The transfer happened easily enough, fortunately. When we reached Le Meridien, there was valet parking and no problems. The very nice clerk at check in offered us a partial sea view room for a little more that we were paying, so we took it! When we got to the room, we were VERY happy. It is a lovely room, very well air conditioned, has an expansive terrace, and offers this view:
Oh yes, we will be happy with this room!
Now, it is time for sightseeing. We're not doing any driving today; we will be exploring Nice, primarily Old Town Nice. We crossed the street from our hotel and walked into the Jardin Albert I, which is small but lovely, then we walked a little farther into Place Messina, which is described as the center of Nice. It is a very large space with interesting statues, old and new. We turn south for one bloc to the large pedestrian street, Cours Saleya. Six days out of the week, this is a flower and food market, but today is Monday, which is the one day of the week that it is an antiques (flea) market. It goes on for blocks and is interesting to look at, but we did not see anything we would be inclined to buy and take home. Along this Cours is the very impressive looking Opera Building for Nice. Also, the old town has many old churches, and we checked them all out. There was Chappelle de la Misericorde with a pretty Baroque facade, then Eglise St Jacques/Gesu that had a bluish gray color to its walls but otherwise kind of dark. Also we saw Cathedral Sainte Reparate, which has a very colorful dome (did not go inside -- closed for lunch). We also stuck our heads into the Palais Lascaris, known for its foyer. Then it was time for lunch! We saw a very nice looking Italian restaurant called Gaglio (note: since Nice is so close to Italy, there are a lot of Italian restaurants here it seems). We order the fixed price lunch of salad (avocado, grapefruit and tomato -- an interesting combination that was refreshing), and pasta (pates in French) of linquini with octopus, which was also quite good -- and filling. During lunch, we strike up a conversation with the occupant of the neighboring table, a woman dining alone from Carmel, California. She just spent two weeks in Paris, where I think she had a good time, although she said she would never go back (did not feel safe) and was beginning one week here in Nice. We concluded that she didn't plan her trip very well (if at all) and was kind of not really sure what to do. Well, that was her problem, not ours, but I did feel a little bad for her. She was 61 years old, and this was her first time in Europe.
After lunch, we first walked over to Place Garibaldi to see what it looked like then we walked up the Colline du Chateau, a big hill in the middle of Nice (but still on the sea). One side looks over the city, while the other looks down on the port. It is also the home of Nice's old chateau, which no longer exists, although there are some type of ruins. It was quite a climb up steps and roads, passing the cemetery, which includes a jewish section that we stepped into to look at. Here is the view back towards town from one side of the hill:
Here is a view of the port from the other side of the hill:
Then we walked down and continued along the beach until we reached the Old Town, where we had an assignment: Find the Fragonard perfume store and buy some perfume for our friend Roseann DeBalli, who had been to Nice (and the Fragonard factory in the town of Grasse) some years ago and discovered a Fragonard fragrance that she really liked. So that is what we did. We also found a really nice wine shop where we bought some wine to enjoy in our hotel room.
It was late in the afternoon after a sunny and very humid day; I in particular was melting and in need of a break, so we headed back to our hotel room to enjoy the air conditioning. After a rest, we walked east along the beach (kind of paved boardwalk) for quite a ways to see some grand hotels and apartment buildings. The beach here is not sandy, it is rocky. When I say rocky, I don't mean pebbles. These are rocks that are maybe three inch diameters, on average. People are laying on their towels on the beach, but I don't see how that can be at all tolerable. There are commercial areas where you can pay a fee (no idea how much) and sit on a lounge chair with an umbrella, but in these areas the chairs are all side by side and one right in front of the other, so it's not like you'd have your own area on the beach. There are a few really small areas where sand has been carted in, but my guess is that the sand is used to accommodate beach volleyball, which we saw being played.
Before dinner, we enjoyed a nice glass of rose on our terrace, admiring the sunlight on the hill, as the sun shone under the clouds:
Then we walked over to Rue Massena (Nice's restaurant row) to find a place to have something not too complicated to eat (I'm thinking a steak). We chose a place called the Cafe de Nice on a side street, Rue Maurice Jaubert that seems to fit the bill. The staff here is very friendly, and we are pleased with our choice. We both started with mixed salads, then I had a filet, and Rob had veal scallopinni with lemon. Both come with side of potatoes, vegetables, and a small serving of salad (salad is really a side dish here in France, not a first course). Our wine was a nice St. Emilion bordeaux.
Back to the hotel to watch a little TV and turn in. We are eating dinner so late here in France (8-8:30 start times), that by the time we are done eating and back to the hotel, we don't stay up much later.
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