Four Days In Nice

7:30:00 AM Out And About Global 7 Comments

Aww, sun! I love this picture Eliza snapped on my iPhone, it transports me back to a lazy sunny place on the beach and that is exactly what we were in the mood for this summer. And thank goodness we got it in France because as I write this post we are going on day 5 of lame weather in Germany.

From Italy our next stop was 4 days in Nice. We chose Nice because of its proximity to other beach towns and had planned to use it as a launching pad for further discovery, but once my kids planted themselves on the beach they had no desire to go anywhere else. Nice was Eliza's favorite of all the cities we stopped at. It wasn't mine, but it did offer shopping and other things to do when we tired of the beach.

We stayed in an apartment just 4 blocks from the beach. The location was very good, but with no-AC we had to keep the windows open and the street below was incredibly noisy at night. They also didn't have wi-fi which I didn't think would be a big deal, but holy cow, you forget just how much you use the internet for. Check in and out went very smoothly and the recommended bakery on the corner was every bit as good as it was claimed to be. I think we stopped in twice a day, every day. If interested in more information contact the owner at fricero@gmail.com.

The promenade along the beach is 4 miles long, perfect for running. As a matter of fact, I was impressed at how many people were out exercising. The promenade is lined with restaurants and hotels and at the east terminus is the harbor where you can arrange off shore excursions.

One beach tip: Bring water shoes and a beach chair. The beach is rocky and a bit uncomfortable and flip flops don't really cut it because they aren't stable enough when you are out in the water.

Plaza Massena--This is a cool plaza. We watched street dancers perform here and Eden enjoyed the trick fountains. We came back to the fountains two days in a row--it's clearly a popular spot with children. There are chairs and benches lining the perimeter for tired parents.

If you want to escape the crowds, head over to the old town or Vieille Ville. There you will find tasty gelato, narrow streets that will remind you of Venice and a fragrant flower market.

And one last parting tip. We had a fantastic middle eastern dinner at L'ybane. We arrived a bit early in the evening so we didn't need a reservation. The service was very attentive, the drinks looked like works of art themselves and the food was delicious. Just off the main restaurant drag on Rue de la Liberte, it is worth finding!