I had a lovely day at the Assemblee Nationale and spent the afternoon at the bateaux mouches! It was a super day. I'll write a blog post about that in the near future, but today's post is about Nice(pronounced like niece)! I'm almost caught up with spring break posts!
I really like that this map has circled Nice and points to it as well. Good job Google!
Map of the city of Nice. It is super walkable and lovely.
Eric and I had a relatively stress free flight with Easy Jet, except for when they decided to close the check in counter when we were next in line. Long story short, after some ranting from us and the other passengers who wanted to check in, someone finally came to do their job. Phew! After that it was smooth sailing......we arrived in Nice Airport and checked into our hostel, which was only a few blocks from the beach. That night for dinner we met up with my 3rd cousin Christine (on the MacDonald side) who is working as an au pair in Nice. Although we had never met, we had a lot in common and had a great dinner(We had hamburgers. They were awesome.). Christine was kind enough to show us around Vieux Nice, and explained how to get to Monaco! It was nice (haha) to find family so far from home!
Place Massena a la nuit
The main square of Nice is an interesting mix of old and new, the blue things you see are statues of men. Not quite sure what that modern art means...
Fountain at Place Massena
3rd Cousins!
My gelato eating spree did not end once I left Italy. The frozen treat is also quite poplar in Nice(the city is not far from Italy anyway). I finally found my spicy chocolate flavor gelato! It was amazing. I also had salted butter caramel gelato. Another fantastic combination. Fenoccio's had 96 flavors of gleato. I wish I could have tried them all....
The next day we were up bright and early (10am) to explore Nice. Eric and I made our way down to the rocky beach to dip our feet into the Baie des Anges(Bay of Angels) of the Mediterranean Sea. It was the first time I have been to the Mediterranean! The water was quite cold.
Walking along the Promenade des Anglais. It was a very windy day, not the best hair day.
Walking over to the old castle and lookout.
Nice is nice. Actually, Nice is wonderful.
1st tower on the lookout
Eric et moi
It was quite the hike...
Waterfall!
Who says you can't climb trees in dresses??
You can see this waterfall from the Promenade des Anglais
You can see the mountains!! They still have snow, but I didn't have my skis with me...
Yes, the water is really that blue. This area of France is not called the Cote d'Azur for nothing...I love the contrast of the color of the sea and the red roofs of Nice.
The Port, on the other side of the lookout
Ruins of the old Cathedral that used to be up here
Place Garibaldi
After walking down to the port, Eric and I hopped on a bus for Monaco! I'll write about that tomorrow. The next day we woke up bright and early again to visit the Cours Saleya, the Flower Market in Vieux Nice.
Beautiful Roses
Irises!!
Can you tell I miss my KKG sisters??
Birds of Paradise. They grow all around Nice!
Besides flowers, the market also sells food and other goods such as soap! I bought two bars, it was so hard to pick just two! Everything smelled so good. I chatted (en francais) with the soap guy for a minute, and he said the soap is made in a small shop in Marsaille. Eric made fun of me later for talking to all the shopkeepers. I was so happy to be able to communicate with people again!!
I was super tempted by these beautiful paintings of the lavender fields in Provence. I resisted temptation of the paintings however, but I could not resist more Provencal strawberries. They were just as delicious as the ones we had on our weekend in Provence with Sweetbriar. Heaven!
Eric and I hopped on the bus again to head to Ville France-sur-Mer, a small seaside town with less rocky beaches than Nice. The beach was not sandy, but was covered in very fine pebbles. It was really very comfortable. The pebbles were also great because they were easy to brush off! I might actually prefer them to sand. We spent our last day of vacation soaking up the sun(don't worry Mom, I put sunscreen on!) in the South of France.
The bus literally takes you along a cliff. Eric and I walked down to the beach. Which we soon realized was topless. Oh France...
Spring Break 2012!!
Grand Success!
Look for my post on Monaco and Monte Carlo demain!
Bisous,
Allison
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