Very Nice

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We flew from Newcastle Airport in the UK to Nice with Easy Jet. Tickets were a bargain at £50 return. The Cote D'Azure is the playground for the rich and famous. Would we fit in to the jet set life style? Nice was our base for the first 6 days of our stay followed by Antibes for 3 days. Our hotel The Novotel was set a little outside the Old Nice Town but was only a short walk or tram ride from the promenade. We immediately fell in love with the surroundings - azure sea, sunny skies, and lovely Provencal countryside inland. We explored Nice on foot. The old quarter was particularly fascinating with colourful buildings, narrow streets, small shops and restaurants. The Promenade d'Anglais provided some sad memories of the recent terrorist atrocities and of those who lost their lives. The next day we took the bus to visit Eze a picturesque 14th century medieval village perched on a hilltop. Narrow winding cobbled streets led to an ancient church. there were good views of the sea and surrounding hills. The high priced restaurants and hotels indicated the wealth of some of the visitors. Another bus took us from Eze to Beaulieu a very fine coastal town with exclusive shops and hotels. here we set out on a wonderful coastal walk to the village of St Jean on Cap Ferat . After a stop for refreshments we caught the bus back to Nice. Bus fares were extremely cheap , just a couple of euros. One rainy day we visited some of the Nice museums. Our first visit was to the Museum of Modern Art where we enjoyed the special exhibition of the artist Mertzberg. Then we were off to the Palais Lascaris a house in Vieux Nice built in the 17th and 18th centuries. There were exhibits of art and musical instruments from the 12th and 13th centuries on display. The Palais Lascaris is not to be missed. Finally it was time to view the works of Charles Negre at the Museum of Photography. In the evening we found a great restaurant near the Novotel called The Hussards.

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