Things I remember from Nice - November 1st to 5th
Point-form summary first and then more detailed descriptions at end. If I remember anything else I will add it to this blog and put a "Revised" somewhere at the beginning.
..... And having said all that, you may have noticed that the Paris blog that I posted the other night ended up several postings back. It seems they go by when I started the entry and I opened files for Paris, Nice and Barcelona all at the same time. I'll try to remember to do a cut and paste on these next ones so they'll show up by actual dated posted but beware!
Wednesday
- 5.5 hour train ride from Paris
- checked into hotel and had dinner
Thursday
- school visit
- train tour of old Nice
- toured around castle hill
Friday
- Parc Phenix in morning
- switched hotels to downtown
- bus tour of Nice
- walk around old town
Saturday
- bus tour of Cannes, Antibe, Eres and Montecarlo, Monaco
- dinner and walk around old town in evening
Sunday
- 12.5 hour train ride from Nice to Barcelona (more on that in the Barcelona section)
The train ride from Paris to Nice was really nice. It was 5 and a half hours but it went by very quickly and smoothly. I did a lot of writing for my blog and sorted pictures but still found lots of time to enjoy the country side. It was always beautiful but once we got to the coast it was incredibly breathtaking when we caught fantastic glimpses of the sea. Unfortunately it got dark shortly after we hit the coast so we didn't get to enjoy the views for long.
The school I was visiting was near the airport, which was just across the street, so I had hotel out there as well. Beyond the airport you had the Mediterranean Sea and I actually had to be told that it was there because I just hadn't notice it when I looked out the hotel or university windows. The sea and sky just seemed to blend together over the airport runways.
I do have to tell one story about the restaurant at the hotel. Breakfast came with the room and I ate their twice for dinner as well because there just wasn't anything else nearby. Anyway, the one night I just could not figure out what they were having for specials. Most of the time I could guess but I just didn't have a clue this time. The waiter was trying to explain them to me but his English wasn't very good. We worked on the one for a long time and finally he had to go ask one of the other guys who did speak English. He came back and said "shark" and I laughed and said something like "well, no wonder I couldn't sort it out". We then went back to the second item and worked on it a bit more but still I couldn't get it. I have to say that he was very nice and we were having a good time trying to make the translation. The people at the surrounding tables were all chuckling with us, or perhaps at us, while we carried on the conversation that probably lasted for at least 5 minutes. Anyway, he eventually went to ask the other guy about the second item. He came back and said, "ostrich" and I burst out laughing saying something like, "shark and ostrich, yep, those two items were right up there on the list of French words one had to know when ordering in a restaurant." Everyone burst out laughing and I decided to have something else for dinner. You probably don't even think that was funny and it probably really is one of those "you had to be there" moments but I thought it was quite cute.
The old town of Nice has the usual narrow, winding streets lined with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. It's easy to get lost as there are lots of dead ends after you've done the twisting and turning. Luckily they are mainly pedestrian streets so you don't have to argue with a lot of traffic when you are lost! The main buildings like City Hall are bigger that the rest but they are not huge.
The seaside is beautiful. There is a long wide promenade all along the length of the beach and it was very busy. I can only imagine what it is like in the summer time! There were lots of pedestrians, cyclists, roller bladers and even a train using the promenade. The beach is pebble and small stone as opposed to sand but people didn't seem to mind that. The weather was nice so there were lots of people on the beach and several in swimming. That's not usual for November I was told. Regardless, it was a beautiful setting with the sea on one side and the hills on the other and the town in between. And the water is a beautiful shade of blue.
I took the bus from the hotel at the airport down to the city centre the first day. It was an incredibly long ride and it was also very hot and crowded. The situation was the same when I returned that night. As a result I decided to switch my hotel the next day and move closer to the old city. The new hotel was right at the start (or end) of the old town so great for wandering the streets. Quite literally on the other side of the street you had the new town with the Acropolis (convention centre I think) and Theatre/Museum buildings right outside my window. It was a nice mix of new and old.
Before I checked out of my first hotel I took the opportunity to go to Parc Phenix, which was just next door to the hotel. it was a wonderful oasis from the bustle of the city life. It was green and lush and the sounds of birds filled the air the morning I was there. That of course was until the bus loads of little kids arrived and then other sounds quickly drowned out the birds. There is a beautiful pond in the center of the park and all kinds of ducks and geese and other water birds around it. I remember finding the black swans and white pelicans quite peculiar because I am more used to white swans and black pelicans. However, the shape was the same so I'm sure that's what they were. There were also parrots and ostriches and fish and snakes and spiders and turtles and other neat things. Why is it that girls always scream when they see spiders and snakes and boys just say "oh, cool!" With each school group, the reaction was always the same. I can't think of the proper name but they had what I'll call a biosphere. Part of it was for a desert climate and part rain forest and other areas as well. The plants in each case were really beautiful. They even had a whole section on day lilies, Margery. You would have loved it! Overall it was a very pleasant morning and I'm glad I went. It was also a good deal at only 2 euros.
The city bus tour was good but again it was very long and boring in parts. There were many art galleries and museums to be pointed out but sometimes we were never near them. They were just off to the right or the left. The views back toward the water were the main features of the bus tour. I should also say that I didn't go to any museums or galleries because I had already had my fill in London and Paris and needed a break for a while. They have many lovely old churches and I went into some of them - generally just as I wandered past on one of my treks, as opposed to going specifically to see a certain church. I wandered around a lot but really didn't see anything specific that I can now remember.
Some general impressions of Nice would include:
- there are some wonderful old hotels along the water front
- there are a lot of rich and famous people with houses here
- some female dancer lived and died here, strangled by her scarf, but I don't remember who!
- it's a beautiful and clean city, one of the nicest I've seen from that respect
- it's expensive for everything
- they try hard to pretend it's warm all the time and eat outside under heaters at restaurants
- internet cafes don't stay open later than 8 or 9 p.m. so it's impossible to get anything done
Bus Tour of the French Riviera and Monaco
This was an all day tour that went from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it was well worth it. There were only four of us including the guide in the morning and then one more person joined us in the afternoon. We were very comfortable in our little van and saw lots of sights. The only scary part was the driving at times, but everyone seems to drive like a maniac over there.
Cannes
We saw the film festival sight and all the great hotels and restaurants around it. We walked along the promenade, which is nice but not as wide as in Nice. The marina is big and had a lot of big, expensive yachts in it. I think the beach was sandy in places but some stony areas as well. The city is very new by European standards. The area was once under water and full of rushes or canes - hence its name. The area was reclaimed and built up in the 20th century so it's all relatively modern and there is no old town to meander through, just the fancy new town for the rich and famous and those who serve their needs.
Antibes
Antibes is a beautiful old city with lots of markets open in the town squares when we were there on a Saturday morning. They were selling everything imaginable: food, crafts, clothes, antiques, etc. We walked around the old town area and then up on to the old city wall, at least a portion of which still exists but I don't know that it is all intact. I don't remember seeing any beaches as the area is steeper and rockier at the shore line. However, there was a huge marina at the one end and it seemed to have yachts that were even bigger and more expensive than in Cannes. Most of the streets are pedestrian streets in the old city just because they are too narrow for most vehicles. It really is a charming old city with lots of old buildings.
St. Paul de Vence
I had never heard of this place but St. Paul de Vence is an old town up on the top of a high hill. The road is really winding and narrow to get up there and once you reach the city walls, no vehicles are allowed in. I imagine that emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles are allowed in some areas but the average person can't drive through. And again there is a very good reason for this. The streets are very narrow and winding and very steep up and down the side of the hill. The town is very arts oriented so there are galleries everywhere. And many famous artists lived here at one point in their lives so there is a lot of art history. I wandered through the cemetery and found someone's grave but now I'm not sure whose. It was definitely a famous artist and he lived there for many years so his tombstone is quite a tourist attraction. Gaudin maybe? It was fun to walk around the old streets and check out the shops and galleries but it was definitely a lot of work as you were either going up or down the whole time. The views over the entire countryside and coastline were incredible. I'm sure I got some wonderful pictures but alas, those are gone now so we won't be enjoying them.
Eze
Eze is another old town built on a hill but it is much smaller and much steeper to climb. It's also more confusing and not one of us actually made it to the top for the scenic lookout. We just kept going in circles through the old streets - and there weren't that many of them. There were some incredible coastal views from the lookouts we did reach though. The shops on the streets were small and just sandwiched into any available place. They weren't very busy when we were there so I'm not sure how they survived.
At the bottom of the hill in Eze, we toured a perfume factory. I was not interested in it at all but it proved to be interesting none the less. We learned where all their plants come from and at least one of them was from Canada but I don't remember which one. It was interesting to learn how they mix and process the product, and how they differentiate between perfume and toilet water and other such labels. The packaging and design and branding are certainly a big part of the overall product and its cost. It was definitely cheaper to buy at the factory but as you might imagine, I didn't buy anything.
We also learned about "The Nose" who is the person really in charge of making the perfumes. There are only 4 training places in the world for this job and only about 100 graduates in total out in the market. The training is very specialized and expensive and you have to prove your "nose" talents to be accepted. The Nose can only work 3-4 hours per day and they can't drink alcohol, eat spicy foods or smoke at any time. However, in exchange they get paid a lot of money.
Monte Carlo and Monaco
We went to Monte Carlo and thus also to Monaco. I don't think there is any part of Monaco that isn't Monte Carlo. The size of Monaco is very small - something like two square kilometers if I remember correctly. The population is about 30,000 and most people who are counted in the population don't live there year round. It costs big money to become a citizen in Monaco. I think it was a half million due and payable in advance. Lots of people and companies have addresses and head offices here but most are just for tax purposes. Our tour guide certainly had a lot to say about the country and the Grimaldi Royal Family and their "business affairs." He was so vocal I thought we might be arrested at one point. There are police everywhere and there are rules everywhere. It's definitely an interesting place.
We went to see the casino and the huge hotels around it as well as the opera house and Casino Cafe. The casino is in a fantastic location overlooking the Sea and there is a beautiful landscaped garden between the building and the Sea. It is definitely a place for the rich. The cars out front give that detail away. I had the actual makes written down but now I am just guessing. There were about six cars parked on each side of the entrance steps, types such as Porsche, Lamburgini, Rolls and Mercedes and all sportscars. That part was quite amazing on its own. There were big yachts in the harbour and there were big houses on the hillsides. Rich could definitely be used to describe the overall scene.
We also went up the hill to the palace. It was pretty plain from the outside, compared to others I've seen, but it was big. We also went by the Princesses' homes. We saw the Church where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were married and are now buried. All of this is in a nice location at the top of a hill at the seaside so some great views of the entire country! And no, I did not see that eligible Prince Albert anywhere around town.
Everything along the coast is beautiful and the views are spectacular. The water is a beautiful shade of blue and the sun was shining brightly on it. It is no wonder that many rich and famous people live along this coast because you really can't beat the views or the weather. And it's no wonder that our students like to take exchanges in Nice. It is a fantastic location itself and provides a great opportunity for touring other beautiful sights.
That's all for now.
Jayne
PS - I said Buon Journo from Italy in an earlier blog and it should have been Buon Giorno. I'm just getting so confused with all my different languages. It must be the curse of the world traveller!
Point-form summary first and then more detailed descriptions at end. If I remember anything else I will add it to this blog and put a "Revised" somewhere at the beginning.
..... And having said all that, you may have noticed that the Paris blog that I posted the other night ended up several postings back. It seems they go by when I started the entry and I opened files for Paris, Nice and Barcelona all at the same time. I'll try to remember to do a cut and paste on these next ones so they'll show up by actual dated posted but beware!
Wednesday
- 5.5 hour train ride from Paris
- checked into hotel and had dinner
Thursday
- school visit
- train tour of old Nice
- toured around castle hill
Friday
- Parc Phenix in morning
- switched hotels to downtown
- bus tour of Nice
- walk around old town
Saturday
- bus tour of Cannes, Antibe, Eres and Montecarlo, Monaco
- dinner and walk around old town in evening
Sunday
- 12.5 hour train ride from Nice to Barcelona (more on that in the Barcelona section)
The train ride from Paris to Nice was really nice. It was 5 and a half hours but it went by very quickly and smoothly. I did a lot of writing for my blog and sorted pictures but still found lots of time to enjoy the country side. It was always beautiful but once we got to the coast it was incredibly breathtaking when we caught fantastic glimpses of the sea. Unfortunately it got dark shortly after we hit the coast so we didn't get to enjoy the views for long.
The school I was visiting was near the airport, which was just across the street, so I had hotel out there as well. Beyond the airport you had the Mediterranean Sea and I actually had to be told that it was there because I just hadn't notice it when I looked out the hotel or university windows. The sea and sky just seemed to blend together over the airport runways.
I do have to tell one story about the restaurant at the hotel. Breakfast came with the room and I ate their twice for dinner as well because there just wasn't anything else nearby. Anyway, the one night I just could not figure out what they were having for specials. Most of the time I could guess but I just didn't have a clue this time. The waiter was trying to explain them to me but his English wasn't very good. We worked on the one for a long time and finally he had to go ask one of the other guys who did speak English. He came back and said "shark" and I laughed and said something like "well, no wonder I couldn't sort it out". We then went back to the second item and worked on it a bit more but still I couldn't get it. I have to say that he was very nice and we were having a good time trying to make the translation. The people at the surrounding tables were all chuckling with us, or perhaps at us, while we carried on the conversation that probably lasted for at least 5 minutes. Anyway, he eventually went to ask the other guy about the second item. He came back and said, "ostrich" and I burst out laughing saying something like, "shark and ostrich, yep, those two items were right up there on the list of French words one had to know when ordering in a restaurant." Everyone burst out laughing and I decided to have something else for dinner. You probably don't even think that was funny and it probably really is one of those "you had to be there" moments but I thought it was quite cute.
I took the tourist train for a ride through the old city and it was quite interesting. The one benefit of this ride was that the narrow train could go to the top of Castle Hill while the buses could not. It's a long walk to the top so I appreciated the train ride. I wandered around the hill for a while before continuing my train ride. There is no castle any more, just some ruins in some areas; however, the views are fantastic. It is now a public park and play area and it was very busy. There is also a beautiful waterfall at the top of the hill that is visible from the city centre.
The old town of Nice has the usual narrow, winding streets lined with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. It's easy to get lost as there are lots of dead ends after you've done the twisting and turning. Luckily they are mainly pedestrian streets so you don't have to argue with a lot of traffic when you are lost! The main buildings like City Hall are bigger that the rest but they are not huge.
The seaside is beautiful. There is a long wide promenade all along the length of the beach and it was very busy. I can only imagine what it is like in the summer time! There were lots of pedestrians, cyclists, roller bladers and even a train using the promenade. The beach is pebble and small stone as opposed to sand but people didn't seem to mind that. The weather was nice so there were lots of people on the beach and several in swimming. That's not usual for November I was told. Regardless, it was a beautiful setting with the sea on one side and the hills on the other and the town in between. And the water is a beautiful shade of blue.
I took the bus from the hotel at the airport down to the city centre the first day. It was an incredibly long ride and it was also very hot and crowded. The situation was the same when I returned that night. As a result I decided to switch my hotel the next day and move closer to the old city. The new hotel was right at the start (or end) of the old town so great for wandering the streets. Quite literally on the other side of the street you had the new town with the Acropolis (convention centre I think) and Theatre/Museum buildings right outside my window. It was a nice mix of new and old.
Before I checked out of my first hotel I took the opportunity to go to Parc Phenix, which was just next door to the hotel. it was a wonderful oasis from the bustle of the city life. It was green and lush and the sounds of birds filled the air the morning I was there. That of course was until the bus loads of little kids arrived and then other sounds quickly drowned out the birds. There is a beautiful pond in the center of the park and all kinds of ducks and geese and other water birds around it. I remember finding the black swans and white pelicans quite peculiar because I am more used to white swans and black pelicans. However, the shape was the same so I'm sure that's what they were. There were also parrots and ostriches and fish and snakes and spiders and turtles and other neat things. Why is it that girls always scream when they see spiders and snakes and boys just say "oh, cool!" With each school group, the reaction was always the same. I can't think of the proper name but they had what I'll call a biosphere. Part of it was for a desert climate and part rain forest and other areas as well. The plants in each case were really beautiful. They even had a whole section on day lilies, Margery. You would have loved it! Overall it was a very pleasant morning and I'm glad I went. It was also a good deal at only 2 euros.
The city bus tour was good but again it was very long and boring in parts. There were many art galleries and museums to be pointed out but sometimes we were never near them. They were just off to the right or the left. The views back toward the water were the main features of the bus tour. I should also say that I didn't go to any museums or galleries because I had already had my fill in London and Paris and needed a break for a while. They have many lovely old churches and I went into some of them - generally just as I wandered past on one of my treks, as opposed to going specifically to see a certain church. I wandered around a lot but really didn't see anything specific that I can now remember.
Some general impressions of Nice would include:
- there are some wonderful old hotels along the water front
- there are a lot of rich and famous people with houses here
- some female dancer lived and died here, strangled by her scarf, but I don't remember who!
- it's a beautiful and clean city, one of the nicest I've seen from that respect
- it's expensive for everything
- they try hard to pretend it's warm all the time and eat outside under heaters at restaurants
- internet cafes don't stay open later than 8 or 9 p.m. so it's impossible to get anything done
Bus Tour of the French Riviera and Monaco
This was an all day tour that went from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it was well worth it. There were only four of us including the guide in the morning and then one more person joined us in the afternoon. We were very comfortable in our little van and saw lots of sights. The only scary part was the driving at times, but everyone seems to drive like a maniac over there.
Cannes
We saw the film festival sight and all the great hotels and restaurants around it. We walked along the promenade, which is nice but not as wide as in Nice. The marina is big and had a lot of big, expensive yachts in it. I think the beach was sandy in places but some stony areas as well. The city is very new by European standards. The area was once under water and full of rushes or canes - hence its name. The area was reclaimed and built up in the 20th century so it's all relatively modern and there is no old town to meander through, just the fancy new town for the rich and famous and those who serve their needs.
Antibes
Antibes is a beautiful old city with lots of markets open in the town squares when we were there on a Saturday morning. They were selling everything imaginable: food, crafts, clothes, antiques, etc. We walked around the old town area and then up on to the old city wall, at least a portion of which still exists but I don't know that it is all intact. I don't remember seeing any beaches as the area is steeper and rockier at the shore line. However, there was a huge marina at the one end and it seemed to have yachts that were even bigger and more expensive than in Cannes. Most of the streets are pedestrian streets in the old city just because they are too narrow for most vehicles. It really is a charming old city with lots of old buildings.
St. Paul de Vence
I had never heard of this place but St. Paul de Vence is an old town up on the top of a high hill. The road is really winding and narrow to get up there and once you reach the city walls, no vehicles are allowed in. I imagine that emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles are allowed in some areas but the average person can't drive through. And again there is a very good reason for this. The streets are very narrow and winding and very steep up and down the side of the hill. The town is very arts oriented so there are galleries everywhere. And many famous artists lived here at one point in their lives so there is a lot of art history. I wandered through the cemetery and found someone's grave but now I'm not sure whose. It was definitely a famous artist and he lived there for many years so his tombstone is quite a tourist attraction. Gaudin maybe? It was fun to walk around the old streets and check out the shops and galleries but it was definitely a lot of work as you were either going up or down the whole time. The views over the entire countryside and coastline were incredible. I'm sure I got some wonderful pictures but alas, those are gone now so we won't be enjoying them.
Eze
Eze is another old town built on a hill but it is much smaller and much steeper to climb. It's also more confusing and not one of us actually made it to the top for the scenic lookout. We just kept going in circles through the old streets - and there weren't that many of them. There were some incredible coastal views from the lookouts we did reach though. The shops on the streets were small and just sandwiched into any available place. They weren't very busy when we were there so I'm not sure how they survived.
At the bottom of the hill in Eze, we toured a perfume factory. I was not interested in it at all but it proved to be interesting none the less. We learned where all their plants come from and at least one of them was from Canada but I don't remember which one. It was interesting to learn how they mix and process the product, and how they differentiate between perfume and toilet water and other such labels. The packaging and design and branding are certainly a big part of the overall product and its cost. It was definitely cheaper to buy at the factory but as you might imagine, I didn't buy anything.
We also learned about "The Nose" who is the person really in charge of making the perfumes. There are only 4 training places in the world for this job and only about 100 graduates in total out in the market. The training is very specialized and expensive and you have to prove your "nose" talents to be accepted. The Nose can only work 3-4 hours per day and they can't drink alcohol, eat spicy foods or smoke at any time. However, in exchange they get paid a lot of money.
Monte Carlo and Monaco
We went to Monte Carlo and thus also to Monaco. I don't think there is any part of Monaco that isn't Monte Carlo. The size of Monaco is very small - something like two square kilometers if I remember correctly. The population is about 30,000 and most people who are counted in the population don't live there year round. It costs big money to become a citizen in Monaco. I think it was a half million due and payable in advance. Lots of people and companies have addresses and head offices here but most are just for tax purposes. Our tour guide certainly had a lot to say about the country and the Grimaldi Royal Family and their "business affairs." He was so vocal I thought we might be arrested at one point. There are police everywhere and there are rules everywhere. It's definitely an interesting place.
We went to see the casino and the huge hotels around it as well as the opera house and Casino Cafe. The casino is in a fantastic location overlooking the Sea and there is a beautiful landscaped garden between the building and the Sea. It is definitely a place for the rich. The cars out front give that detail away. I had the actual makes written down but now I am just guessing. There were about six cars parked on each side of the entrance steps, types such as Porsche, Lamburgini, Rolls and Mercedes and all sportscars. That part was quite amazing on its own. There were big yachts in the harbour and there were big houses on the hillsides. Rich could definitely be used to describe the overall scene.
We also went up the hill to the palace. It was pretty plain from the outside, compared to others I've seen, but it was big. We also went by the Princesses' homes. We saw the Church where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were married and are now buried. All of this is in a nice location at the top of a hill at the seaside so some great views of the entire country! And no, I did not see that eligible Prince Albert anywhere around town.
Everything along the coast is beautiful and the views are spectacular. The water is a beautiful shade of blue and the sun was shining brightly on it. It is no wonder that many rich and famous people live along this coast because you really can't beat the views or the weather. And it's no wonder that our students like to take exchanges in Nice. It is a fantastic location itself and provides a great opportunity for touring other beautiful sights.
That's all for now.
Jayne
PS - I said Buon Journo from Italy in an earlier blog and it should have been Buon Giorno. I'm just getting so confused with all my different languages. It must be the curse of the world traveller!
posted by Jayne Brooks @ 11:18 AM
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