After breakfast, we caught the shuttle van down the hill to the tram stop. The trams cost 1 euro for 75 min of riding time and one transfer. We rode the tram down to the old town.
Brandon spotted this cat while waiting for the shuttle. Katrina was able to get the cat to pose, but then Brandon closed his eyes!
I'm not sure what this plant is, but I thought it was very cool
Nice has a nice mixture of French and Italian architecture and influences. The coast and the beaches are why most people visit Nice. The rich blue-green sea is a big draw for tourists and locals. The city alos offers shopping, dining, museums and many historical locations.
I think these sculptures light up at night
Our first plan was to walk through the flower and fruit market. This market takes place every day but Mondays, when it becomes an antique market. The flower stands were amazing and very beautiful. Katrina took a lot of pictures.
Flowers and more flowers...
Peppers, garlic, spices...
...soaps...
...and fruit.
We bought some fresh strawberries and made our way out to the Promenade des Anglais. They say this promenade along the sea is always bustling with tourists and locals roller blading, biking, jogging, and lounging on the beach. The beaches are not sand. They are made up of smooth rocks. Beach goers just rearrange the rocks to make themselves comfortable.
Looking west along the coast. If you look closely you will notice that European men really like their Speedo type swimsuits.
A brave swimmer. The water is still very chilly this time of year.
One of the highlights of the coast is the view from Le Chateau. They say the views are the main reason to visit this hilltop park, but we found the park to be a pretty nice place as well. You can take an elevator most of the way up, or you can take the stairs. We chose to take the elevator up and walk back down.
Looking west down the coast. Cannes is about a 30 minute drive down the coast.
The old city of Nice
How beautiful!
The park was full of mosaics on pillars, in the sidewalks and on walls.
Ruins of cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary (built 11th - 12th centuries, rebuilt in the Middle Ages). The basis for the pillars separating the nave from the side aisles are still visible.
A fortress across the valley
The park offers excellent views up and down the coast, as well as the city of Nice and the harbor. There is are two cafe's, a playground and some ruins of the old castle and and old church.
Brandon starting to not feel very well.
The harbor was full of sailboats and yahts.
Looking down on the harbor entrance and east down the coast
Brandon was starting to complain about how tired he was and that he wasn't feeling all that well, so we thought he needed some food. We were all hungry. We headed back down into the old town to eat lunch. We found a great little restaurant for lunch. I had a pizza. Brandon had pasta con pomodoro. Katrina had onion soup - French onion soup, but in France it's just called onion soup. She loved it and tells me it may be the best meal she has had in Europe so far.
Brandon was still not feelin well. We hoped that lunch would perk him up, but it didn't. We decided to explore the old town a bit and see how Brandon felt. I love exploring the old cities. It is a lot of fun to just wander down the narrow streets and find interesting surprises around random corners.
Brandon was feeling worse, so we made a new plan. We would ride the tram to the Russian cathedral then Brandon and I would go back to the room. Katrina would visit the Chagrall museum on her own.
The Russian Cathedral. The cathedral is one of many Russian attractions in the city. The Russian aristocracy used Nice as a balmy getaway, and left their mark in doing so.
Back at the room Brandon took a long hot shower, put on his pajamas, climbed into bed and went to sleep. He was definitely not feeling well. I ended up reading for a bit then falling asleep for about an hour. I was woken up by a text from Katrina that she was heading back. I think it was around 5:30. Brandon had been sleeping for about 1 1/2 hours.
View from our room.
We let him sleep until almost 7pm. He was feeling a little bit better, but still not very well. We made him dress so that we could go downstairs to eat. Tonights entree was North African cous cous with chicken a sausage. Very tasty! Brandon did not eat.
Back up to the room and back into pajamas for Brandon...actually for all of us. Katrina and I read for awhile while Brandon slept again. He woke up awhile later and was hungry. Thank goodness we stuffed a roll into his backpack at lunchtime.
Nice is nice. I love the views, the sunshine and all the interesting history. There is so much to see and do it can be overwhelming. We have learned to slow down and enjoy what we do see and not worry about seeing everything thing. We would wear ourselves out. We are just getting a 'taste' of so many places in Europe, but what a taste it is. We still feel lucky each and every time we travel and even when we are living our daily lives at home.
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