Day 52 - Nice, France

This morning we got up early (by our standards) to stroll through the Cours Saleya, a large square that holds Nice’s flower and produce markets. Using my rudimentary French, we succeeded in buying a variety of goods for a picnic later: two baguettes, pesto, olives, goat cheese, tomato and eggplant spread, a tomato, and two golden plums.


Because we had gotten up fairly early, we found ourselves with some extra time. We decided to break down and do some laundry since there was a Laundromat close to our hotel. This was only the second time on the trip that we had done laundry in a washing machine rather than the sink, and boy were we excited to have clean clothes.

After laundry, we ate our picnic in the Jardin Albert Ier. Our eyes were a little big at the market this morning, so we decided to save some of it for tomorrow. We wandered around Vieux Nice (old town) and tried socca, a local specialty that is kind of like a crepe, but made with chickpea flour.

We were excited to go to the beach in the afternoon, but to my chagrin, I was reminded that Nice has a smooth-rock beach (as does most of the French Riviera). Brian made it into the water, but I opted to sit in the sun to save my feet from the treacherous walk in and out.


That evening we went back to the Cours Saleya, which at night is filled with cafes serving the morning’s catch. We had a dinner of fresh oysters and fish, some more rosé, and chocolate mousse.