Nice is very nice!

I'm writing this blog early again today for same reasons as last early post... we're going on an excursion to a little town called Eze at 3.45pm and I only bought 24 hours of Internet and it might run out before I return.

Perfect day weatherwise in Nice today, and a very pleasant day for the weary traveller, as we had a sleep-in and free time all morning! It was lovely to wake up naturally without the alarm clock and "cases out by 7am"! I also took the opportunity to do some washing - an unfortunate necessity whilst on tour. I'm bascially only doing "socks and jocks" at this stage, and hoping to hangout until I get home. But Nice is our only 2 night stopover until we return to paris, so I hooked up the portable washing line and had the intimate items draped all across the bathroom. Poor girls coming in to do the room - they would've had to dodge and weave to even get in.


This is my hotel in Nice. I'm on the second floor with one of those balconies outside my room. It's not the most splendid I've ever been in but it's comfortable and clean and it's right in the heart of town. You can walk everywhere from here. It's only one block from the beach, so I started my day with a walk along the Promenade Anglaise.



You can see by the pics how perfect the weather is - I barely needed my jacket, in fact I ended up carrying it most of the time.

The next attraction to visit was the markets and they were full of interesting produce. Their food is quite different to ours and the things they display are not things that I'd be rushing to buy... but that's the different culture for you!

I think these were some sort of mushrooms...???

Then I ventures into the old city. I've become quite accustomed to these now. They have quaint little winding streets that are narrow and often quite dark, as the buildings overhang and block out the sunlight. But it's always an adventure walking through them.



I also found the Cathedral. Something I found out yesterday was that Nice was originally an Italian City and only changed over in the time of Napoleon in the 19th century. So, maybe that explains why it appears such a Catholic area. They are many Saints names on the streets and there are Churches all over the place. It's almost like Ireland with the amount of Churches... Jonathan told us yesterday that France is 94% Catholic but very few of those are practising. I have noticed all over France though, that there are many Churches...

Nice Cathedral

Another thing I've noticed in France, is the role that dogs play. They are everywhere. Mostly on a lead, but they are in the restaurants and the shops and public transport and everywhere. They're obviously a part of the French furniture!

After I'd prayed for you all yet again, I moved into the shopping area of Nice - again a place where the beautiful people hangout! I went into Galeries Lafayette, which is a bit like Myers on steriods! But to be quite honest, apart from the price tags, there was not a lot of difference to my untrained eye.

Some of the bus crew are oohing and aahing over all the designer shops here.... As for me I decided to not buy anything rash, and go and play the pokies instead at teh Nice Casino (which was pretty ordinary in my opinion)!!!! I did my 20 Euros but I had a lot more fun and spent a lot less money than some people have done with their fancy clothes and handbags etc.... Ah well, I guess we're all different!

So, Nice was nice, and this afternoon/evening we're off to a lttle village called Eze, which apparently includes a beautiful drive along the Cote D'Azure, and dinner when we get there. So, au revoir for now - a bientot....