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Published: June 23rd 2007
Nice
The beaches are where it's at in Nice. From the quiet, charming towns of Cinque Terre to the bustling, noisy streets of Nice. I arrived in the city at about 6:00 p.m. and after spending a long time on the affordable internet, I went for a walk to the beach. The nightlife was unbelievable! I found out later that it was especially great because a music festival was going on. There were live bands playing out on the streets... some of them were doing poor covers of Pink Floyd and Bob Marley. Vieux Nice, the historical part of the city, is also the bar/club district. People packed every cramped alleyway, some dancing in the streets. Lots of booze and smoking everywhere, even on the beach where crowds of teenagers sat around on the pebbles. There were some street performers wielding fire on the beach as well. In the main square, I watched a group of breakdancers entertain a captive audience. There were also a couple of very talented children playing violins. I just walked around for hours, taking it all in.
The next day I went to a comtemporary art museum that features some works by Andy Warhol. I didn't really understand what the artists were trying
Dragon
Cool art at the contemporary art museum. to do, but I guess it's not for everybody. It mostly looked like they took garbage that you normally see at a garage sale and glued it all together. After that dose of "culture", I headed to the beach... or I guess I should say beaches. There are a dozen or so of them, stretching along the Promenade des Anglais. The walkway is lined by palm trees and expensive hotels. The water was so clear and blue, as you can see in the photos. I enjoyed lying around for a couple of hours... I haven't been taking too much time to do nothing on the trip, so it was pretty sweet. The waves were pretty powerful. I bodysurfed back to shore and my foot got slammed into the rocks below.
On my last day in Nice, I walked to the castle at the end of the beaches (I forget the name). I got an amazing panoramic view of the city from the top. There was also a beautiful cemetery at the top. I had to rush out of there because they were closing the gates... I definitely didn't want to be spending the night there!
That night, I
Vieux Nice
Plenty of shops, restaurants, and markets in Vieux Nice. Pretty crowded in those alleyways. ran into one of my Busabout friends at a hostel, and we met up with the gang from Florence (which actually started in Venice). We had a proper dinner of half-chicken with potatoes, salad, and wine... pretty good deal and a nice break from canned stuff. Then we got some beers and went down to the beach for the night. We hung out there for a while and then headed to a bar called Chez Wayne's that was recommended in a bunch of guide books. Too bad pints cost 6.50 euros there, so we elected to go elsewhere. It was a fun late night, and I almost slept in too late to catch the bus the next morning. I think that'll be it for reunions, considering I'm in Munich now, which is the last leg of my Busabout trip.
Nice is a fun city, but it's a bit of a mess. The railway tracks are in a state of perpetual construction, because the former mayor of the city ran off with the city's money. Nice is also very busy with tourists. I was able to use some of my French while there. I was actually surprised at how well
Panorama
On the way up to the castle there were plenty of good viewpoints. I remembered it... mostly when talking to a couple of French Canadians who were staying in the same room as me. If I had more time there, I would've checked out Monaco, but I was also happy to head on to Switzerland.
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