NYC.
Fifth Avenue and Central Park offer
a rollerblading experience that
the Promenade des Anglais completes.
For me, rollerblading in Nice is like
gliding through my memory
and it is wonderful
to bring people along in this trip.
Sharing...
the day before yesterday
tomorrow