NICE
Day 11: Stone and water
Our stop this morning was in Les Baux. First up, Carrieres des Lumieres. Stunning. I have been to immersive art exhibits before but this one tops them all. It is staged in an old quarry with huge and varied walls. The white stone is a perfect screen for the images and the music and color surrounds you. The show we saw was about Venice but I am not sure the content matters, it is just beautiful.
We had just a couple minutes on the bus to our stop at the village of Les Baux. We walked uphill to the village and further uphill to the ruined castle perched on the highest point. Patrick gave us a quick intro and some audio guides and set us free to check things out. I love ruins and this one was compelling with lovely views over the countryside. We also had time to wander the few twisted "streets," poke in and out of shops and have some lunch.
The afternoon bus ride was lengthy but, as always, midway we had a comfort stop along the highway. Before we climbed in the bus we had a formal goodbye to our stellar driver, Phillippe. He was not only a great driver but was fun to talk to and always cheery. Quite the character.
We had a quick drop off in the traffic of Nice with a short walk to the hotel. I was excited to see that we were staying right across the street from the ocean and Promenade des Anglais. Patrick gave us a quick orientation spin around the area and we were on our own for dinner.
Day 12: Nice
I have another confession to make... While I am not a swimmer, I love to hang out by the ocean. I can sit and watch the waves and people for a long time, which I did often in Nice. Including at sunrise on our last full day of the tour.
Our walking tour this day took us past the market and through the old town. Many twisted narrow streets and colorful buildings. Our guide took us into the Palais Lascaris, historically a home of a rich Nicoise family with really lovely frescos and antique musical instruments. We ended up the walk in the beautiful ornate interior of the Cathedral of St. Reparate as the guide finished up her information on Nice.
After we said au revoir to the local guide Patrick treated us to dishes of gelato from the nearby Fenocchio shop. Yum.
We had a free afternoon and he gave us many suggestions of activities as well as directions how to get to those destinations.
This afternoon I was determined to get to the Chagall Museum. Despite Patrick's great directions, it took me a bit of time to find the bus across town to the museum but it was well worth the effort. Several rooms were dedicated to his paintings with others highlighting prints, stained glass, and other works. Such a color filled building!
The bus dropped me off in the modern shopping area of town so I went into a large Galleries Layafette store. I am nowhere near stylish enough to buy anything in here but I had a great time looking at French fashion!
That evening was our final dinner of the tour. I had a lovely sea bream entree and the wine was flowing as we reminisced about the great time we had all shared. In the dark we gathered on the beach and Patrick had more "bubbles" for a final toast. A votre sante!
