Life is Nice and the Cote D'Azur, Part I

It is a cold, rainy Monday here in Helsinki ...far from the weather I've heard it's been like back home, but a good day to recoup and recover from the last 2 weeks on the road. Alright lots I've seen and done the past week. At the end of the last email I was on my way to Nice, France to meet my parents. My father had a business trip to La Gode, a city in the south of France near Nice, and decided to extend his trip, bring my mom along and make a holiday out of it. I flew down to meet them early Thursday morning to see some of the so-called world famous French Riviera. The 6 a.m. flight was about 3.5 hours, but I had the whole row to myself on the Finnair plane, and got to enjoy to sensation of chasing the sunrise as the flight went to the southwest over Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and finally France. The ground was covered by clouds the majority of the flight, but that didn't stop the tops of the snow-capped Swiss Alps from peaking about the line. Every though it was from a plane the sight was amazing.

The flights landing pattern was a quick descent from the Alps right down to the Mediterranean. I guess I didn't realize how close the moutains were to the coast, or how thin the Cote d'Azur actually is. An extremely thin strip of coastline filled with white and pastel colored apartment blocks and homes built upon the cascading slopes that gently dive into the sea. Majestic, ancient, and beautiful the coast doesn't seem to push it on you, but in its own laid back sort of way it is impressed upon you.

The plane took us out a couple miles over the Mediterranean and doubled back over Marseille, and I got a peak of the Chateau d'If. The Nice Airport is built right on the sea, and you get the sensation you are going to make a water landing, until the landfill the landing strip is built upon sneaks up on the plane.

I took 3 years of French in college, and it wasn't until the moment I got off the plane did I ever feel I was going to use it. Most of my education has had a funny way of feeling useless to me, and until I this trip that is how I felt about those years of French and I am glad I learned it. Even though I am nowhere near fluent, the simple phrases and grammar I did absorb, took me far during this visit, and it was exciting and enabling to use them to commuicate with a French cultural that is not English friendly in the least. I've been spoiled by being in Helsinki where everyone knows English and doesn't mind using it.

After taking the airport bus to the La Gare Central, the central train station in the center of modern Nice, I took the 4-5 block walk to my parents hotel, which was located on the city main commercial drag, L'Avenue de Jean Medicin. Diretly located opposite a smaller version of Paris' Norte Dame cathedral it was a good central location and the walk gave me chance of a first impression of Naughty Nice.

It was near 11 a.m. on a June Thursday morning, and as I stepped off the bus, knew I was in the right place. Although located in the southeast corner of France, Nice didn't feel especially "French" to me. Beyond the language, it seemed the city was a conglomeration of French, Italian, Spanish, and Northern African cultures. Kebab stands and Chinese buffets ajoined pizza stalls, boulangeries and brasseries, ... the city was alive with people, culture, and LIFE. The signs, the colors, the foot traffic, the fragrances, (some more pleasent then others), and general ambience, made me feel small and realize that this city had been like this hundreds or maybe thousands of years, ... all the while I'd been living my quite American life on the other side of the world, and missing this.

After dropping my things off, we took a stroll down Jean Medicin to Place Massena, the city main square, which is full of statue of naked man posed differently on tall pillars. A huge fountains centers the square decorated with horses and nymphs. After standing at bus stop waiting on a bus that was never going to come, I ask a busdriver, "Ou est le bus quatre-vingt deux," or "Where is bus 82?" he points and rattles off some sentence or two in rapid French and the bus takes off. Like I said, I am nowhere near fluent, but I took it he told me the bus doesn't come here, and as we walk I realize he was pointing to a bus terminal just across from where we had been waiting for 20 mintues or so. The bus to L'Eze, a village 20 mintues to the east of Nice, came shortly and we were off.

Eze is a commune and medieval village built high upon a rock just east of Nice. The small village is famous for its beauty, and has many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants that attract a large number of tourists, but I didn't mind. It was not crowded and had some amazing views. The climb to the top of Eze took us through narrow corridors and steep passageways. Artisans and shops lined much of the paths the wound through rock and stone walls. Mid-way through the climb were stopped at a petite cafe, Le Ni D'Aigle or the Eage's Nest. I tried my first French beer, a Kronenbourg, or 1664, and the folks had a bite. The top of Eze is exotic, desert-style garden, top with ancient ruins of a monastery from the 14th century. Photos from the top can be found on my myspace or facebook pages, but they truly don't to this place justice.

Fun fact time. According to a popular credence, the view of the sea from the top of Èze inspired Dante Alighieri in the description of some scenarios of his Inferno. On a more modern note. Bono and the Edge both of the Irish rock band U2 own villas in Èze and U2's vidoes for "Beautiful Day," and "Electrical Storm," were both filmed atop the peak.

After catching a bus back to Nice and then another to Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, a cape between Nice and Monaco. Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world and attracts the rich and famous. These mansions are nestled amongst lush vegetation and discretely built and protected from prying eyes, they often include a private beach and locked gate-ways.We arrived too late to see the garden of the Rothschild Mansion, a popular attractive on the cape. Instead my father took a peak into his Rick Steves' Guidebook and found a walking trail that circumnavigated the cape. He didn't read the entire description of the trail, as we would soon find out for ourselves. The path from the guidebook was truly a hidden treasure, a rocky, beaten tack that encircled the cape gave us an amazing natural site of the Riveria, although because we didn't read the full description a 30 minute stroll along the coast turned into a one hour and 40 minute ramble, with no exit access mind you, that had our calves screaming. Still I don't regret it, more amazing views of the sea, and of the houses that are discretely hidden in the hills, but what thought was the coolest was the private rock outcroppings that joined with some cement work had been shaped into some of the most creative and fantastic hide-away beaches. We finally reach the peak of the cape, where the lighthouses access lead us back to the main roads. Unfortunetly, the buses didn't run this far deep into the cape, so we had to hike to front of the cape, whilst avoiding being clipped by the numerous Mercedes, Bentleys, Ferraris, and Lambourginis on the locals speeding by. After catching a bus back to Nice, we walked into Old Town starving, find a small restaurant in the Place Rossetti. Place Rossetti is entirely enclosed and pedestrianised, and located in the heart of the old town. With typical buildings in red and yellow ochres surrounding the square, the cathédrale Sainte-Réparate and the fountain in the centre. Dinner was pizza, salade Nicoise, a liter of Kronenbourg, and a football match. (You can't say soccer in Europe) After stuffing our faces, we grabbed some ice cream from Nice's own Fennochio's stall which had 20 different chocolates and even a beer flavored ice cream, and stumbled home satiatied and exhausted. I had some of the best sleep of my life after the day that began at 4:30 in Helsinki, and ended at midnight in Nice.

Day 2 began later then planned, but we all deserved to sleep in. The folks had planned out a Friday in Monaco, and I was up for it. Finding the line for the train ticket and speaking with the vendor were the next times my French came in handy. A half and hour train ride later we arrive in Monaco around noon, just missing the changing of the guard at the Prince's Palace atop to rock which contains all of Monaco Vielle Ville, or Old Town.

It seems almost every important thing in all of Cote d'Azur was atop some sort of cliff or rock. I am not going to be a lazy tourist and complain, it is just funny how you realize that is how things had to be back in those times, for security and protection. Someone was always invading someone else, pillaging and taking over. I know it is a little petty, but it makes me think of those poor guys that had to carry everything up these rocks. Some of these hikes are rough with a camera bag, I couldn't imagine carrying a big bag of flour or a day's worth of water. (I just read that statement back to myself, and I thought, "Ha, what a spoiled American!")

Monaco is an extremely tourist-oriented district, but it wasn't really crowded or something I would call a tourist trap. The view again was oustanding, it being atop of rock on the coastline. Since missing the elaborate changing of the guard, we took an audio tour of the Palais of Prince Albert of Monaco. Note to self: Get International Student Discount Card. Available to most everyone under 25, it gives you great discounts on attractions such as the Palace of Monaco. Cameras are not allowed within the Palais, but just close your eyes and imagine room after small room, brimming full of towering paintings of the deaceased royalty of numerous defunct nations, which are hung above jewel-encrusted and gold-enlaid cabinets, mosaic tiled-topped desks, and other empty furniture of assorted colors and sizes. Overall it was impressively gaudy, but palatial none the less. The most interesting part of the palace was the grand stairway in the maincourtyard, which my pocket-sized British audio tour guide informed me was carved from a single piece of marble. Ajoining the palace was a musuem dedicated to artifacts of Napoleon, and home to a number of his trademark trifoil hats.

After the museums we headed to the Musee d'Oceanographique which and is perched on the cliff's edge of the Vielle Ville, and was founded and formally curated by Jacques Cousteau. The musee was full of family and French children, and although the Aquarium wasn't as large and modern as many American ones are, it had a few creatively constructed tanks full of monstrous fish of the Mediterranean. A bite to eat and a walk of to the cathedral later, we headed back down the rock searching for a way to find the Prince's private car collection located atop a district west of the Veille Ville, in a area reclaimed from the sea known as Fonteville.

Following signs, we follow the crowd into an elevator that is directly in a rock face, ... with no building in sight. On blind faith, no knowing if we are even going up or down, the elevator open on to a dark corridor light only my cool, multi-colored lights that bounce some gentle light off the tunnel's stone interior. At the end of the stone tunnel we realize the is the entrance to a large mall, that is built directly into the rock's base. I guess Monaco is a rich enough nation to afford to build elevator is sheer stone so its public can reach the mall.

Fonteville Commerical Centre is home to the Prince's car collection and we get inside just before they close for the day, and we pretty much have the entire place to ourselves. My father is a classic car fanatic and he pretty much found his private paradise among the hundred or so cars in the Prince's collection, which contained everything from a Model T to the pacecar in this past year Monaco Grand Prix. Our feet getting tired of walking, we catch a bus from Fonteville to Monte Carlo, the old commerical district and home to the world reknown, Monte Carlo Casino, made famous by my father other hero James Bond.

Monte Carlo Casino is surrounding by majesticly manicured gardens and fountains. The carpark in front was tended to by many valets and full of Bentleys and the like. The main gaming room is off limits to those without pants and jackets, and there is a 20E cover just to enter that part of the casino. Luckily for me, there is a small room set aside near the front of the casino for those tourists like me, that just want to be able to say the gamble in Monte Carlo. 15 minutes and 10E later, I walked out with that ability. A quick walk down near the port of Monte Carlo and back into the train station later, and we were off back to Nice.

The email is getting long and I am getting hungry, ... think I'll head down to Ukkomunkki for a bite, beer, and Euro match. Part 2 will come soon.

Miss you all,

John