Le nouveau tramway

... est arrivé ! (Nov. 24th)

A surprisingly large number of people turned out for the free ride offered on the first day, unusually dull and wet for Nice.



It didn't seem like much of a liberation; although they were very frequent ...



... they were VERY crowded.



This one closed its doors and stayed at the stop for about two minutes - I was happy to wait for a quiet time one day next week.



Lots of the work has been finished, most pavements have been re-laid, but there is still stuff to finish:



The building on the right is supposed to become a new mediatheque - in 2008. I'll believe it when I see it.

Now there's now space to walk past pavement cafes in comfort - this one is not satisfied with being on the Cote D'Azur.



Now, having done our bit for cutting CO2, in January all the smokers (and there are so many of them in France) will have to keep THEIR pollution outside:





A band wanders back after the celebrations in the centre.


Avenue Jean Moulin is more like an avenue again, while Avenue Malausenna is mercifully free from cars.



Unfortunately lots of the traffic has been shunted into our little street which runs parallel. This is a quiet time - during rush-hour it's jammed with tooting cars, buses and lorries. Still, it's called Rue Diderot - one just has to be philosophical.