Sunday, April 15, 2018

Monsoon in Nice

We thought we had bad weather in Genoa; however, Nice turned out to be worse.  We arrived in sun, but the gusts were so strong that outside shop displays were being blown off the shelves and sailor-type men were fighting with canvas awnings.  Then we had two days of rain, then we had two more days of wind and rain, punctuated by thunder, culminating in hail.  This young Dutch couple we spoke to declared -- Rotterdam had better weather! 

Nevertheless there are a lot of visitors trudging around town with foul weather equipment.  The city is working hard at keep them coming, evidenced by recent and ongoing improvement projects all over the place.  The one thing I would say is that this place is not called Cote d'Azur (Blue Coast) for nothing.  As gray as the sky was, the sea remained blue, a very beautiful shade too.

Because of weather, we drastically slashed our normally ambitious programs, even foregoing all museums by declaring them either overpriced or second rate.  My 50th birthday was overshadowed by the shock of such inclement weather.  We stayed at home obsessing over weather radar, catching up and planning, and finally purchasing our 5/22 return tickets to the US; and practicing at turning into alcoholics.

We rode a FLiXBUS (our first time with FLiX) from Torino (Turin) to the Nice Airport. Good value. No problems. And we happened to be behind another FLiXBUS as we hit the last toll booth Italy before entering France. Although there is no official "border check", our bus was inspected at the both the last tollbooth in Italy and the first tollbooth in France. The French made quite a show; at one point there were 6 armed black-uniformed inspectors on the bus. They politely checked our passports, looked into the baggage compartments and quickly finished....Note the Lamborghini passing our bus on the right. ;-)
Last toll booth before the border of Italy and France - near Ventimiglia, Italy

Getting started in Nice: We made several attempts to enjoy the seaside promenade Promenade des Anglais, following a self-guided walking tour in the rain.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

The Monday Antiques Market.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Beautiful views of the market from above.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Old City lane near our apartment which is located in the former Jewish Ghetto.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

These white columns remain from the synagogue.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Boys enjoying the "random action" fountain.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

We try the walking tour in the evening and rain has mostly subsided buts it's still gloomy; however, the water is blue!
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Hotel with IMO both art Nouveau and Art Deco stylings.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

We walk up to Castle Hill for some views. This one of the sea, beach?, and promenades.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

On the far side of the headland there views to the Nice Port. That's one huge yacht.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

View down towards the Cathedral and our nearby apartment.
Vieux-Nice - Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

A couple of shots to record Sun-Ling on her 50th birthday.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Back down near the Cathedral.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Sun-Ling makes Salad Nicoise. When in Nice.....
Sun-Ling make Salad Nicois - Nice, France

One day during an afternoon downpour, we took a bus over to Cap Ferrat hoping the rain would stop, which it did, so we could do the famous walk around the Cap. Bonus! As we were admiring the port some search-and-rescue seaplanes were practicing takeoffs and landings. [More details than you may want to know: We arrived at the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat bus stop and it was raining. So we walked to the TI, shook out our umbrellas and got a map of the trails. Still raining, we walked back to the bus stop. We gave the weather 50 minutes to improve or we would take the one-after-the-next bus back to Nice. And voila, after chatting with the young Dutch couple, and watching the next bus leave, the rain stopped.]
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

I test the waters.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

A most beautiful walk around Cap Ferrat.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

More rain the next day but the post office delivery folks are prepared.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

We head out for an evening walk, but it's raining, windy, and cold. We are back home after 30 minutes.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

No takers for these prime bench seats.
Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Not to mention the hail storm.
Hailing - Nice, Côte d'Azur, France

Stay tuned. The weather did improve.


3 comments:

Kathy said...

Oh no! I love Nice, but not in the rain. Glad you were able to get the Cap Ferrat walk in. I'd recommend the Asian museum and the two villas if the weather stays bad.

And many happy returns!

WQZ said...

Happy birthday Sunling! Italy and France want you to go back.

Sun-Ling said...

Thanks for all the well wishing. Me turning 50 was a bigger deal for John than myself. I still feel the same :D

We liked Nice area and will certainly return. In spite of bad weather and my high expectations, Italy was great and we'll keep returning.

@Kathy, I really enjoyed the Cap Ferrat walk. This was after we dropped my $50 umbrella, completely retraced our route, searching in vain, and knew I was not going to be able to find such an umbrella while in Nice.

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