I am definitely losing steam and falling behind on this travel blog. However, I am determined to finish out the month and at least capture our big trips!
Last week Mike had business in Nice, France for 9 days. I went along and enjoyed the lovely sunshine and beach weather for a change. I explored Vieille Ville (Old Town) while Mike sat in a conference room all day. I felt a tiny bit guilty but I got over it quickly and had a fabulous time! I love the narrow, cobbled streets filled with every kind of shop and eventually found myself in front of the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate. This beautiful old Cathedral was in the process of being adorned with fresh flowers for an event and smelled heavenly inside. Following my nose, I found my way to the flower market in the Cours Saleya and continued to wander this market area past wonderfully scented soaps, beautiful fresh produce, local art, fish right out of the ocean and more. I bought a few soaps and some berries before heading out onto the Promenade des Anglais to take in the views and put my feet in the ocean for a bit.
The challenge of getting into the ocean is that the rocks hurt my feet! The water is warm and the shale beach certainly makes for a cleaner beach experience (no sand in all the wrong places) but I still prefer softer sand. Regardless, it felt good to sit down, rest my feet and do some people watching before continuing to explore. I noticed a hill jutting out over the ocean directly west of Old Nice and saw people climbing a steep, long staircase to get up there. I decided that was my next stop and was rewarded with see forever views of the Mediterranean, Old Nice and the Port of Nice with its spectacular yachts and cruise ships. It turns out that a castle stood on this spot until the early 1700s and now it is called Parc du Chateau. There are green spaces, playgrounds, walking trails, a beautiful waterfall, Roman Ruins and cemeteries in the area now. I found a vendor selling baguettes with ham and cheese and ate my lunch on a rock overlooking the sea - heaven! I shopped my way back through town before heading back to our hotel to meet Mike later in the day. We had a fabulous french dinner at a restaurant right on the water to cap off a perfect day!
Mike took Friday off and we spent the weekend traveling from Italy to Cannes along the Cote d'Azur. My favorite town was Antibes. This place was charming, had great shopping, fabulous beaches, breathtaking sea walks and, of course, the Picasso Museum. Further along, we found Cannes to be teaming with people despite the fact that it was not film festival season. We spend quite a bit of time walking the harbor looking at the incredible yachts from all over the world. In contrast, we spent some time in Menton, close to Italy, and found the pace to be slower and less glamorous but no less charming. The beaches here are supposed to be a bit warmer but we could not tell the difference. On our way back from Menton we rented bicycles in Nice and rode along the Promenade des Anglais to St. Laurant du Var. It was another beautiful day and it felt good to ride along the sea and soak up the sunshine.
We learned that the first Sunday of every month is free at all museums in France so we took the opportunity to visit the Musee des Beaux-Arts, the Palais Massena and the Musee Chagall. I discovered a lot about Marc Chagall that I didn't know about his work and was really drawn in by it. He seems to have a passion for people and this particular collection displays biblical themes from the Old Testament using incredibly vibrant colors.
We enjoyed dinner with Mike's colleague and his girlfriend on Sunday night. They are from Paris and were able to find a local restaurant with regional cuisine that they helped us understand and order - yum! Monday I was on the first plane home to prepare for Amy's visit the next day, while Mike was headed to another week of meetings. Time is flying by and we will be heading home before we know it...
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