Old Nice, Le Chateau and the Rock
Monday, June 13.
Today my roomies and I went out to explore old Nice. It's a walk that we have to do while here for class. It's pretty cool. Nice is so much more laid back then Paris. The people are generally nicer. Some buildings in Nice are similar to those in Paris, but otherwise they're newer or have more of an Italian influence. Makes sense since Nice used to be Italian and is right on the border with Italy.  It's also sunny in Nice!!!! It's gotten to the solid seventies. Being by the beach there's always a nice breeze to help take away the heat of the sun. It's humid here of course as all of France has been. I've missed the beach a lot, and the sun. It's nice to be here in Nice. ;) Yes I just made that corny joke. Enjoy our explorations.

The main square in old Nice. 

In honor of the Euro Cup 2016!!! I wanted to play in the water so bad, but we had to keep going and I was wearing my tennis shoes, though I suppose I could have just taken them off. Oh well.

The Mythology fountain. Each statue around the fountain is a different God or Myth. Hermes in on the Pegasus next to me. Zeus is behind me in the form of a cow. I don't actually know who is the one in the middle. Maybe Poseidon because he has horses on his head.

Behind the water jets there is a nice park leading to the theater and a large square. This statue is of General Massena, a famous general during the second empire and the third republic.

Look at this awesome sea creature based play ground! There's also a pirate ship! Of course I played on it. I got Haley to go on the teeter totter with me. It was so fun. I want a playground like this in Utah valley. It wouldn't make much sense because they don't have an ocean, but it would be awesome!

A copy of the work, "David" by Michelangelo. Hopefully I'll see the real one next week. :)

Awesome bell tower. :)

                                 I think he likes me. He doesn't show it much, but he does.

Gaiubaldi for whom the square is named after. I'm not sure why he's important, but he must be to be given such honors.

Oh my gosh there were so many stairs and so much climbing uphill during this trip, but we made it. :) Left: cool door on a church we passed. Right: the entrance to le Chateau and the Rock that we had to see while in Old Nice.

We made it to the top! :) Proof we were there. Aren't we cute.

The Castle of Nice was a citadel used for military purposes. Built at the top of a hill, it stood overlooking the bay of Nice from the 11th century to the 18th century. Le Chateau is long gone now. It was destroyed by the command of Louis XIV in 1706. Now the area is used as a cemetery and a park and is a must see for visitors in Nice. Castle Hill is a big limestone rock 93 meters in height. That's tall and we climbed that. Yay us.

This cemetery is much better taken care of then Pere Laachaise in Paris, but it's also newer. It offers the dead and their visitors a great view of Nice.

The cascades were built in 1885 from the ruins of the dungeons of the old castle. Pretty cool eh? The water felt so good after our long uphill treck to get here.

The top of the cascades. The view is quite amazing. Left: promonade des anges. Walk of the angels. :) Right: map/compass thing of Nice. It's about a meter long and wide. It was hard to get a good picture because i'm not very tall.

Roman Ruins

                                                                                               Dat mermaid be flexible.

This is all that's left of an old cathedral that was dedicated to the virgin Mary and built in the 11th and 12 centuries, and rebuilt in late medieval ages.

Left: Le port of Nice. The mosaics depict scenes from the voyage of Ullysus. The top one wishes you a good journey.

Haley having fun on the playground. She made a friend.

This is a map of Old Nice.

Found another flea market. Found this tiger and thought it was cool. Also can we talk about the lady in red? She's pulling a Karate Kid.

Left: Palais de Justice. Right: Opera House.

Random church we passed on our way home. It's quite lovely. Lots of buildings here in Nice look as if their designs were all painted on rather then actually constructed that way. Old Nice is a great example of this.

Passed this bike while riding the bus home. I decided that I want one just like it for when I have my vacation home here because naturally i'll be rich enough for that.

Went to the beach tonight! I didn't go in the water, but the others did. The stones are hard on your feet. We also found jelly fish. Maddie got stung by one, but she'll be fine.

The sunset is beautiful, even though it sets over the city and not the ocean. Still weird to me.

I could get used to this. :) Do I have to come home?