Nice is Nice! (part 2 of 2)

So last I left you I had just explored the port of Nice, and was waiting for Becky to arrive. (Part 1 is Updated with Photos! Go check it out, click on Part Nice is Nice part 1 on the right navigation bar!)

Becky's flight got in around 1pm, so by the time she got off the plane it was more like 2pm. I met her at the airport and she hit the ground running, us exploring Nice immediately. I took her through some of the side streets I had already explored to get her up to par so to speak, and then we made our way to parts I hadn't already seen.

Cafes:

Along the way, we stopped at multiple Cafes. Whether it be on a small side street, or the boardwalk of the beach, they are always a nice place to get a snack and just rest your feet for a while. We made several stops over our weekend, and each complimented the laid back culture of the French. People would have a coffee and sit for hours just talking and people watching, so we did as the French do and experienced that part of the culture.

For Saturday night we were not very adventurous, and opted for an Irish Pub. We figured we had experienced French culture enough at the Cafe's so we opted in for some more familiar food to us. Becky was happy to get some real food (the food situation can be tough in London, their not exactly known for their cuisine). Of course I've had good food my whole trip, but I'd consider this some good food for the soul, with a long day coming to a close and another right around the corner.

Sunday:



We headed out early to church at Our Lady of Immaculate Conception as I mentioned in my last post, then walked the port and up the side of the beach. From here we were able to walk up a hill/mountain which is home to the ruins of one of the original establishments of Nice, a Castle that sat on the hill above the port. It was a beautiful day, and the view from each level of the hill was incredible. I took way too many pictures of the same view, but they all varied slightly in what you could see, so I found it justified for me to be clicking away so much.

At the top of the hill was a park for children, a really fantastic looking jungle-gym that had the kid in me wanting to swing and slide. There was also a large waterfall that we had seen from the bottom. On the back side of the hill we found a cafe and then made our way down the stairs towards a series of churches.

Churches:



A funny thing about Nice churches, though they all have Sunday masses, immediately after mass they close up for the day. This would have been nice to know, considering we planned on doing most of our church visits on, you guessed it, Sunday. Half way down the hill was a cemetery with a beautiful chapel, from the outside of course. The doors were sealed up with no signs of getting in. Down to a small Chapel of the visitation, with a beautiful worn wooden door only to find it closed. Then to the Church of St. Augustine, a church I found again hitting close to home considering the connection between Villanova and the Augustinians. Another small chapel of St. Croix, closed for Sunday. We were striking out left and right. Down to the church of Jesus, all closed. The outsides of each church were all very different and unique in their own regard, and there was a lot of interesting info on plaques outside the churches, but it would have been nice to get in some of them.


Some words on Food:

I cannot complain at all about the food in Nice. I didn't have one thing that I didn't like. I found it interesting though that there was so much Italian influence on the cuisine. It makes sense when you think about how close it is to Italy, and read about the history of some Italians settling in Nice early on, but I was still surprised to find so much Italian. We had a fantastic dinner on Sunday night, mostly Italian food but with its own unique flare to it. The pizza was pretty authentic to Italian pizza I might add. Gelato was also good, we found a gelato shop with over 86 flavors, and that was also pretty authentic. Street vendors had the famous crepes, nutella and banana being my all time favorite. It's a snack I could eat at any time of the day, no matter how hungry or full I am.

Carnavale:



Much like Venice when we visited, Carnival or Carnavale was in full swing in Nice. In Nice Carnival takes place all of February, and so we happened to be here for the last weekend. This meant festivities were at their peak, and everyone was celebrating the end of the Carnival season so to speak. On saturday and sunday we were treated to parades of all sorts of crazy floats, decorations and costumes. Everyone dresses up in crazy outfits and walks around. It is very much geared towards kids, both day and night, and was refreshing to see the youthful spirit everyone had. Silly string and confetti fights broke out everywhere on the streets, and you couldn't help but join in when they did. What we found interesting was that there was a center piazza blocked off for the celebration, and the only way to get in was by having a ticket. We didn't know where to buy the tickets to begin with, and weren't really there for Carnival, so we enjoyed it from the side streets and main road that held the parade, and continued on our way.

The Finale:



Since it was the last weekend of Carnival, they had a finale in store for us. Earlier in the day while we were in the port, I noticed that there were several barges being loaded up. Upon further inspection (I took a picture of it, see the gallery) I noticed they were loading the barges with fireworks. Later that night when it was nice and dark, there was a fireworks show on the water. We sat down on the stone beach and enjoyed the long and complex fireworks show. It was a great way to end the weekend, one that allowed me to wind down from all of the hustle and bustle of being abroad, and get focused for what is going to be a whirlwind of a final month for me.

We both flew out early Monday afternoon, and I had a nice long wait in the airport between Becky's flight and mine to sit down and start writing my blog and collecting my thoughts. It was an amazing experience, one that I will not soon forget.

I hope you enjoy my pictures, I took over 600 this time, and posted just over 100 (lots of them are the same shot basically, just me changing settings/zoom/focus in each). Please post any questions/comments as always, they are greatly appreciated.



Link to Pictures, click here!