More holiday snaps…

The main ‘planner of what to do’ while we are on holiday is Cycloman – he’s good at making an itinerary and actually reads the travel guides. (I find I can read the travel guides better after the event, rather than before…. and because of that I’d like to visit a place more than once. The first time to orientate myself and the second to catch up on what we didn’t do the first time)

We only had time for one visit to Nice, and even then did far less than we had hoped. Teenagers don’t like getting up very early, do they?

When we arrived in Nice the first problem was traffic followed closely by parking: we eventually found somewhere in a massive underground car park, affiliated with a huge shopping complex. Being a Sunday in France, I was surprised that the shops were open when we arrived, but as in the UK they have a limited opening time and closed early. As I got out of the car in the parking slot an automated voice told me which pillar we had parked next to, for future reference. It was a truly huge car park: it was painted and decorated and had piped music!

Once we found our bearings we went to the main square.
The main square in Nice (Place Messena) is a huge open area, with a back and white tiled floor and figures high up on poles, which apparently light up at night.

We didn’t see them lit up, as we were only there in the day, but you can see an image here.Then there’s the fountain’s statue with horses on his head…

(Photo added for Bilby illustrate the horses on his head!)

and not far from this grand open space, narrow streets, where it was a little cooler.After lunch at a street cafe we climbed the Colline du Chateau, which has no chateau (not any longer) but has a cooling cascade and a series of fantastic views of the ‘Baie des Anges’ (the name coming from the angel sharks which used to live there until the 19th century)

The climb up was fairly steep, and it was a hot day – we had a large bottle of water in the rucksack, for which we were grateful, as the little kiosks at the top were quite pricey!

It was cooler in the wonderfully ornate church

When we arrived back to get the car the shopping complex had closed and we had to enter through a kiosk using our parking ticket. It was quite eerie as a majority of the cars had gone and we were the only ones down there. Cyclo went off to pay.

I didn’t ask how much extra we had been charged for all the niceties of subtle lighting and soft music as I didn’t want to spoil a Nice day out.

Unknown's avatar

Author: Sarah

No time to lose. No, time to lose. Make time to stand and stare.... Did you see that?

17 thoughts on “More holiday snaps…”

  3. What a wonderful church. I haven’t been to Nice for years but I remember the traffic being awful, and the horror of looking at the crowded beaches.

  4. yes the church was amazing, but we didn’t even try the beach that day. The whole of that coast is very crowded. I preferred the days up in the mountains.

  5. We used to base ourselves on the other side of the Camargue, with miles of dunes and empty beaches, years ago. We then used to venture forth for trips to Arles, and the Côte d’Azur.

  7. Lovely photos, Nym, and interesting post (as always), but ‘horses on his head’? They look like budgies, or some other sort of birdie. Also intrigued by ‘angel sharks’ which have disappeared. Stingrays?

  10. Thank you, Nym. What a shame they have disappeared. I wonder if they are living elsewhere, or are extinct.

    Ah! All is clear now, but I wonder why he has horses on his head? Any idea?

  12. I know not the reason for horses on his head… maybe I’ll do a little research!

    Sad about the angels, very sad.

  15. – that is him, cleaned up and re-erected… there are several pictures on ‘tinternet of the fountain without its main character, but t was reinstated last year sometime….. However I can’t find out why he has horses on his head. Maybe Boadicea will know that sort of thing? 🙂

Add your Comment