Nice.
It was so nice...
Rather than a direct train from Lyon to Nice, (unbeknownst to us!) we ended up taking a regional train so we momentarily visited more cities than I thought we originally would: Avignon, Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Antibes...oh la la!
We arrived in Nice after sunset but quickly set out to see what we could see before calling it a night. We grabbed a bite to eat on the bustling rue de France and wandered to Place Massena before turning out the light at Hotel Gounod, our ★★★-hotel for 4 nights! (I stayed at this hotel with friends almost 10 years ago to the day! Wow...Time flies!!)
Our first full day was bright, sunny and warm - so lovely! We headed for the boardwalk - la promenade des Anglais - and meandered through vieux Nice on our way up to the Colline du Château, where we visited another cemetery, saw a waterfall and took some wonderful panoramic shots of the city. We also walked around to the other side of the colline and saw the port of Nice. My mother once lived in Nice for 6 weeks years ago, and for the first time in all the times I've visited Nice I was able to find her street, a few blocks behind the port! We headed back to the old part of the city to find the famous Fenocchio gelateria. Finding it requires winding through numerous tiny alleys until you come upon a gorgeous place with a church, bell tower, fountain, and chairs to sit in and relax while you enjoy your gelato. There are gelato stands all over Nice, but this place boast 96 different flavors and always has a line no matter what time of day you decide to treat yourself to 2 or 3 boules...because who are we kidding? Just one scoop is never enough! The beach was calling to us, and by beach, I mean pebbles - millions and millions of pebbles. Not the most comfortable, but, in my opinion, definitely the most charming part of the shoreline in Nice. We scrambled up to the water and shed our socks and shoes and put our toes in the turquoise Mediterranean. I had forgotten about all the beach glass that sparkles in the sunlight and immediately set out to find some colorful pieces to keep as souvenirs! (Now I know why my bags felt so much heavier on the way back - haha!) It was a wonderful first day back in my favorite city on the Côte d'Azur!
We didn't really have our time in Nice completely mapped out, which led to some great spontaneous fun! We hit the boardwalk on Saturday morning on the early side (for us!) and decided to rent bikes (hundreds of vélobleu stalls all over the city) to ride to the far end of the boardwalk because our feet were feeling the effects of 4 days of non-stop walking. These European towns are fairly pedestrian- and bike-friendly so the enormous bike lanes actually continued beyond the boardwalk...so, naturally, we kept going, too! We rode past the Nice airport and through Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Cagnes-sur-Mer, and Villeneuve-Loubet (approximately 13km away). By the time we returned to Nice (it took over an hour), I felt like I was pedaling through molasses! Exercise much? Despite looking completely spent upon our return, I really enjoyed our little adventure! After a well-deserved gelato break and a nap, we grabbed our picnic supplies and headed for the beach just in time to catch a magnificent sunset. The sky was slightly cloudy and the colors rippling throughout were amazing! I think that was my favorite day of our entire trip!
On Sunday morning we walked a short distance to the Eglise Russe (Russian Church) that was commissioned by Tzar Nicolas in 1914. It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, the interior is not in the best condition so visitors can no longer go inside, but the exterior was definitely worth seeing. We headed back towards the old part of the city and walked through both the produce and flower markets that operate every morning, Tuesday through Sunday. So many sights, smells, colors, and textures. I love markets, especially European ones! We had a local niçoise snack called Socca and another gelato, of course, before heading back to the beach to relax, read, write postcards and put our feet back in the water! Our last evening was extremely relaxing and I felt a little sad to be leaving in the morning.
We needed to check out of our hotel room by 12 noon, so we woke up early and had a few more hours in the city without having to worry about our bags. We walked back to the port side of the city and visited an amazing, family-owned candy factory, Florian, where their specialty is candied fruits, crystallized flower petals and chocolates. The smell of sugar was in the air...I was in heaven. We walked the rest of the way around the port, and back again, through the old city for another portion of Socca, and another gelato before checking out of our hotel. One last hour spent on the boardwalk before heading to the train and bidding adieu to Nice...only then did the adventure of getting home really begin! We had open seating on the first regional train to Toulon and then only one ticket with a reserved seat for the 4-hour trip from Toulon to Paris. I got lucky for the first leg of the trip because the train was fairly empty and Susy pointed out some available options; however, everyone and their dog (literally, there were some pooches on this train!) seemed to be traveling from Aix-en-Provence to Paris so I got bumped! I made my way through 5 cars searching for an empty seat to no avail, so I first camped out in the hallway on the stairs and then on a luggage rack for the 3 hours or so between Aix and Paris. I felt like a runaway! Quite an adventure!!
I love the light in the south of France - probably why I took so many photos while in Nice - I hope you enjoy them after the jump!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Holiday Road, part 1...
Lyon.
What a beautiful city in which to begin our Toussaint vacation.
Neither my friend, Susy, nor I had ever been to Lyon, so we decided to kick off our travels in the city known for its silk-making tradition which stretches back hundreds of years. We departed from the aptly-named Gare de Lyon on Tuesday morning and arrived in rainy, gray Lyon in the early afternoon. We grabbed our umbrellas and began exploring the city. The city is bisected by two rivers, the Rhône and the Saone. Parts of Lyon reminded us of Paris (especially the fact that a river, or two, runs throughout) but we both agreed that, for the most part, Lyon was cleaner and there was far less noise pollution (i.e. drivers are more patient and don't honk at everyone and everything the way they do in Paris!) The tiny streets in the old part of the city (vieux Lyon) were charming and we were soon exhausted from the amount of walking that we put in on Day 1!
On Wednesday, the sun made an appearance and warmed things up nicely for our only full day in Lyon. We walked over the rivers and into vieux Lyon where we stopped by the workshop of a silk craftsman. We were even able to see all of the equipment in the back of the shop. I have always loved textiles and weaving and hand-made goods, so to see the work up close was thrilling. He gave us a small demonstration of how he made velour out of silk (I always thought it was a form of velvet). He inserted a cord of some other material into the design, passed the weft shuttle around it to secure the threads, and then used a blade to simultaneously free the cord and slice the warp threads, leaving behind a raised relief that didn't destroy the integrity of the strings because they were locked in place. It was amazing to see and I was so captivated that I forgot to ask if I could film it - it was over before I knew it! There were so many silk threads on the machine, too...he told us that each thread was composed of 40 silkworm cocoons! Can you imagine?!
The next site we visited was the beautiful cathédrale de la Fourvière, located at the top of the hill overlooking the city. We could see this church from practically every other location in the city and the white exterior seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The panoramic views were nothing short of breathtaking, but the interior of the church was more than dazzling. I have visited many churches in Europe over the course of my short life, yet I don't think I've ever seen one as lovely as this. It was highly decorated, but somehow seemed light and airy at the same time. I loved the intricate mosaics, the vibrant colors (Susy loved all the turquoise, her favorite color!) and the stained-glass windows. The sun streamed through each design and projected rainbows of color on the opposite walls - I first noticed that effect in another church I visited in 2008 in the tiny town of St. Paul de Vence in the South of France. It was wonderful to just sit in one of the pews and take it all in.
From there, we wandered into some of the more modern areas of the city and pedestrian walkways lined with shops! The nicer weather brought everyone out in droves and it was nice to be surrounded by all the bustling shoppers. Lyon is also filled with museums galore, but we decided to consider the city itself as a museum and took advantage of the fine weather and took so many pictures of everything around us! We knew it would be impossible to see everything during our short time in Lyon, but now we have some things to look forward to seeing the next time we visit. Check out my pictures of Lyon after the jump...
What a beautiful city in which to begin our Toussaint vacation.
Neither my friend, Susy, nor I had ever been to Lyon, so we decided to kick off our travels in the city known for its silk-making tradition which stretches back hundreds of years. We departed from the aptly-named Gare de Lyon on Tuesday morning and arrived in rainy, gray Lyon in the early afternoon. We grabbed our umbrellas and began exploring the city. The city is bisected by two rivers, the Rhône and the Saone. Parts of Lyon reminded us of Paris (especially the fact that a river, or two, runs throughout) but we both agreed that, for the most part, Lyon was cleaner and there was far less noise pollution (i.e. drivers are more patient and don't honk at everyone and everything the way they do in Paris!) The tiny streets in the old part of the city (vieux Lyon) were charming and we were soon exhausted from the amount of walking that we put in on Day 1!
On Wednesday, the sun made an appearance and warmed things up nicely for our only full day in Lyon. We walked over the rivers and into vieux Lyon where we stopped by the workshop of a silk craftsman. We were even able to see all of the equipment in the back of the shop. I have always loved textiles and weaving and hand-made goods, so to see the work up close was thrilling. He gave us a small demonstration of how he made velour out of silk (I always thought it was a form of velvet). He inserted a cord of some other material into the design, passed the weft shuttle around it to secure the threads, and then used a blade to simultaneously free the cord and slice the warp threads, leaving behind a raised relief that didn't destroy the integrity of the strings because they were locked in place. It was amazing to see and I was so captivated that I forgot to ask if I could film it - it was over before I knew it! There were so many silk threads on the machine, too...he told us that each thread was composed of 40 silkworm cocoons! Can you imagine?!
The next site we visited was the beautiful cathédrale de la Fourvière, located at the top of the hill overlooking the city. We could see this church from practically every other location in the city and the white exterior seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The panoramic views were nothing short of breathtaking, but the interior of the church was more than dazzling. I have visited many churches in Europe over the course of my short life, yet I don't think I've ever seen one as lovely as this. It was highly decorated, but somehow seemed light and airy at the same time. I loved the intricate mosaics, the vibrant colors (Susy loved all the turquoise, her favorite color!) and the stained-glass windows. The sun streamed through each design and projected rainbows of color on the opposite walls - I first noticed that effect in another church I visited in 2008 in the tiny town of St. Paul de Vence in the South of France. It was wonderful to just sit in one of the pews and take it all in.
From there, we wandered into some of the more modern areas of the city and pedestrian walkways lined with shops! The nicer weather brought everyone out in droves and it was nice to be surrounded by all the bustling shoppers. Lyon is also filled with museums galore, but we decided to consider the city itself as a museum and took advantage of the fine weather and took so many pictures of everything around us! We knew it would be impossible to see everything during our short time in Lyon, but now we have some things to look forward to seeing the next time we visit. Check out my pictures of Lyon after the jump...
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