Nice is Nice

Chris is the master of puns, so our constant jokes about how "nice" Nice is came as second nature.  Everything in Nice is nice!  Nice water, nice view, nice apartment ... yup, it is all nice!

Here are our top 10 nice things to do in Nice:

10. Eat a regional specialty like socca, a crepe made of chickpea flour.  Served hot, it is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.  We realized afterwards we should have spiced it up with salt and pepper.

We ate socca from Lou Pilha Leva 

(Old Town, look for big green awning)

9. Shop or peruse the Cours Saleya fruit and flower markets.  It is daily except Monday when it is an antique market.  (Not high on our list because we prefer the Provence markets.)

Cours Saleya Fruit and Vegetable Market

8. Buy fresh fish at La Place Saint-Francois Fish Market.  It is every morning except Monday.

Saint-Francois Fish Market in the Old Town

View from our apartment window

If you don't want Gull poop on your car, cover it with cardboard!

Greg's choice was moules (muscles).  They are cheap, easy, and tasty!

We also bought a thick slice of thon (tuna)

Our delicious dinner

7.  Walk around the Port of Nice
We like to walk and everything seemed nearby for us.  We walked to the port twice and climbed above it twice.  With its assortment of boats, Corsica ferries and cruise ships, the port has a lot to see!

Port of Nice (viewed from Castle Hill)

The port has boats of all sizes

We were fascinated watching Lady Sandals squeeze between two bigger yachts.

In case you guessed it, Lady Sandals belongs to the Sandals Resorts owner.

6.  See a luxury "super" yacht

The Serene superyacht

The large luxury yachts in the port impressed us but we were blown away when we laid eyes on the Serene with a helicopter resting on its bow.  Built for a Russian Vodka tycoon for a mere $330 million, the 440 foot yacht looks like a small cruise ship, and is ranked the 12th largest yacht in the world!  She features two helicopter landing platforms, storage for a large submarine and a huge internal sea water pool, which can be adapted to be used for tender docking.  Last summer, Bill Gates rented her (and her crew of 52) for $5 million for a week.

5.  Pass through Place Messena - with its checkerboard surface, statue of Apollo, seven Plesna statues erected high above, and the city's only tram running through it - it is the city's main square.  It is a crossroad that splinters into many directions:  the beach, the old town, the shopping area, and a long park of fountains and playgrounds.  It is a hub of activity both day and night!

Place Messena

Fontaine du Soleil in Place Messena

4. Climb up to Le Chateau, the old fort on Castle Hill.  This one took us by surprise!  There are tranquil paths and stairs leading every which way up to and around the top of the hill.  Go here to get away from the crowds and for its stunning panoramic vistas - port on one side and Nice coastline on the other.  We watched the airplanes land at Nice's airport and large boats maneuver in the port.  Don't forget to see the Cascades! We read to go at sunset but preferred the view before noon.  Since there was no line on our second visit, we took the elevator down.

View of Nice beaches from Castle Hill

3. Shop and eat in the narrow, colorful streets of Vieille Ville (Old Town Nice).  This is where our apartment was.

Old Town Nice

2. The Plage (Beach)
The beaches of Nice are almost as good as it gets!  The water's color, temperature and gentle waves are wonderful for a nice swim!  The only downside is its rocky beach... they hurt!  (You can call them pebbles but they are roughly the size of a small child's fist!)  The beach has a steep slope dropping into the water, and mixed with the waves, the rocks are moving all over the place making for some non-sturdy, painful footing!  Yes, wear shoes, but they are awkward to swim in!

At the beach in Nice

To escape all the rocks, splurge on a private beach!  There are many to choose from.  We saw one for 16 euros which gets you a comfy chaise lounge, umbrella, rug walkway, bathrooms, and waiters.

1. Stroll the Promenade des Anglais. The wide pathway that stretches over 4 miles along the Mediterranean is where Nice comes alive both day and night!  We spent most of our time walking, sitting, people watching and even biking along it.  Don't miss out on seeing Nice's famous Hotel Negresco!

Promenade des Anglais

The promenade is lined with great blue seats that invite you to relax and enjoy!

Tomorrow we leave France by train for our very last night in Milan, Italy.

Logistics:
- We felt adventurous by renting a Velo Bleu bicycle.  There are stations all over the city.  They are designed to get you quickly from point A to B... the first 30 minutes are free!  Our 45 minute bike ride up and down the promenade cost us 1 euro each (plus 1.50 daily use fee).  You set up an account online or on your cell phone.  Or we found the easiest way was to use one of the very few credit card machines (no account setup necessary).  See velobleu website http://www.velobleu.org/ map for stations that accept credit card (most do not).  The credit card machine along the promenade was broken so we found one at Place Messena.  The directions are printed on the machine in English, but the machine didn't follow what they said.  Stick in your credit card, phone number, and birthdate.  The screen will flash your code for a minute (it did not print it out).  Write it down and take it to a locked bike.  Power up the screen and type in the code for the bike to unlock.

Velo Bleu bike station

-Pizza Pili (Old Town) sells every type of yummy pizza for only 7 euros each.

Goodbye Aix-en-Provence

This is not an easy post, and one that I have been struggling with how to write.  It would be easier to leave it out than battle with how to summarize 28 days in Aix-en-Provence.

I suppose we can leave now that we can finally pronounce it correctly ... simply, it is "X", not "Aches".  We know that.  We can say that.  The kids are great at it.  But Greg and I keep wanting to say it wrong.  Ok, we've got it now.

After 27 days of heat and clear blue skies, the rain has come.  We enjoyed every breakfast and every dinner on the terrace, except for the last rainy one.  It must be time to go.

We will have fond, mixed memories of our stay.  The intention of staying in one place for so long was to assimilate, and live it.  We can pretend all we want, but that was never going to happen.  We don't speak French, and we are on vacation.  We did our best with what we had.  We shopped in the daily fruit and vegetable market.  We had fresh bread from the boulangerie every day.  We groceried at the local market.  We hung our clothes out to dry.  We walked.  We used public transportation, a lot.  We explored as much as we could.  We opened our eyes to everything.  We appreciated our time here.  We have been incredibly fortunate.

The worst thing about leaving was packing.  Ummm, we might have acquired a few extra things in the past month.  We bought another suitcase but it still wasn't enough to get us to our next destination.  Before we leave Europe, I will come to terms with leaving a few  - unnecessary - things behind.

Thankfully we only had to leave Aix to drive 90 minutes to Nice, where we are spending the next 3 nights.  I would like to pretend I had the foresight to know how difficult it would be to pack up an apartment after 28 days and drive directly to the airport to stress about catching a flight, but this was only partially true.  We were waiting out the cheaper mid-week airfare, and I chose the beaches of Nice to do so.

And now I owe you the utmost honestly.  What was it like to be gone for so long?  Greg and I don't regret it, not for a minute.  Do we miss the comforts of home, family and friends, our pets, our bed? Sure.  Chris and Kate are making the best out of it even though it was not their decision.  They never signed up to share a room for over two months!  Right now they wish they were home but they know they have had the best experience that they will treasure forever.

In addition to saying goodbye to Aix, after 48 days, we returned our car today.  Apparently we put a bit of kilometers on it - because that was their only comment.  We drove it 9039 km without a single scratch... no small feat for Europe!  Although he turned for one last look before we left, Greg was instantly relieved to be done with it.  He was awesome at conquering all the roads we navigated, but he never "enjoyed" that ball and chain.  After what he has been through, I honestly think (and hope he agrees) it has helped him heal.  Albeit crazy at times, European drivers know what they are doing and put the U.S. to shame.  Greg has always been, and has proven to be, the best of the best on the road - even and especially in foreign lands.

With that, here are some of our favorite memories of Aix:

Aix is known best for all of its fountains

Cours Mirabeau, the main street

Cours Mirabeau at night

Entrance to our apartment

The view up our street

The view down our street

Being together

The views from our terrace

Daily fruit and vegetable market in Place Richelme

Sights and smells of the daily market

One of our favorite boulangeries

Around the pedestrian streets in Aix

Portail Cezanne is the only remnant of the former estate of the painter Paul Cezanne

Laundry time

Putting out the nightly garbage

One last crepe at our favorite, almost daily, crepe stand

Goodbye Aix

Day 60 - Lyon, France

Lyon, France

Craving big city France, today we took the time to drive 2:45 hours to visit Lyon.  (Paris, a city we explored in 2012, is a 7-hr drive).  There is so much to do in Lyon; one day does not do it justice.  Known for its historical and architectural landmarks, Lyon also has a reputation as France's capital of gastronomy.  In addition to its Roman history, its more recent historical importance is due to its production of silk.

Lyon, founded by the Romans in 43 BC, was the capital of Gaul

Miniature reproduction of the Jacquard looms that the canuts (Lyonnais silk workers) used during the 19th century

We started high up on Fourviere Hill at the majestic Basilique de Fourviere.  The cathedral, built in the late 1800's, is richly decorated with mosaics, and its esplanade offers a panoramic view of the city below.  Next, rather than take the funicular, we walked down 454 stairs (plus pathways) to Vieux Lyon, the medieval district.

A fascinating, unique feature found in Vieux Lyon are the hidden, narrow passageways called traboules.  They were created centuries ago when most streets ran parallel with the river and few ran perpendicular.  The traboules allowed people to quickly fetch water from the river, and craftsmen and traders to transport goods (particularly silk).  Now, although they pass through private residences, many are open to the public due to an agreement with the city.  Exploring them is like a game.  From the outside, along the cobbled streets, it is impossible for an unknowing visitor to identify a traboule because they are hidden behind regular, closed doors.  When you find one, walk through its dark tunnel to the brightly colored courtyard with stairs that wind beautifully up like a tower.  Continue through the hallway, and pop out on the other side.  We spent about an hour playing this game, pushing on doors to see if they would open, and pressing buttons hoping the doors would unlock.  We only came across two that were clearly marked with plaques so have no idea how many we entered that were truly private property.

This traboule between 27, Rue Saint-Jean and 6, Rue des Trois Maries is marked by a plaque

I loved the brightly colored buildings of the old area.  Many have beautiful, medieval staircases.

Quaint Rue St. Jean in Vieux Lyon has many traditional "bouchons" where you can indulge in the famous regional cuisine

Along Quai Saint Vincent, we came across this normal building.

However, when we passed around to its other side, we discovered another fascinating feature Lyon has to offer ... over 150 painted murals around the city.

This entire 800-square-meter surface is a mural titled "Fresque des Lyonnais" featuring 31 famous people from Lyon, including chef Paul Bocuse, who has held the highest rating of three Michelin stars for more than 40 years.

Kate blends right in to the life-size mural

Place Bellecour is one of the largest open squares in Europe

Kate took a direct hit from a well-aiming pigeon.  It was nothing a little "Brandy candy" couldn't fix ... her Lyon souvenir was a "New York" t-shirt.

Chris enjoyed the Musee Miniature et Cinema.  As the city where the first motion picture was created (by the Lumiere bothers), it seems appropriate for Lyon to house this museum.  It features interesting details about special effects techniques, a collection of real movie props, and impressive miniature scenes.

We would have continued exploring Lyon longer but didn't have the best weather.  The unreliable weather app's forecast was for possible rain at 4:00 pm.  Well, it felt like 4:00 all day long - it was only dry for about an hour!

Logistics:
- To avoid a 20 euro parking fee, we parked for free along the street next to Basilique de Fourviere.
- Consider a visit to the roof of the basilica!
- For information and maps to the traboules, go to www.lyontraboules.net, or ask at the Visitor's Center.
- The traboules are open to the public in the morning until ~11am.  To unlock the door, press the button on the panel and push the door open.

Day 58 - Avignon, Pont du Gard, Nimes

Avignon

Avignon and Pont du Gard are the headliners of Provence.  So why did we save them for last?  Because we chose to stay away from the Festival d'Avignon.  The performing arts festival is held for three weeks every July where there are no less than 40 various projects plus daily workshops, debates and discussions regarding theater, dance, music and fine arts.  Whether or not we should visit Avignon while it is bustling with exuberance is something I went back and forth on, and avoiding it turned out to be a good decision for us.

The entire city is transformed during the Festival d'Avignon, including closing off access to traffic

  

We arrived to a quiet town nursing a hangover from partying all month.

"Where are all the people?"--Kate

The main courtyard of the Pope's Palace is transformed into one of the biggest stages of the "In" (official) Festival d'Avignon

Artists of the "Off" festival paste their posters all over the streets of Avignon

After walking briefly around the town, including up to the Jardin des Doms for its best views, we toured the Palais des Papes.  For the 94 years from 1309 to 1403, when Italy was considered too dangerous, the entire headquarters of the Catholic Church moved to Avignon, France.  Throughout their stay, seven popes (plus two anti-popes) built and re-designed a palace with a powerful sense of grandeur and immortality.

Palais des Papes

"It looks like a castle," said anti-castle Kate suspiciously

A brief rest in the shaded gardens of the palace

Don't miss climbing up to the roof's "Great Dignitaries Terrace" (immediately following the immense Chapelle Clementine) for its sweeping views over the palace, the plaza, and Villeneuve les Avignon.  I was trying to enjoy the view of a chiseled male model posing in a nearby window, but Greg rudely distracted me.

Going down "L'escalier d'Honneur" to the Courtyard of Honor

The other popular attraction in Avignon is the Pont d'Avignon (or Pont Saint-Benezet).  To the average foreigner's eye (aka the Webber family), it is what remains of a medieval bridge after repeated floods of the Rhone River.  Everyone else "worldwide" knows it thanks to the famous French children's song from the 15th century:  Sur le Pont d'Avignon.

Pont Saint-Benezet, Avignon

"Sur le Pont d'Avignon"

On the bridge of Avignon

They are dancing, they are dancing

On the bridge of Avignon

They are dancing all around

On the bridge of Avignon, there was no dancing going on

No way was Kate dancing with me

(but I got her to pretend with me underneath where no one could see)

I liked Avignon, and could spend more time there, but our next stopping point was the day's highlight:  the Pont du Gard.  It is a perfectly preserved Roman aqueduct built in ~19 BC to bring water 30 miles to Nimes.  It is the world's second highest standing Roman structure, after Rome's Colosseum, which is six feet taller.  Standing on it, around it, above it and under it ... you just can't help but be impressed.  Those Romans didn't fool around!

Pont du Gard aqueduct

It's not every day you get to picnic under the Pont du Gard!

The river below the Pont du Gard looked so inviting

Our last stop was the city of Nimes.  Its surviving Roman architecture is definitely what puts it on the map, and over-powers anything else the city has to offer.  The two remarkable structures are its arena and Maison Carree.  If it weren't the end of a hot day, and if we hadn't recently visited the Colosseum, we definitely would have toured both buildings.  This arena is actually considered the best-preserved of the Roman world.  During July, it hosts "Le Festival de Nimes", which I googled a dozen times before we left, hoping they would add a rock band the kids are hinged on, but finally gave up.  It also hosts two annual bullfights, thus the Hero statue of a French matador.

Arena of Nimes

Nimes Maison Carree

Even though the Maison Caree is a rectangle, the French named the Roman temple "square house"... apparently it has been there so long (the exact dating is uncertain except that it is from BC) that the correct word didn't even exist in French.  It is said to be the only ancient temple to be completely preserved.  Today it houses a multimedia show that looks interesting, and it has good reviews, but Rick Steves refers to it as tacky.  The line to get in, which is technically just a waiting area during the 22-minute repeating movie, looked uninviting, so Steve won out.  We have been incredibly spoiled, and haven't had to wait in a line to get into anything for over six weeks (since Italy).

Logistics:

- Free parking in Avignon is at Parking de l'Ile Piot (which includes a free shuttle).   Going over the bridge towards the parking, we found a free spot on a side street, and then walked back over the bridge to town.

- At the Palais des Papes, it was worth it to purchase the audio guide.  All the signage is in French, with occasional hand-held posters in English.  Check the website for seasonal tours and activities.

- It costs 4 euro to dance on the Pont d'Avignon, or free to dance underneath (where the dance actually took place, rather than on the narrow bridge).  We went onto the bridge because it was included for 1 euro more with the family entrance to the Palais des Papes.

- Of course you cannot take a picture of the bridge when you are on the bridge.  Remember that when you go to dance.

- To visit the Pont du Gard, ~5km before you arrive, you have to choose which side you will drive to:  Rive Gauche or Rive Droite.  The best access is on the left bank (rive gauche).

Rive Gauche map of Pont du Gard

- Take your Pont du Gard parking ticket with you to the Visitor's Center, where you pay for its validation (flat rate 18 euros).
- Both banks of the river have a panoramic view point but the view from the river level is most impressive.