"Watching the ships roll in/ Then I watch 'em roll away again"

So, the next stop on my vacation with Anna was Nice, France and a little bit of Monaco.  Before I visited, I heard from many a friend that Nice was paradise. Do I agree after my short visit? Hmmm...let's just say I applied for a job there.

When we arrived on the pebble beach in Nice to soak up the sun, Anna said something to the effect of "What is it about the beach that makes everything in life seem four times better?" She also said something like, "If I am on, near or by the water, I am happy." I must say, I agree. Oh, boy do I agree, and technically, we were by the water our whole vacation: the Mediterranean, the Seine (although not swimming water) and the Thames river. There is something about the water that brings complete tranquility. I could go into the whole archetype-of-water argument or its symbolic, baptismal nature, but instead, I will just leave you will some collected photographs: a few from my time on the French Rivera and most from random swimming/ beach shots. Dive in with a Splish Splash.

These last two are my favorite, especially the one above. They make me think of the R.E.M song "Night   Swimming":

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday

Nightswimming, remembering that night
September's coming soon
I'm pining for the moon
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming...