Our Trip to Nice – Day Two

Monte Carlo Casino

The next day we went to Monaco. We were advised to take the train from the little station near our hotel but that turned out to be a disaster. After waiting at the deserted Saint-Roch train station we opted to take the bus. The bus ride along the coast was phenomenal. Monaco was very interesting, the Monte Carlo Casino was cool to see and so were the flashy cars but it kind of felt like a zoo where tourists get to go and see all the rich people in their natural habitat. We stayed for an hour or so and then got on the first bus we saw, the next stop off for the day was Eze.

Eze from the Botanical Garden

Eze is a beautiful medieval village within the cliffs of the French Riviera. The old city is on a peak that offers a panoramic of the sea and rolling mountainous cliff side sloping into the Mediterranean. We weren’t able to stay long, because the last bus down the mountain was only an hour or so after we had arrived. We saw as much as we could, hiking to the top to see the botanical gardens and visiting some of the artisan shops. The architecture is amazing.

It is such a beautiful spot I wish we could’ve spent more time. The bus back to Nice was packed, we were lucky to get on; many people were left waiting at the stops along the route.

Botanical Gardens

That night we went out for Sushi. It was fantastic! We finished our night with a swim and relaxing on the beach before making the trek back to our hotel.

Our Trip to Nice – Day One

The Beach Day One

The morning after the fête national we left our hotel in Paris at 4:30 AM to catch our 7 o’clock flight to Nice. It was my first experience navigating the Paris RER subway, and in my early morning sluggish state it was a little bewildering. We did arrive on time at the airport, and landed in Nice before the sun had even hit the yardarm.

The first thing we did, after a quick breakfast, was head to the Cours Saleya. It’s the Nice flower market, everything from local produce and gourmet delectibles to crafts and local wares are sold over the course of the day.

Cours Saleya

We also spent a good hour or so on the beach before taking the tram up to our hotel. We booked a place outside of the city centre on the hillside. It was quite a hike up, since the tram dropped us off at the base, but I think it was really worth it. The view from our room was amazing. The steep cliffs that frame the city were what I was most excited to see.

The View from our hotel

We then returned to the old city centre to climb up to the Chateau de Nice. A pedestrian pathway winds its way up to the top of this small mountain (limestone rock outcropping) where there are the remains of an old cathedral currently undergoing excavation, restaurants and boutiques, park space, man made waterfalls, and mosaics honouring the travels of Odysseus from the Odyssey written by Homer.

Left: Cathedral Excavations

Below: The view from halfway up

We brought a small picnic to hold us over until the French dinnertime. It was an incredibly hot day; the night was a welcome break from the heat. After a nice dinner we decided to head back to the hotel and make it an early night since we had been up since 4am!

La fête nationale in Paris

The French National Holiday is on July 14^th and is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille. We were able to celebrate it in Paris because Andre and two of the guides were invited to lay a wreath at the Arch de Triomphe! Most of the festivities held on the Champs d’Elysees, the avenue leading up to the Arch de Triomphe, are in the morning. We missed the morning venue; we didn’t leave Arras until noon. We arrived in Paris with enough time to check in and tour the gardens near our hotel before heading up to the ceremony.

Andre and the guides were part of a memorial ceremony with a small parade leading up to the arch. The French police tweeted their whistles and the traffic in the roundabout stopped just long enough for the small party to get through. The wreathes were laid at the base of the Arch de Triomphe at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The tomb holds the body of an unknown soldier from the First World War and commemorates all those who died in both World Wars. It also has the first eternal flame lit in Western Europe since the extinguishment of the vestal virgins in 394. (wikipedia!) Andre said that at the end of the ceremony a representative used a sword to bring the flame up to full ignition. There is a special sword keyhole apparatus apparently to do so. (I couldn’t see over the crowd) It was a very beautiful ceremony; the military band was very impressive.

After the ceremony we had a nice bite to eat at an odd little Tibetan restaurant before heading to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. Dinner took longer then expected but we still got an amazing view from the park in front of the Ecole Militare.

We went straight back to our hotel after the fireworks amongst the massive crowds because we had to catch our plane to Nice the next morning………..