A full day exploring Nice
Today was the official start of our Photo Workshop Adventure Tour in Provence. This morning at 11 AM, we were to meet the rest of our group in the hotel lobby. First thing in the morning I went with Chris, Sam and Gretchen for our walk and to find some breakfast. Nice is located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and the second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur region after Marseille. The city is called Nice la Belle which means Nice the Beautiful. The natural beauty of the Nice area and its mild Mediterranean climate attracted the English upper classes in the second half of the 18th century. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of the most visited cities, receiving 4 million tourists every year. After spending time in this city, I could easily understand why it is so popular.
Early morning on the beach. The beaches in Nice are very rocky.
More friendly dog people.
The baguette (and French bread in general) is a staple food and the baguette is a genuine symbol of France. French bread is taken very seriously in France.
Ok- French pastries are also taken seriously.
Even though it was early on a Sunday morning, people were already sunbathing on the beach. The rocky beach never looked very comfortable to me but obviously people didn't mind it. This photo was taken from the Promenade des Anglais. Nice has been a popular tourist destination for royalty and the wealthy since the second half of the 18th century. During this time the English built a walkway along the sea front which stretches for 8km along the pebbled beach seafront.
This cutie reminded me so much of a whiter version of Maggie and Katie.
We found out that Paris is the capital of pre-wedding photography. Paris is the number one destination for Asian couples from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan to come and have wedding shots taken. We saw this in several instances in Paris. Obviously the South of France is also popular.
After meeting the group, we got into the two vans and drove to the old section of Nice. When we got out of the car we stopped to watch the kids on the Merry go Round. |
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The Promenade de Paillon, covering 12 hectares and 1.2 kilometres through the heart of Nice was completed in October, 2013. The opening marked the end of around ten years of building work undertaken by successive mayors to improve the quality of life and infrastructure in Nice. This area is a great place for locals to go out for a stroll and for the kids to play. I thought it was a stunning setting and I enjoyed watching the kids play in the fountains and the mist. The "water mirror" attraction which you can walk through ( I didn't) is full of fountains that launch in random patterns soaking everyone in the process. There are also lots of smaller "soaking fountains" for kids elsewhere on the promenade.
Pictured above is the bell tower in the old section of Nice.
There were lots of colourful buildings in the old section of Nice.
Walking in the streets of the historical section of Nice. This old town seemed to have a very Italian atmosphere. This is because Nice was once part of Italy.
Stephanie and Lisa posing. These women were are from Southern USA and we had a great time together on the tour.
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After being in Paris, I really enjoyed finding so much colour in the streets. |
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I have to say that I found the people much friendlier in the south of France than in Paris. |
Walking back to the hotel, we passed through the park again.
We drove to a suburb of Nice for our welcome dinner. Before dinner I stopped to take a few photos of the water while there was still light.
Fish anyone? I opted for some delicious pasta. It was so good that I could have been in Italy.
An after dinner shot ended a perfect day and evening.