Confessions

I have to confess,and I already know how this makes me sound, Nice is... okay. Did I really just say that?! Can I even be allowed to think that??

Alright before I sound miserably ungrateful, let me say a few things. We are staying in by far the neatest place we've stayed on the trip. It's an old monastery and is unreal. The Chapel is a converted into a giant meeting place and restaurant. Here's the website.. they've really done a great job - http://www.vsaint.com/gallery.html.

To be blunt, I must confess- it's a shell of a city. (SORRY, sorry, sorry to Nice lovers!!) Albeit, BEAUTIFUL, but a shell none the less. The city sits along the French Riviera, which is just like all the pictures. The ocean is a baby blue, and all the trees are blooming and green. The beach is lovely as is the massive boulevard that Nice is known for. However, the character? Gone, gone, gone. Much of the old town is still there, but now it is post card shops, croc stores, mini marts, and internet shops. It seems that anyone who might resemble a local headed for the hills long ago. Anyone who is left is probably capitalizing on tourism. You will not see a little old lady that has lived there all her life, but you will see a Mercedes something class with a cosmetically enhanced 50 something and her french bulldog. The restaurants are mostly chains and or significantly over priced hoohaa that shouldn't be allowed to carry the prestigious French title. WHY WITH THE DISDAIN!? Who am I to snub my nose at Nice?!Maybe the contempt is formed from the striking similarities Nice has to Wisconsin Dells meets Door County on steroids.


We'll be taking some day trips to Cannes, Monaco, and Antibes so hopefully I will have drastically different experiences to report. Yesterday in all my post travel reveling I forgot to charge my camera so I don't have a thing to show. All snubbery aside, the air has the slightly salty oceanic smell that you can wiff for days and never tire of, the nights are warm, and the people are friendly.

For the next few days I am determined to buy expensive foods, peer into the windows of Gucci and Prada, and stop judging this city for what it's not- and start enjoying it for what it is.


And one more thing- I must confess, I'm going to do my best to convince Erik that we should go to Paris for a few days to see it in Spring- prime time! Cross your fingers for me!!