Man fishing on the beach in Nice
Nice - from the hill
The Port in Nice
The medieval village of Eze - along the Cote d’Azur
Me, on top of Eze - view of the Mediterranean below
Monte Carlo in Monaco - look at the yachts in the port!
Principality of Monaco - from La Roche
The Starting Line of the Monaco Grand Prix - now just a normal street
The Monte Carlo Casino - Think James Bond
Me at the top of the village of Eze - overlooking the Mediterranean
Monday, February 4, 2008
Hey,
I just had a wonderful weekend in Nice, the medieval village of Eze and the principality of Monaco.
I left Grenoble on Friday – and arrived in Nice by about 1:30pm. I checked into my hostel by about 2:30pm which was only like a 5 minute walk from the beach! Not to mention being right in the middle of a shopping district. I was in a 2 room dorm with an ensuite bathroom, but no food included. I had the room all to myself for the first day too!
The Friday, I mostly just walked around Nice and saw the sights. The beach, the park du chateau which was up on the hill that overlooks nice, vieux Nice (old Nice), the casino, etc. There’s not much more to Nice than the beach, especially in the first weekend of February when it’s NOT AT ALL tourist season.
Nice is normally home to about 400,000 inhabitants, and is considered to be the 5th largest city in the country. However, during tourist season it houses 3,000,000 people. Which is why it has the second biggest airport in France!
Saturday I took a tour to the medieval village of EZE in the morning. Again, not tourist season, so not much open – but beautiful none the less. I walked around the little town, and the lookouts. It was beautiful! We then headed out of the village to a nearby perfume factory. The cote d’Azur is know for it’s perfume industry. I now know the difference between Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Perfume and Perfume – not that I buy or wear much perfume, but just in case…
The afternoon was spent in the principality of Monaco. It is a cool place. As it is all fit into 2 square kilometers, it’s not like the rest of the cote d’Azur – with many tall buildings and little space. I went up onto ‘La Roche’ or The District of Monaco where they have the palace, government buildings, old town, etc. It also gave you an awesome view over the rest of the tiny country an it’s surroundings. France is sort of just up on the hill, and as you come down it to the Mediterranean is all Monaco (except for the District of Monaco, which is on it’s own hill).
I ended my day in Monte Carlo – another district there. Where you find the big Casino, hotels, malls, etc. But you notice the richness of the country, without a doubt. To become a resident of Monaco you have to buy a property (at about €10,000 per square metre), then you have to put minimum €2,000,000 in a Monaco bank account. So, basically everyone’s rich. Everywhere along the cost is yachts, on the roads are Ferraris, Porches, Bentleys, and the stores are Prada, Gucci, etc. Most of the jewelry stores were displaying jewelry costing over €10,000! Pretty cool, but for me, just window shopping. Still really liked Monaco, and can’t wait to get back there another day. It was absolutely beautiful with parks and cliffs and the sea coast. I went back to Nice that evening and found a pub full of ‘Ango-Saxons’ (English, Welsh, Austrailian, etc) to watch the England/Wales rugby match. We sadly watch England lose the game after a huge lead at the end of the first half.
As for Sunday, I went out for a French breakfast with the American guy that I shared the dorm with. We then went down and saw the bustling market full of flowers, mushrooms and other French things. He left after lunch and I went and saw the Museum of Modern art and walked all along the beach before returning to Grenoble.
As I have no TV, I missed the Superbowl this year… score looks interesting though.
Just started my placement in Cardiology today. I’m in an cardiac intensive care unit, so people were being brought in as I arrived. We get to investigate there and then to find out their cause. I even got to clerk an English patient who had been admitted, great to practice my English clinical skills, even when I’m in France!
Hope all is well,
Peter
The sunday market in Nice
Outside the Museum of Modern Art - Nice
Poisonous fish at the Aquarium in Monaco
Changing of the Guard at the Palace in Monaco - I think the Army in Monaco only has about 80 ppl.
The Cannons the people of Monaco use for defense (just kidding)
Palace - Monaco
Defibrillators are everywhere in Monaco - and these signs point you to one so you can find it. Must be lots of heart attacks here…
Me on La Tour overlooking Nice
