Nice is niiiiiiiice!!!

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Geo: 43.341, 6.7898

Had a crappy hostel breakfast and off to the train station. Went through a market - mostly a local thing for day to day needs, but also a cool food section. Bought a cheap croissant - crap! Like a glorified bun. Should've went for the pricier one.

They had rotisserie chickens going ... looked amazing! Sausages too ... they kept potatoes and onions cooking at the bottom to catch all the juices. Smelled heavenly. Got to Marseille - wanted to ditch my backpack and walk around but couldn't find a place for it. Still walked a bit, but not as much as I wanted to. Looks neat - maybe will stop here next year. Here´s a shot of the steps from the train station:



And what did I see on these steps ... oh the horror!



Why must the gods mock me like this!!! Isabel isn´t a salad, she´s a human being!!!

My french instructor from last year told me that the Marseille women are known for their beautiful legs because of all the hills they have to walk up. I agree! Grabbed a ham and cheese pie - day old, but huge! Also had a pain au chocolat - not bitter enough for my liking.

Showed up at the hotel in Nice - had a reservation (so I thought).



Ended up with a bed in the dungeon as he called it. Very cool temperature wise ... nice after the unbearable heat. Temperature in Nice is over 40 C.



Off to Chagall museum - mostly religious themed paintings. Quite different from his other works I've seen. Incredible air conditioning - loved every minute of it! All his paintings in this museum ... seemed to involve boob touching. This guy has got some issues!





This painting was more like other works of Chagall´s that I´ve seen in the past.



Saw these cookies in the bag storage area. Bimbo cookies???



Walked down Boulevard Gambetta - not so great. Saw a Russian cathedral - very out of place but in a good way. Interior very similar to a Greek church I've been to in Calgary.



Walked down Promenade des Anglais. Reminds me of Palma de Mallorca, but much better. Not much action right now - probably gets busier at night. Walked through Jardin Albert I and Espace Messena. Former was much nicer, because the latter is undergoing renos.

Saw this anatomically correct sculpture. Looks, it´s got a butt hole!



Walked to Vieux Nice - old part of town. Cool! Saw a protest against the war in Lebanon. I need to brush up on my french so that I can read the sign.



This is the famous Fenocchio´s gelato shop. Supposed to be the best in Nice.



Don´t know if this is the French being self-deprecating or if this is an accident, but a French restaurant named Frog´s?



Found Ben´s favourite restaurant - Le Maori. It makes him feel right at home in New Zealand.



Decided to stay 3 nights instead of 2. Maybe will go to Cannes and Monaco too. Had an outstanding dinner. Rose wine - light, refreshing. The first wine I've had in France this trip. It's been too hot most days for anything besides water but I need to start sampling more types. Salad Nicoise - great. Amazing tomatoes and peppers. Danny (bunkmate from Arles) believes that North American produce is so pumped with chemicals that it dilutes the flavour. He raved about some peaches and now I'm raving about veggies. The salad was almost a meal in itself.

Ate a huge basket of baguette with it. I find a lot of restaurant baguette to be crappy, actually. Main course - rabbit. Couldn't get it last time in France so I'm getting it now. Like stringy chicken - very good. Accompanied with the best ratatouille I've ever had. Great fettucine - incredible texture, almost spongy. Definitely al dente!

Some guy came in pretending to be deaf. He leaves a card on the table and some trinket hoping you'll buy it. Loser! Dessert was creme caramel. Bah! I misread the menu and thought it was creme brulee. It was good, but you can get a comparable one in Calgary. Rained after dinner - great! Cooled things off. Went back to hotel - hung out in the garden with some of the other guests and went to the beach after for some drinks. Great atmosphere - lots of people sitting around. I left at 1:30 AM but many did not leave until past 5:00. I am too old for this group! For most hostel groups for that matter!

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Comments

[pwong]

Not sure what you are anyway Kiwi, Cuban, Mexican, Inuit, you can be any of the above.