Still not in the water yet, and it is another hot and humid day on the Cote de Azur. We start the day with a walk down la "Promenade des Anglais." It would be our first long day walk along the famous stretch. I stop to take snapshots of the sunbathers and parasailers and imagine myself floating in that beautiful blue water.
The famous Nice Parasols along La Promenade des Anglais
Princess Caroline
Alas, we keep walking and end up in "Cours Selaya" a market place which is the entry way to "Old Nice." When we arrive it's mid-afternoon and we see restaurants setting-up. Ends up that the Cours Selaya and Old Nice awaken in the evening. It's not uncommon to be having dinner at 9 or 10pm. After all, the afternoons can be hot (thus- the reason for the "siesta"), and the days are long in the summer. Nice is like a meditteranean version of New York, at least in the summer it is. If you're hungry at 2 a.m. -- there will be a place open for you! It seems this place was custom-made for the me.
We move on to "Vieux Nice" which translates to "Old Nice" — a conglomeration of narrow streets and old buildings with merchants, restaurants and bars. The streets are 10 feet wide in some parts with a surprise at every turn. Sometimes you will end up in a plaza, other times there will be old steps leading nowhere. Old Nice is hidden behind a facade of buildings, so if you were walking along the la Promenade des Anglais, you would never know that it's there. It is a hidden gem.
Old Nice
After a full day of wandering the quaint streets we are hungry. I brought a printout of the top 20 restaurants in Nice and #6 on the list is one called "Restaurant du Gesu" in Old Nice. Supposedly, it has the best bang for your buck... or should I say "euro." By luck, Jon spots the place and they tell us they don't open until 7pm. It's 6pm, so we decide to wander about until they open. We return at 7:05, to find that the place is practically full already! The restaurant has ample outdoor seating, and even though it's between buildings, it's oddly cooler there -- so we're happy. The food is yummy, and worth the wait (and price!). Margherita Pizza for only 7.50 € (that's $10.50 in U.S. dollars)! Even though this is France, the Provence region has such an Italian influence, that some of the best restaurants are Italian! On the next table I get chatting with a friendly British woman and her family from Newcastle. By meals end, we're friends and we exchange email addresses. After days of struggling with my elementary French, I am at ease speaking our common language. The day finishes with a stroll down la Promenade Des Anglais (one can never get tired of this).
Video of Sainte-Réparade Square in Old Nice
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