Day 26 - Nice, France

Welcome to the French Riveria. We went on a tour that picked us up in a citadel. We were delayed due to a garbage truck. The ship docked in the port of Villefranche.

Wiki: Villefranche-sur-Mer is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera and is located south-west of the Principality of Monaco, which is just west of the French-Italian border. 

Nice has the second biggest airport in France. It was initially created with one runway by the Americans in 1944.

Wiki: Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake's major religious works.

Nice is supposedly the solution to any problem, due to climate and no industries. The tour guide said, if you are sad, go to Nice; if you feel bad, go to Nice; if you leave your lover, go to Nice.

Apparently all the factories were bombed in WWII and not rebuilt. Many celebrities have houses in and around Nice: Elton John, Mick Jagger, Prince Albert. The colors of the houses, pale oranges and pinks are the colors of the sun, which the fishermen thought would bring them luck in life.

We got off the bus to a dog barking to greet us.

For the first time since 1905, the nearly month-long Tour de France did not end in Paris due to the upcoming Olympic Games, it ended in Nice. Unfortunately for us, that was yesterday and they’re tearing everything down today.

Sites around the city.

Of course there was wine as part of our tour! More learning about wines before being allowed to drink it. This guy was so funny and engaging that the lessons were worth it. Plus Mr. Map, the man holding the map showing the different wine/grape regions of France, was a riot. The wines were great and the cheeses also great.

And then of course we stopped at a cafe! It’s our last day of the cruise, don’t judge us.

Martha’s challenge of the day: Holey Moley is doing just fine. But he is way more active than I had planned for. I overestimated on some supplies and underestimated on others. So, try explaining to the French pharmacist that I need 4”x4”, extra absorbent, tight weave, gauze squares. The problem was, I knew those words in Greek and Italian. But I didn’t realize Nice was in France. So I was unprepared for the language barrier. I relied on the Broadway play Hamilton (Take a Break) for the counting and that worked great. Google Translate took care of the rest. And we are back In business.

Sunset on our last night on the ship!!!!

Geeeeeezzzz the moon on the water. wow.