Final Day in Nice
Today was our last full day in Nice. We’ll be leaving for the airport early on Thursday morning for a return flight that will have us arriving in Dallas by the evening (we gain back the seven hours we lost on the trip out here). It’s a long flight, but after all the miles and miles and miles that we’ve walked on this trip, I think we’re ready to sit for a while…haha!
Speaking of walking, we walked all over Nice today. My feet were killing me by the end of the day, but it was worth it. We visited the Chagall Museum and checked out the collection of paintings they have there. Most of the artwork on display depicts settings from the Old Testament and each one tells an interesting story. The colors are bold and compelling — they really pop out at you. Also, it was neat to see how his artwork looks different when you are standing up close versus far away.
After the Chagall Museum, we trekked upwards and onwards (more uphill walking) to the Nice Archeology Museum (Musee de Archeologie) which sits beside the site of a 3rd century Roman town called Cemenelum. Here you can see the remains of Roman baths from the 3rd century and a Roman Coliseum.
Outside of the archeological site sits the Matisse museum and a lovely public park. Tired from all the walking, we sat down and watched the locals play a few games of Boules, which is similar to Bocce Ball and a favorite pastime of those who live in the French Riviera. After resting and enjoying the warmth of the sun, we decided to brave the 45 minute walk back down the hill.
Once back in familiar territory, we went to Vieux Nice (Old Nice) and did some shopping in the stores that line the old streets.
Taking a break from the shopping, we stopped at a cafe that was making crepes out front. We couldn’t leave France without sampling some of the crepes so we placed our orders and watched as they made them in front of us.
Then…more shopping! We toured through some of the high end shops in Place Messena before going back to our hotel room with our new souvenirs from Nice.
Finally, we ended the day with a good Italian dinner and afterwards stopped at a small dessert and coffee shop to enjoy some glace. Boy, they really know how to make it in France!! It was awesome by the way.
I’m sad that we have to leave tomorrow, but I’m glad that we had the opportunity to visit this amazing place. I have much more respect for the French people and their culture after being here. France is a great country with wonderful people.
Hopefully, we’ll be blessed enough to return one day.
Merci et au revoir, Nice!
NOTE: If you want to see more pictures from today, check out the new pictures added to the Nice ’09 album in the photos section of the blog.
