"I can't survive my South FRA trip without Gemini."

On my June break, right after running the B.A.A. 10K in Boston, I took a trip to the South of France — the French Riviera / Côte d'Azur — before my France (FRA) visa expired. It was my second time in Europe; the last was the Netherlands 🇳🇱 in 2023.

The trip drove home one thing: AI assistants are quietly becoming an indispensable tool in everyday life. From four flight delays and lost luggage to ordering food, seeing a doctor, and cross-border accessibility, almost every step leaned on Google Gemini. This post walks through each leg of the trip and what Gemini actually helped with (including the bad advice it occasionally gave).

Not long ago, over lunch with Matt White  (CTO of the Linux Foundation & PyTorch Foundation), we were talking about how widely AI assistants have spread — a French grandmother had used Gemini to ask us for directions in Bellevue. I didn't expect it to be my own turn so soon: this time, it was me leaning on Gemini in the South of France.

Two apps carried this trip: Google Gemini was the workhorse throughout (queries, translation, emergencies, planning), and Rednote (Xiaohongshu) was my side reference for travel tips (local recommendations, pitfalls, photo spots). A fun discovery: in France, Google Search has no AI Mode, so I just used the Gemini app the whole time.

🎒 Before the Trip: eSIM, Plug Adapter, Cash

Before leaving, Gemini helped me knock out a few must-do pre-trip errands: eSIM data, the power adapter, and whether to exchange cash.

What Gemini helped with

📱 Data & SIM: eSIM (Airalo)

I used an Airalo eSIM with a 7-day / 5GB France plan — online the moment I landed, no hunting for a physical SIM, and data ready for maps, baggage tracking, dining, and train tickets throughout. Beforehand I had Gemini compare eSIM options (coverage, data, price) and walk me through purchase, install, and turning on data roaming after landing.

🔌 Power adapter (US → EU)

Gemini confirmed a US → EU plug adapter is a must, and that phone/laptop chargers are wide-voltage so an adapter alone is fine — only fixed-120V heating tools like hair dryers would need more.

💶 Exchange cash?

Its advice: cards work almost everywhere in Nice — just keep ~€50–100 in small notes for markets, tips, and coin-operated toilets, withdrawn from a local ATM rather than exchanged at the airport.

🚋 Getting Around: Flights, Luggage, City Trams & Regional Trains

The red-eye from Boston to Nice, hunting for luggage on arrival, city trams, and cross-city TER trains — this whole leg ran almost entirely on Gemini. I carry some baggage around European trains: back in 2023 I botched a metro transfer in Amsterdam (see my rant back then), so this time I had Gemini plan every leg in advance. Here are just the most representative moments.

What Gemini helped with

✈️ Four delays: a red-eye that became an all-nighter

A Delta red-eye direct from Boston (BOS) to Nice (NCE), planned to leave 8:00 PM and land 9:35 AM the next morning — but it kept slipping: 8:00 PM → 11:25 PM → 12:15 AM → 1:10 AM.

🛄 Lost luggage: 2+ hours at NCE

When my checked bag still hadn't appeared after two hours, Gemini clarified the whole process — where to find ground staff, how to file a lost-baggage claim, which receipts to keep. In the end, a mom on my flight noticed a handful of bags had been dropped on a belt in another corner of the terminal — that's where I found mine.

🚊 Airport to city: the €10 tourist ticket vs the €1.70 local price

The machines outside the terminal are "tourist-restricted" and only sell a €10 round-trip. Gemini's hack: Tram Line 2 is free for the first couple of stops between the airport and the city edge — board empty-handed, ride one stop to Grand Arénas, buy a €2 card + €1.70 single at that platform's machine, then hop back on to Jean Médecin downtown.

🎟️ T1 tram vs TER train

Gemini untangled the two systems: T1 (Tramway) is the in-city tram — buy at the platform machine and tap to validate on board (skipping it risks a €60+ fine); TER is SNCF's regional train for cross-city trips (Antibes, Cannes, Menton) — easiest via the SNCF Connect app e-ticket, or a paper ticket that must be stamped at the yellow validator before boarding.

🖼️ An Easter egg: the《Blind》sculpture at Port Vauban

Out of Antibes station, go left on flat ground to Port Vauban (don't go right, up the old town's cobbles). On a bench sits a bronze figure with a paint bucket over its head, hunched over a phone. Gemini identified it as Blind by French artist David David — a jab at modern "digital blindness": faceless, sealed off from the coast right in front of it, a public mirror for every head-down passerby. On a trip that leaned entirely on a phone AI, the irony wasn't lost on me.

David David Blind sculpture
The《Blind》sculpture at Antibes' Port Vauban · David David

📮 Little Quests: Postcards, the NICE Postmark, Handprints in Cannes

Beyond the sea, this trip had a few "little quests / side quests": mail postcards to friends and myself, make sure they carried a "NICE" postmark, and find a film star's handprint at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Gemini helped knock out these small-but-fiddly errands too.

What Gemini helped with

✉️ Postcards: getting the NICE postmark

There was a catch to my postmark goal: street boxes are machine-cancelled at a regional center, with no guarantee of a "NICE" mark. Gemini's safe play: Monday morning, before the train to Antibes, walk 3 flat minutes to La Poste NICE THIERS by the station and ask the counter to hand-cancel it — "Pouvez-vous tamponner à la main avec le cachet de Nice, s'il vous plaît ?" — and watch them stamp it. Done, and straight onto the train.

Postcard hand-stamped with the NICE postmark
The hand-cancelled "NICE" postmark at the counter

🎬 Hunting for handprints in Cannes

The ground around the Palais des Festivals red carpet is studded with the handprints of film masters — I specifically wanted Quentin Tarantino's. Gemini pinned it down: facing the red-carpet steps, head left toward the Esplanade Georges Pompidou tiles and look for the wild, looping "Q" signature with two palm prints between "Quentin" and "Tarantino."

Then came a fun myth-busting session — Is Brad Pitt's handprint in Cannes? What about Johnny Depp (Captain Jack)? And Jim Carrey (The Truman Show)? Gemini's answer, every time: no, their prints are all in Hollywood. The ones actually worth seeking out here: Tarantino (left of the carpet), Wong Kar-wai (WKW, by the main entrance), and Akira Kurosawa (AK, near the Palais).

Handprint on the walk of stars at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes
With Tarantino's handprint on the Palais des Festivals walk of stars, Cannes

🚑 When Things Went Wrong: Meds, the ER & Re-planning

Things still went sideways — one day I was biking by the sea along Nice's Promenade des Anglais, and then I fell. 😅 The self-care, buying meds, the ER visit, and re-planning the trip afterward all leaned on Gemini, step by step.

What Gemini helped with

Before the ER, Gemini triaged the situation: it identified whether the pharmacy's white spray could reduce the swelling, taught me the R.I.C.E. routine, and gave a clear escalation rule — can't bear weight or the toe looks deformed, get an X-ray. When I went in, it laid out the foreigner ER process (passport, pay by card first, ≈ €100–300 price-capped), wrote a French paragraph describing my injury for the triage nurse, and listed the "reimbursement trio" to collect before leaving — Facture Acquittée, Feuille de Soins, and the medical report + X-ray — since French public hospitals can't bill US insurance directly.

With the Donjoy boot on and no fracture, it then re-planned the rest of the trip: go to flat Monaco and Cannes; skip the hilltop cobbles of Èze and Saint-Paul-de-Vence; taxi over bus, switch to "Riviera vacation mode," and keep the Doliprane and Voltaren gel handy.

🍽️ Restaurants & Ordering

A tip: for popular spots, arrive about an hour early to queue. When ordering I often had no idea what drink to get, so I let Gemini recommend based on the menu and local habits. I also kept Gemini's French ordering/communication lines in Apple Notes to show the staff — super handy.

What Gemini helped with

📖 Decoding the menu at Le Cénac

Before dinner at Le Cénac, Gemini turned the menu into a cheat sheet: Escargots de Bourgogne (mop the garlic butter with baguette) and warm goat-cheese salad among Les Entrées, and Confit de canard as the main.

The French meal ordered per Gemini's suggestion
The French meal, ordered per the suggestion

🍰 Ordering dessert from a blackboard photo

Faced with the blackboard dessert menu, I just photographed it and asked Gemini to order for me. Top pick: Fondant chocolat (€9) — hot molten chocolate with cold vanilla ice cream; runner-up: Café Gourmand (€9).

Le Cénac blackboard dessert menu
The blackboard dessert menu I sent to Gemini

♿️ The Trip Home: Cross-3-Country, One Transfer Accessibility (WCHR)

Vintage atlas style route map: Seattle → East Coast → Nice; Côte d'Azur cities Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco; return Nice → London → Seattle
Seattle ⇄ Côte d'Azur

The way home was more complex — three countries' airports (one transfer: NCE → LHR → SEA, changing at London Heathrow). The key was arranging wheelchair assistance for the whole route in advance. Aviation has standard IATA special-assistance codes, so I had Gemini clarify which to request and how to talk to ground staff:

  • WCHR (Wheelchair – Ramp): can manage stairs and walk to the seat, just can't walk long distances; needs a wheelchair to/from the gate/jet bridge.
  • WCHS (Wheelchair – Steps): can't manage stairs, but can walk to the seat in-cabin; needs a wheelchair to the aircraft door.
  • WCHC (Wheelchair – Cabin): needs a wheelchair the whole way, including to the seat and in-cabin.

Since there's only one transfer (at London Heathrow, LHR), the key is to request this assistance at booking/check-in and make sure the LHR connection doesn't break down — with just 1 hour, crossing borders (UK→US) and re-clearing transfer security, that's where it most easily goes wrong.

What Gemini helped with

It explained the WCHR / WCHS / WCHC differences and helped me pick which to request (I ended up on WCHR); generated English/French lines to request assistance at Nice check-in and the LHR transfer; flagged the tight 1-hour connection.

💬 Prompt
Where and when should I request this connection wheelchair assistance?
✦ Gemini

Since you've already checked in at Nice, don't wait until the gate — the safest is to find ground staff (or a help desk) in the Nice departures hall now. Nice Airport has dedicated passenger assistance; the earlier BA notes it in the system at Nice, the earlier Heathrow can have someone waiting at the jet bridge.

Find BA ground staff: return to the BA counter, or go to your gate, or look for an "Information" / "Service Plus" / "Accompagnement" desk. Show this French line:

"Bonjour, je me suis blessé à la jambe droite. Je viens de m'enregistrer pour mon vol. Comme j'ai une escale très courte d'une heure à Londres Heathrow, est-il possible d'ajouter une assistance handicapé / fauteuil roulant (Wheelchair Assistance) pour mon transfert à Londres ? Merci."
(Hi, I injured my right leg. I just checked in for my flight. Since I only have a very short 1-hour connection at London Heathrow, could you add wheelchair assistance for my London transfer? Thanks.)

If they enter it, they'll say "C'est fait" (done). To be safe, confirm the code — for a short-distance leg injury it's WCHS (can't walk far but can board) or WCHR.

💬 Prompt
After they say "C'est fait," how do I double-check in French that the code is really in the system?
✦ Gemini

To double-check the code with them in French:

"Merci. Est-ce que vous avez bien enregistré le code WCHR ou WCHS pour l'assistance à Londres ?"
(Thanks. Did you register the WCHR or WCHS code for the London assistance?)
"C'est juste pour être sûr que la demande de fauteuil roulant apparaisse bien dans le système à Heathrow."
(Just to be sure the wheelchair request shows in the Heathrow system.)

💡 They'll likely reply:

"Oui, c'est bien confirmé en WCHR / WCHS." (Yes, confirmed as WCHR / WCHS.) · "Tout est bon dans le système pour Londres." (Everything's set for London.)

Once you hear "Oui" or see them nod, your London wheelchair service is locked in.

💬 Prompt
All-BA through ticket, only 1 hour to connect at London — do I need to collect my checked bag? Is that enough time?
✦ Gemini

On a single British Airways through-ticket:

1. Checked luggage — no need to collect. It's tagged through to Seattle (SEA) at Nice check-in; during the 1-hour London connection the system transfers it automatically.

2. Terminal & transfer

  • Same terminal: both BA flights (Nice in, Seattle out) usually use Heathrow T5 — no terminal change.
  • Timeline: even in one terminal, 1 hour is right at Heathrow's "minimum connection time." You can't exit customs; follow the purple "Flight Connections" signs and re-clear UK transfer security.

🚨 Note (given your right-leg injury)

1 hour means walking, queuing, and re-screening. In your current state, walking it yourself will not make the flight.

At Nice check-in, hand over your booking code and passport and clearly request: (1) confirm the bag is tagged to SEA; (2) book LHR wheelchair assistance on the spot, telling them the connection is only 1 hour and you're injured. Then at London, a wheelchair agent meets you at the jet bridge and takes you via the Fast Track green lane past the security queue — the only way to make the Seattle flight in an hour.

💬 Prompt
Write me a line to ask the crew: I requested arrival wheelchair assistance — should I stay in my seat until they come onboard, or walk to the jet bridge myself?
✦ Gemini

"Hi, I have requested airport wheelchair assistance for my arrival. Should I remain in my seat until the wheelchair agent comes onboard to get me, or should I walk out to the jet bridge myself?"

💶 Airport tax refund (Détaxe)

Gemini also sorted my receipts for the airport tax refund: only goods taken home qualify (with a barcode refund form issued at purchase) — never dining, medical, or the Donjoy boot — and pointed me to the orange PABLO kiosk at Nice airport for the customs e-stamp.

One small observation from all the wheelchair assistance: the wheelchairs at the European airports — Nice (NCE) and London Heathrow (LHR) — were noticeably newer and in far better shape than the ones back at Seattle (SEA).

🚨 Safety: the Riviera's "pickpocket ecosystem"

"Watch out, pickpockets."

— a staff member openly warning the waiting crowd, in the NCE passport-control line right after we landed

The South of France is pickpocket territory, so before the trip I also had Gemini explain "why so many thieves" and "how safe Nice really is."

What Gemini helped with

Its explanation of the "why" was genuinely illuminating: the Riviera concentrates wealthy, relaxed tourists ("gold everywhere" to a thief); one coastal rail line plus the Italian border 40 minutes away makes the perfect getaway; penalties for non-violent theft are very light; and the ornate old façades are practically climbing walls for "balcony crews." In a line: theft here is high reward, low cost and risk — but these are opportunists who only pick the easiest targets.

As for Nice itself: generally safe, violent crime rare, but watch for pickpockets on the Promenade des Anglais and in the old town's narrow streets, never leave a bag on the beach while swimming, be careful around the central station at night, wear the bag in front, and politely decline the "sign a petition / help with your bag" scams.

🤔 Gemini Hallucinates Too

Of course, it isn't always right. One night at a four-star hotel, worried a thief might climb in from the balcony, I asked Gemini — and got a full, battle-ready "anti-balcony-intrusion" plan:

What Gemini helped with
💬 Prompt
Is balcony break-in theft common at Nice hotels? The front desk won't move my room — what do I do tonight?
✦ Gemini

It assured me balcony break-ins "aren't rare" on the Riviera, described the thieves' MOs in cinematic detail (2–5 AM entries, "balcony grabs" while you shower), and issued tonight's "iron rules": lock the balcony fully no matter the heat, scramble the suitcase lock, and — the highlight — wedge a chair hard against the balcony door with a glass upside-down on top as a noise barrier, turning the room into a "hard target."

…And the result? All four nights at the hotel were perfectly fine — nobody climbed the balcony. Maybe it was just too hot that week and the thieves were too lazy. In hindsight the "brace-the-door + upside-down-glass" plan was a bit much — AI is powerful, but it still needs common sense to keep it in check: it's the co-pilot, not the autopilot.

🇫🇷 A Few Differences from the US

A few everyday differences I noticed between the South of France and the US:

  • Greetings matter. Open with Bonjour when entering a shop or asking directions, and Merci when leaving or helped — I tacked a merci onto nearly every sentence.
  • No tipping culture — the bill is basically the final price.
  • Free tap/mineral water is standard at restaurants.

🌡️ Heat alert: I caught the Ironman cancellation.

While I was in the South of France, a historic heatwave swept Europe. The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture, citing an orange heat alert, outright cancelled the IRONMAN France Nice and IRONMAN 70.3 Nice races set for June 28, affecting ~4,500 athletes who'd already arrived on the Riviera. The World Meteorological Organization later confirmed France recorded its hottest day on record on June 24 (national average 30.0°C, with 43.8°C hit in Pulluau), with a top-level red alert issued for 58 departments, in a report titled
"Record-breaking heat spreads through Europe" (Sources: 220 Triathlon · Tri247 · WMO)

Closing

On this South-of-France trip, Gemini ran alongside me almost the whole way — time-zone math, finding luggage, planning transit, ordering food, emergency care, cross-border accessibility, the transfer connection. It isn't perfect and occasionally gave bad advice, but for someone who isn't great at long trips, it landed this chaos-filled journey safely.

AI assistants are becoming that "indispensable tool" in everyday life. Merci, Gemini. 🙏