Marche des Fleurs
Paying beach at Nice
We bought lunch from a beachside stallThe drive to Nice took ages. It took 4½ hours to drive 130 kms. I tried to enjoy the drive along the Cote D’Azur but the universe was conspiring against me. The traffic was heavy and I was a bit scared of the high up and windingness of the road. Also when we left Le Lavandou our car started making this strange grinding noise when the steering was turned to the right and then of course I kept getting this picture in my head of our car plunging hundreds of metres through the flimsy barriers and landing down the side of the mountain where we stayed not to be found for days.
Anyway apart from that the views were extremely scenic and beautiful even if I was terrified.
We found the hotel easily but then drove around in circles for hours trying to find the entrance to the car park. Parking at the Gare cost €23 for 24 hours. Our hotel was located in the Kings Cross of Nice, quite a sleazy area yet minutes away was all the evidence of the existence of the super rich. Nice is like that but then so many places are the same with the extremes between rich and poor.
It was bliss to be rid of the car which we left for 2 days at the Gare and walked everywhere after that. We wandered up and down the Promenade des Anglais and then had a drinks stop before going back to the hotel.
On Friday the kids had fun playing on the pebbly beach at the Baie des Anges just on the other side of the Vieux Nice. The water was a beautiful bluey colour and not too cold (so the kids tell me). Samuel enjoyed swimming into the waves and tasted the salt when he was swamped a couple of times by a big wave.
We walked down Av Jean Médicin which is a long shopping street and comes out at Place Masséna which then leads down into the old town and Cours Saleya where the Marché is held. We walked through the Marché des Fleurs which was a great big florist market with rows and rows of the most beautiful flowers and plants for sale.
That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet called Nissa Socca in the back streets of Vieux Nice. I tried socca which is a chickpea pancake. It was yummy. My plate of food was huge. Andrew and I could have shared but you never know how big your meal is going to be until you get it. Ella and Samuel shared a plate of carbonara but Ella didn’t like the taste and was still hungry so we stopped at mackers on the way home and Ella had nuggets for dinner with a cornet de glace for dessert.
Anyway apart from that the views were extremely scenic and beautiful even if I was terrified.
We found the hotel easily but then drove around in circles for hours trying to find the entrance to the car park. Parking at the Gare cost €23 for 24 hours. Our hotel was located in the Kings Cross of Nice, quite a sleazy area yet minutes away was all the evidence of the existence of the super rich. Nice is like that but then so many places are the same with the extremes between rich and poor.
It was bliss to be rid of the car which we left for 2 days at the Gare and walked everywhere after that. We wandered up and down the Promenade des Anglais and then had a drinks stop before going back to the hotel.
On Friday the kids had fun playing on the pebbly beach at the Baie des Anges just on the other side of the Vieux Nice. The water was a beautiful bluey colour and not too cold (so the kids tell me). Samuel enjoyed swimming into the waves and tasted the salt when he was swamped a couple of times by a big wave.
We walked down Av Jean Médicin which is a long shopping street and comes out at Place Masséna which then leads down into the old town and Cours Saleya where the Marché is held. We walked through the Marché des Fleurs which was a great big florist market with rows and rows of the most beautiful flowers and plants for sale.
That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet called Nissa Socca in the back streets of Vieux Nice. I tried socca which is a chickpea pancake. It was yummy. My plate of food was huge. Andrew and I could have shared but you never know how big your meal is going to be until you get it. Ella and Samuel shared a plate of carbonara but Ella didn’t like the taste and was still hungry so we stopped at mackers on the way home and Ella had nuggets for dinner with a cornet de glace for dessert.
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