Nice = Nike

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Well, let's see where I left off... Nice at the hostel Hotel Paradis. Nice is a very cool city. It is a hard city to put into words. It's a mix of French and Italian cultures and I'm assuming that is why they call it the French Riviera. You have all of the traditional french stores and customs but it has that mediterranean flair of Italy. To get here you have to pass thru the Pyrenees mountains and that gives it's own little micro climate. The winters are really mild and in the summer it never gets really hot.

I spent most of my time in what is known as "old town." It is literaly that... the oldest part of the town. Apparently until 10-15 yrs ago it was nothing but a trashy slum, but now it is home to hundreds of shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. (both high end and low end) I spent most of my time just walking around and checking out the city. One different thing about this city is the beaches. Instead of having sand like a regular beach they have smooth rocks. Most are gray to slate in color and they range in size from baseballs to softballs. I can't imagine that it is very comfortable to lay out and tan on. I know that it isn't that great to walk on. My hostel was only about one minute from the beach after you walked thru a nice little park that was full of palm trees, water foutains, etc. I got my feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea but I never did go swimming. I didn't even think to pack a swim suit.

After my little foot bath I decided to go and explore the city. It is a maze of tiny little side streets that one could get lost in for hours. I thuroughly enjoyed just wandering around without a map and seeing where I came out. Every building here is painted in those bright tropical colors that you always see on post card pictures and most of the time you can't look at any one building for too long because you fear that you might go blind. From the beach I could see what looked like and old castle tower and I decided that I would head thru the city over to it. When I got over there there was a sign explaining the history of Nice and what the tower was from. The area of Nice was originally settled by the Greeks who liked the area as a trading harbor. They also liked that fact that it had a large outcropping of rock that could be built upon to protect their new port. They ended up naming the new city Nike, which in greek means "victory." In time the greeks lost control of the port city and it became part of the country of Savoy, and later under french control. The french built and extensive fortification upon the cliffs in the city which became known as "Castle Hill." The castle presided over the city until the reign of Louis XVI when he took over full control of the city and had the castle tore down so that the people would have to rely on him and the french military. Anyways, all that is left of the castle is one large tower and some walls. They have built walkways and steps that allow you hike to the top of the hill for spectacular views of the city. The hike up the hill took about 20-30 minutes and on your way up you pass right by a water fall that is about 25ft tall and 30ft wide. I don't actually know if it is man made or was there orginally. The waterfall starts about 3/4 of the way up the water makes its way down the hill thru a lot of mini waterfalls all of the way down the mountain. At the very top of the hill is a cafe and a cemetary and I went thru both. There is also a sign stating the height of the hill at 92.75m (roughly 300ft.) From up at the top you can see pretty much all of the city and it's sea of red clay tiled roofs. Overall, I enjoyed the city and wouldn't mind going back. I knew I wasn't going to spend much time there so I didn't really try to get to see the museums or all of the sites. Apparently it is second only to Paris for the number of museums in France.

When I got back to my hostel I discovered that my two roomates were two girls that had just flown in from Ireland. There names were Linda and Amy (I met a lot of Amys on this trip.) They were going to be living in Nice for the next 3 months as part of a capstone project for college. They were both French and German majors and had to live in a French speaking country to get jobs, and learn about he culture. I think they made a good choice in coming to Nice, but they were a little drepressed that day. They had been out looking for apartments and jobs all day and hadn't been able to find anything. They had been only there for one day though. I ended up talking to them for awhile before going out for a nightcap in one of the local bars.

After 6hrs on the train, hiking up Castle Hill, and wandering around the city, I decided to call it a night. The hostel was nice but i did end up having a crappy bed. It had a crazy pimp lean to the right and it promptly collapsed when I sat on it, waking up both Linda and Amy. Luckily they both thought it was more funny than annoying. I fixed the bed and fell asleep in about 30 seconds.

Lessons for the day: 1. Rock beaches suck... sand is so much better. 2. In Nice, and most other european cities, sidewalks are not just for you walk on. They are also a roadway for every moped, vespa, and motorcycle on the road. Especially if the person driving one of these vehicles just wants to check out those cool shoes in the window of the shop you are standing by.

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