Rugby World Cup 2023, France. Part one, Manchester to Nice, 7th September 2023.

7th September 2023.

Time for the Rugby World Cup 2023. France. 

It doesn’t seem four years since the RWC was in Japan. As is the normal routine for this event, the planning started about 24 months ago.  

Once the dates & venues were confirmed, registration for ticket sales began. The ticket sales were all on line and a very long and stressful process. The tickets were to be digital - very stressful as it means you have to have your phone with you, charged and able to receive data. I much prefer a solid, paper ticket! 

Following England, the  pool games would be in Marseille, Nice and two in Lille. 

So today we are setting off for the first pool game, England v Argentina in Marseille. 

Ryanair fly from Manchester to Marseille, but the flights didn’t fit in with the day we needed to travel so I booked with EasyJet; Manchester to Nice. 

We got the train to Manchester airport and check in was fast, as was security and we had time for a good breakfast at ‘Giraffe’- I had a delicious Avocado on toast with egg and pomegranate. 

The flight was 40 minutes late departing, but the flight was deplaned and loaded promptly once it arrived. The weather was excellent,  there was not a cloud in the sky for the whole journey so the view from my window seat was like looking at a map. Seeing the gardens of Versailles from the air was amazing. 

I thought EastJet were very good, as I had checked baggage I was allocated a seat, the leg room was sufficient for me and it was a good flight. Going through passport control and customs at Nice was quick and easy, and it was a short walk to the care hire depo. 

I booked a car with Alamo, as I knew we were going to be doing a lot of miles, I booked a mid range Nissan Quashqai type car. At Nice airport the Alamo rep advised that we had been but upgraded to a BMW 4 series.

Driving from Nice to the hotel in Juan -les- Pins, Antibes was a challenge. The roads very extremely busy and very congested. But after 2 hours we arrived at the hotel. 

The Hotel Mimosas is set in gorgeous gardens, its rather old but it was good for one night and has free parking. It was a short walk to the promenade, where even at 20.00 people were still swimming in the sea and we ate at Esterel Plage Restaurant located on the beach. 

Our Rugby / Food and Wine tour had begun.