Day 34- Nov. 16 - Nice day in Nice - Long day Long blog

It was another of those rare, beautiful, sunny days! After a light breakfast, we actually managed to leave the house by 10:30 AM. I had researched trains and buses to Nice, but Ron was rested and said he was up to the drive - which is a very short distance, but still a lot of stress!

We programmed the parking garage at Cours Selayen into the GPS and headed to Nice, which is the 5th largest city in France with a population in the metro-area of around 1 million people. The beauty and climate attracted the English as long ago as the mid-1700's, and it has been a resort ever since.

It was a glorious day, and everyone was out enjoying the weather. It was great not to have rain, but we couldn't believe the number of bicylces and motorbikes driving recklessly through the streets. Large groups of bicylists would pass left or right of you and wouldn't even slow down for red lights. It was unbelievable. Maybe the people here are more Italian than French in their driving habits! On the promenade along the Mediterranean were hundreds of folks strolling, skate-boarding, walking dogs, and just enjoying themselves.

The architecture along the seafront going  through Cagnes-sur-Mer and Villeneuve-sur-Loup reminded us a lot of  the beach areas south of Melbourne like Brighton, Elwood, Hampton, Sandringham, etc. Too many memories and friends no longer with us.

Passing Nice airport, we noticed that there were NUMEROUS private jets parked.

The GPS guided us accurately to the parking area we wanted, and we drove down four levels to find a spot. Luckily Ron had spotted an elevator to take us up. We walked along Cours Selaya in the flower and fruit/vegetable market, which is held every day except Monday. We love the markets of Europe!

I had read about a local specialty called socca, which is a chickpea flour pancake. It is made with chickpea flour, olive oil, salt and pepper, and maybe a little onion. Sometimes it is enhanced as a pizza or flatbread would be with various toppings, but here it is mostly sold plain. We saw a few stands with lines of people buying this "delicacy", and of course, I wanted to try it. The first place we stopped was the famous Chez Theresa, that I recalled reading about. There were only a few crumbs left on her tray, and people still waiting. I later read that her socca is delivered by bike from a nearby oven, and if you don't get any by 1 PM, she is finished for the day. It was still early, but we walked on, and Ron stood in line at another stall about 10-minutes to get a serving. Every time a socca would come out of the oven, it was cut up and sold immediately, and there was a wait for another. I read that it is best with a lot of pepper, and noticed that the lady at our stand did liberally sprinkle the pepper on. It must be an acquired taste, as after sharing our socca, we didn't think we needed to order it again. But, you have to give it a try!

Ron, wondering why he waited in line so long for socca

Mary having a taste of local specialty - fun to try!

Lady selling the socca

We then walked to a restaurant that had been recommended by Adrian Leeds, a woman we knew in France who writes for International Living. As I suspected (but couldn't determine for sure from web-site), Bistro Antoine was closed for Sunday lunch. We walked back to a cute place we had seen, Les Distelleries Ideales, and sat outside for a drink and to read my notes and figure out what to do next. The little bar happened to be an ideal spot for people-watching, and the interior was really different and neat. I later read it was considered one of the most atmospheric bars in Nice - and I believe there are MANY bars in Nice.

Ron outside Distilleries Ideales

Interior - Distilleries Ideales

As we were sitting outside, we heard a loud BOOM, and I remembered reading that a "cannon" (now a fireworks of some kind) is set off at noon each day. The story is that a retired British colonel was annoyed that his wife was always off socializing and didn't prepare his lunch on time. He supposedly made a deal with the city that he would provide the cannon if they would fire it each day at noon - this would summon the "neglectful" wife to be home on time to prepare his meal. It seems there is some truth to this legend. Anyway, the tradition has continued and you always hear the loud noise at noon. Locals ignore it and apparently get a kick out of unsuspecting tourists jumping at the sound.

We were intrigued by the small lanes and thought we would prefer walking to looking for a "gourmet" restaurant.

Love the colorful buildings, shutters, and laundry hanging out

After enjoying the streets of old Nice for an hour or so, we discovered the delightful "Olive and Artichoke". Of course, it was fully booked. We could see the chef at work in the open kitchen, preparing every plate in a beautiful style. If we get a chance, we would love to go back. Later read it is a real "gem".

We ended up sitting outside at  La Claire Fontaine in front of the Cathedral of Nice, Ste. Reparte, as we decided we just wanted a light meal in a pleasant surrounding. As we sat by the edge of the ancient fountain watching people everywhere, it suited our needs. A fellow with a small chain saw was creating an ice-sculpture from blocks of ice.

Cathedral of Nice - Ste. Reparte

Ron had Pizza 4-saisons (quattro formaggi as they would say in Italy) and I had a simple penne gorgonzola. Nothing memorable except the blue skies, ancient buildings around us, and hundreds of people to observe.

Our wine bottle with label of the scene where we were sitting
(Le Claire Fontaine)

Fenocchio Gelato

Across from us was the Glacier Fenocchio, a gelato (ice-cream) shop since 1945 - offering over 100 flavors. One that piqued my interest was chocolate with hot pepper since we had tried a chocolate bar of that flavor sometime in the past - and thought it was delicious. They had many unusual offerings such as violet, lavender, avocado, jasmine, walnut  - and a few I regret not sampling like Baileys, cinammon, and Amaretto.

One of the many counters at Fenocchio

We walked more in the streets, enjoying the various shops.....

Since it was such great weather, I was determined to make the most of the day, so I asked Ron if he would mind accompanying me on the "touristique train" - which is not our usual kind of thing to do. But, I thought it would be nice to see a lot without walking a whole lot more. It was good, as there is no way we could possibly have walked everywhere the little "train" took us. We had to walk along the Promenade Anglais to find the train and this was our view over the Mediterranean.

Ron being a "tourist" on the little train

The train first passed through the old city that we had already walked. It also took us past enormous parks filled with people and families enjoying the day. The commentary on the train wasn't thorough, and later looking on-line explained that the city had spent 40 million Euros to create a green ribbon of parkway called Promenade du Paillon (named for the river that runs beneath). It is about 29 acres and three-fourths of a mile long. Really beautiful with a large shallow area of water than appears to be mirrored and from which water jets are spraying. They had torn down some ugly structures, including a bus depot and parking garage, and planted thousands of trees, shrubs, and plants. They also provided huge wood "climbing sculptures" for children - these are shaped like sea creatures, including a whale, octopus, turtle and others. The park was being well-enjoyed as we passed by, and children were climbing and playing. I might add, none were wearing a helmet, and if there is an accident, no one will sue the city - it is not a litigious culture. The creation of his greenway was an enormous boon to the folks living in the immediate area. From having a decrepit bus station frequented by questionable characters, they suddenly had parkside living!

I had one of my coughing fits, and a kind lady in front of us gave me a bottle of Evian water.

We passed by the harbor, where many yachts were berthed.

A mega-yacht in Nice Harbor

Mary in tourist mode at top of Colline du Chateau

The train eventually took us to the top of Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill), and let us out for a 10-minute break. It is named for a 12th-century chateau that was destroyed by Louis XIV in early 1700's for reasons I don't know. It is now a beautiful green park where there is a waterfall and amazing views.

View from Colline du Chateau

At the bottom of the "Castle Hill" we passed by the War Monument, which was originally built around 1924 to commemorate the 4,000 residents of Nice who died in WWI. It was later modified to add veterans of WWII and later conflicts.

War Monument built into mountain

Coming back, we were wishing to get out near to our parking spot, but had been warned not to "alight before the driver tells you", and as slow as I am, we didn't want to take a risk! We were deposited back at the waterfront and walked another 15-minutes or so back to the parking garage. We walked right past the white tents set up along the Promenade for the Chocolate Exposition. Too bad I hadn't read about it earlier, as it featured many famous chocolatiers and patissiers from restaurants and shops all over France - and visitors were able to sample the wares - not only chocolates and pastries, but caviar, foie gras, salmon, champagne and cognac.

Tents of Chocolate Exposition along Promenade Anglais

Traffic was horrendous along the waterfront out of Nice, so Ron ignored the GPS and went away from the water. We eventually came to the road to take us toward our destination, and we did miss a lot of traffic.

We went directly home, and that was our day!
A very full and satisfying day with blue skies!