Plucky Survivors See Europe Day 44: Nice

My plan was to be adventurous today.  I was going to take a round trip from Nice along the French Riviera and visit a bunch of offbeat museums and attractions.  There’s a butterfly museum in St. Tropez, a chocolate museum in some small French town you’ve never heard of, a postcard museum in another small town you’ve never heard of, and a ceramic kitsch museum in yet another small town you’ve never heard of. 

What I didn’t know what I was planning it is that July 14 is Bastille Day, the French version of Fourth of July and everything I wanted to do was closed.

So, instead, I decided to explore Nice.  There wasn’t anything here I specifically wanted to see or do, so I just wandered to the nearby old town, yet another historic neighborhood of narrow streets and alleys lined with stores and restaurants.  It’s not the nicest one I’ve seen – that prize goes to Salzburg – but it has a certain charm to it.

The one category it does win is dramatic views.  Turn a corner and there is the Mediterranean, crystal blue water and, on this particular day, a crystal blue sky to match.

There’s a promenade separating the city from the beach, which is where you’ll find several seaside restaurants.  I chose one at random for lunch and while I don’t understand the concept of sitting on a lounge chair for hours staring at the water, I totally get a patio umbrella and a nice focaccia with ham, tomatoes, and lettuce.  I was expecting something like a sandwich, but what I got was more like a pizza.  I wasn’t complaining.  It was an unexpected delight.

Afterwards, I wandered around some more but it was getting hot, so I went back to the hotel to chill and get some work done.

When dinner rolled around, I went back down to the beach and found a cute little restaurant that just happened to be in a casino.  Shut up.  I won.

A hamburger with chipotle mayo and red cheddar cheese, which I now know is basically just cheddar cheese with an attitude, and some fries and I was a very happy camper.  This was one of the best burgers I’ve had on the trip, surprisingly.

While I was checking into the hotel, the front desk clerk told me about a special event that was happening along the promenade at the beach.

Ten years ago today, Nice suffered what some here call their 9/11.  A man rented a large truck and drove it onto the promenade, which was packed with people celebrating Bastille Day.  86 people were killed and 458 were injured.

To mark the anniversary, they had several special events including an appearance by President Marco, a flyover of jets, and an orchestra.  It culminated in a drone light show, which was elegant, tasteful, and incredibly moving considering the occasion.  We should replace all fireworks shows with these.

At the end of the drone show, they turned on 86 lights pointed skyward into a single point and then read off the names of the victims.  To say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house is an understatement and I’m including my own.  Really very beautiful.

Tomorrow’s plan is laundry (woohoo!) and then I’m off to Montpelier, although I’m going to try to stop at one or two of the attractions I planned to visit today on the way.