Twice as nice in Nice

Day 7 - Highlights of France & Barcelona

Twice as nice? Corny, but true. Arriving in Nice meant 2 nights in the same hotel, more than 2 hours of free time, and 2 days on the sea. We arrived in Nice late on Tuesday evening just in time to see the buildings in the square turn on and find a cute outdoor cafe with several of our tour group buddies to eat dinner. Wednesday was definitely my favorite day since Paris. It was so nice to be able to sleep in a little - it's bad when 7:15am is sleeping in - and be able to take our time in the morning and not have to pack up our bags. We grabbed a small breakfast, threw on sunglasses and hit the streets of Nice. 

We headed toward the Flower Market first since it was still early. The Flower Market had a little bit of everything! They had beautiful flowers, of course, huge fresh veggies, the sweetest smelling fruits, and local artists with the crafts and paintings. 

The market was only a block from the Mediterranean Sea so we just had to go see it! The water was a breathtaking blue!  Instead of sand the beach was made of smooth pebbles. Definitely have to wear sturdy shoes on this beach! The view of Nice from the beach was simply gorgeous! 

Nice is famous for their shopping so we had to check out their variety of stores. One whole street along the plaza has designer stores like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Longchamp, etc. Another street has the stores for the common people. Katie and I split and she shopped with a few other marathon shoppers from our group and I opted to pop in and out of little boutiques until it was time to grab a lunch and meet the group at the hotel. I found a cute little take a way lunch spot and picked up a tomato and basil quiche and a fruit salad. I headed up to the hotel  to eat and had some time to kill so I FaceTimed my Mom. Thank goodness for technology! Since we have had wifi in each hotel and sporadically on the bus we have been able to text, but it was great to be able to call her and see her and Roy for a few minutes...even if I did wake them up. 

Wednesday afternoon we had an optional excursion to St. Paul de Vance and Eze. I learned the optional excursions are probably the best part of the trip! We had a smaller group so it was easier to talk to different people. We drove out of Nice to a hilltop walled art village called St. Paul de Vance. It was beautiful! Patricia led us on a walking tour and pointed out boutiques and gorgeous overlook spots. The cobble streets were like walking through a living art gallery. 

We continued driving up the neighboring hill to the village of Eze. The winding roads were a little nerve wracking in a large motor coach but the views of the Mediterranean made it worth the nausea.

One of my clients absolutely loves Eze so she was really excited I would get to see it! We visited Perfumerie Fragonard where they make soaps, lotions, and cosmetics right there on site. We toured the factory and listened as the guide explained the process. Of course, the tour ended in the factory boutique where they had us smell their most popular fragrances. Some were nice and some...were not. 

We drove back up the hill to Eze to have dinner at a local restaurant. Katie and I joined the Australian family with their 2 little boys for dinner. We really enjoyed getting to know them and the parents laughed that their kids have added to their family by naturally drifting toward Katie and I, the new big sisters, and an older couple who you can tell would make the best grandparents! 

It has been really interesting to get to know the people on our tour and learn that for many of them this is 1 of several tours of their vacation. I need to start handing out my business card! The Australian family did Dubai and another Trafalgar Tour before this one and then they are going to Dublin and England before stopping in Singapore on their way home. The sweet grandparent couple did a CIE tour in Ireland before this tour and then they are doing another Trafalgar Tour after ours before catching a river cruise. Must be nice! The ride back was entertaining after the free wine at dinner. Patricia turned up her Adele cd and the bus full of people sang while the little boys danced in the aisle.