Nice is nice

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Wednesday February 17, 2016 – Today was a good but busy day, as so many are these days. I left around 9am and headed out for the Russian Orthodox Church, with a stop at the tourist info office along the way. I got there at 9:40am but it didn’t open until 10am. I took a couple pictures and waited it out and then went into the church to look around. It reminded me a lot of all the churches I saw last summer, except this time I did not need to cover my hair. From there I walked to the Chagall museum. Two of the rooms were closed as they were setting up a new exhibit, so it was a little cheaper. It came with a audio guide, which was quite nice. Turns out I like Chagall. From there I walked up to the Franciscan monastery and some ruins. Afterwards I headed back downhill to the old town. I got a little lost just on the outskirts, but luckily I found an amazing little take away place that had several things I wanted, but eventually I settled for a fancy crepe with cheese, goat cheese, bacon and onions. It was delicious.

Next stop was a small walk on the promenade at the coast, the flower market and then uphill again to see the old castle ruins. There was even a free elevator up, which I took advantage of. The views were great. On the way down, I visited a Christian and a Jewish cemetery and the continued on my way. Then I stumbled onto a popular ice cream shop, with so many flavors it was almost shocking. I chose cacao and speculoos, and I was not disappointed. I didn’t think anything was better than speculoos – cookie butter – but having it in ice cream form was amazing. I started to head back after that, with another quick walk on the promenade.

Back at my room, I chatted with Jeroen and made a plan to meet Lisa, Luna and Lia for dinner. Three friends (and colleagues) in town at the same time! We met at 8pm, at Luna and Lia’s hotel. From there, we walked around looking for a place to eat. Lia and I took some pictures of the main parade floats that were sitting in town, and then we ended up at a steak place, of all things. It felt a bit American inside. I wasn’t that hungry still, after the ice cream and late lunch, so I got some chicken wings. Sorry Jeroen – still nary a vegetable on my plate this trip. Travel food is not healthy, at least the quick and dirty way I normally do it. We had a nice time chatting until late, and then it was finally time to go home. My last night in Nice. Boy – it feels good to have slept somewhere for three nights in a row.

A note on Nice - everyone has a dog, and they all seem to be tiny dogs with short legs. And there are condom machines everywhere. I guess you want people to be able to buy them when shops are closed, but at least make them less than 2 bucks each. Not an item you want someone to cheap out on.

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