My last hurrah for my massive adventure in Europe was spent on the Cote d'Azur, also known as the French Riviera. I went down with my friend, and former biology lab partner, Mara. We based ourselves out of Nice, France, but spent time going all around the coast.
We flew down on what should have been a Tuesday morning, but what turned out to be more like afternoon. Here is a lessen to everyone spending any time in Europe: cheap airlines are not reliable. Yes, the ticket may be only 35 euro total, but don't expect the services you'd get from a normal airline. I've never flown EasyJet and NOT had a delay of more than two hours. Cute huh? Mara and I got to Paris Orly Airport at 9 AM and finally boarded at 1:30. By the time we were out of the airport in Nice it was pushing 3:30. We took a bus into town and our hotel, a very very cute place near the train station. Seriously, if you are going ask me for the name, best place I've stayed in Europe, and really cheap. After checking in we decided to walk around a bit, check out the beach, you know. The beach in Nice is nice (haha), but it's not sandy, rather covered in pebbles, so a little uncomfortable. We chanced upon a random staircase going up a hill and ended up with an incredible view of the city. The weather was amazing so of course we did all this in nearly short-sleeves. After taking in the view we descended the hill on the other side and ended up in the port, taking some time to admire some of the incredible yachts. Like HUGE yachts. We figured its probably lots of boats from Monaco that found it cheaper to park in Nice. We had dinner at a place called Chez Rene Socca, a to-order place that serves local specialties. I had fish bites and sardines, as well as some pizza.
We had heard from the owner of our hotel that there were going to be HUGE celebrations for Carnaval just a few blocks away that first night, so after a short nap, we pulled on our coats and headed down the street to the Place Massena. Carnaval in Nice is HUGE. It's one of the biggest celebrations in Europe, and the world, and it was one of those once in a lifetime experiences I will NEVER forget. There was a night parade with elaborate floats covered in lights and colors. Everyone had cans of silly string and was spraying each other, and there was a running musical accompaniment. Without looking at my pictures its really hard to convey how cool this event was to you, so I highly encourage you to click the link at the bottom of this post and check it out. Incredible.
Our second day in Nice we woke up early and headed out of town. Our first stop was a small city called Eze that is up a mountain from Nice and about halfway between Nice and Monaco. Eze has a special place in my heart because it is featured on the penultimate day of the Paris-Nice cycling race... the racers go up the Col d'Eze (the mountain) on three occassions before finishing in Nice. In 2007 Alberto Contador (my favorite) won the race on the Col d'Eze. It was with incredible luck that while we were busing up to Eze we happened to pass a handful of cyclists riding up the mountain. I snapped pictures and am convinced that these guys were legitimate pros. They were going way too fast not to be. And they were all kitted out in team wear (including some Astanas, my team). It makes sense to, because the aforementioned Paris-Nice race starts on the 8th (and I'm going to the start ;-) Anyways, tangent over. Eze is a really cute medieval town that prides itself in its old quarter, a maze of narrow stone streets that rest on top of the mountain. Eze was also a nice place to do a bit of shopping. They have a lot of perfume shops, that feature local products for very very good prices.
After Eze we jumped back on the bus and headed to Monaco. We started out right outside the Monte Carlo Casino, a very gorgeous building where you feel out of place just knowing its reputation. You can't actually go in without being dressed up and paying, but its nice to look at. My impression of Monaco is that aside from the Casino and the Prince's Palace (which is also nice) there isn't much to do. The city is very clean and well manicured, but without an awful lot of money, relatively inaccessible to the normal person. I mean what fun is shopping at Gucci and Versace if I can't buy anything? We spent awhile walking around and enjoying the weather while we were there (an getting a little tan!) but mostly we stayed outside. I found some really cool vintage t-shirts at a stand on the street, but other than that I kept my money in my wallet in Monaco. We headed back to Nice at about 4 for a nap before dinner. We had a nice dinner out that night, we did a three course meal at a relatively nice restaurant on one of the main strips. The first course was a nicoise salad, which is like a normal salad with tuna on it. The second was Moules Frites, mussels and french fries. I'm a huge mussel fan and was pleasantly surprised when I got about 40 of them! Delish. The last was a nice chocolate tart. Very good meal, and cheap-ish too.
Our third day was also our last, with the prospect of a flight back to Paris at 10 in the evening. We started out the day at the Matisse Museum in Nice. I'm a huge fan of Matisse but was honestly a little disappointed by the Museum. They have a relatively narrow collection, meaning most of the work displayed is from the same time. Matisse is cool because his work spanned 50+ years and really evolved, but I didn't really get to see much evolution. And my favorite period, his fauvist work, wasn't really displayed. But it was still really cool. We went back to Rene Socca for lunch, trying the Socca (a crepe like thing) for the first time, and then we hopped on a bus to St. Jean. St. Jean is a penninsula with some nice beaches and nicer villas. Mara and I spent a bit of time wading around in the Mediterranean Sea, and then we headed out to look at some villas. We saw two really gorgeous ones before heading back into Nice. In town we shopped around a bit, trying to find some cool stuff to bring back to Paris to say we bought in the South. I invested in two great pairs of sunglasses that I hope won't break in my luggage back to the US.
The Nice trip was probably my favorite of the whole adventure in Europe, mostly because it was 65 everyday and I was on the coast... but it really was beautiful. I've already promised my Mom I am taking her there! I've also decided that once I get back to the US I'm going to do my top ten Europe moments, and something from Nice might just hit the top of the list!
Until next time, here are some photos... lots of them...
French Riviera Albums
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011500&id=1599570086&l=be786
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011502&id=1599570086&l=dcd7c
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011503&id=1599570086&l=c61dd
CARNAVAL Album
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011501&id=1599570086&l=77ec6
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