A Very Colorful Day!

Sunrise on the Harbor!

Soon after we arrived in the Nice area we went to a small local grocery store. We bought a few items so we could prepare some meals at the condo where we are staying.  It has a nice terrace and we were able to eat outside, although once the sun went down it got a little chilly.

Dinner on terrace

As we were eating we figured out that we were facing directly east and that we'd most likely be in for some nice sunrises.  I'm not sure what the rest of our time here holds as far as sunrises go, but it's going to be tough to top the one we had this morning.  If it had been anymore colorful, it would have been close to being illegal.
Around 9:30 we headed out for the day.  Our destination was the Promenade du Paillon in the Nice city center.  This is the site of what has been recognized as one of the top Carnival Celebrations in the world.  There are eleven different parades over a fifteen day period.  Some are during the day, while others are at night.  The night one's don't start until 9:00 PM, which is pretty close to bedtime for us.  Thankfully today's parade started at 2:30 in the afternoon!
This is actually the second time we've been in Nice during Carnival, although neither time was planned.  The first was a few years back when we were here for one day while on a cruise.  There were no parades that day, but we did get to see some of the floats used in the night parade. They remain staged in the area throughout the festival.  This time we realized that it was Carnival only after we had purchased our air tickets to France.
We walked the four miles from the condo in Villefranche-sur-Mer.  The first part of the walk was from high up which gave us great panoramic views of the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.  The walk then goes down a long staircase that has a couple of switchbacks thrown in just for fun, before ending up along the waterfront.  We passed the harbor where multiple, massive yachts are made to look tiny beside the superyacht Quantum Blue.  This yacht is owned by Sergey Galitsky, a billionaire from Russia who is the co-owner of the largest retail chain in Russia.  I guess this makes him the Sam Walton of Russia  His net worth is listed at over three billion dollars and the price tag on the yacht is shown as a whopping 250 million (no, that's not a typo).  I guess capitalism is alive and well in Russia!

The view from the walking path down to Villefranche-sur-Mur

The view looking down into Nice

That's a 250 million dollar yacht in the background

Just past the harbor is the Promenade des Anglais, which is an incredibly nice pedestrian path overlooking the rocky beach and sea.  The Carnival de Nice parades take place in the area where this promenade and the Promenade du Paillon intersect.

Overlooking the beach and promenade

As planned, we got there a few hours early to give us some time to look around the old town section of Nice and get a bite to eat.  It also gave us time to ride the large Ferris Wheel that is located in the parade area.  After the Ferris Wheel ride and while we were walking in old town we saw a small street food restaurant with a long line of locals.   A line and locals...........we quickly figured that was the place to eat.  Trusting our instincts paid off in a big way.  It was tasty, filling and inexpensive...…...the holy trinity of eating out!

Happiness is riding the Ferris Wheel in Nice!

Daube (stew meat) and polenta in the middle

Les Petits Farcis (vegetables stuffed with ground meat, garlic and breadcrumbs) on the left and beignets on the right.

The name of the restaurant was Lou Pilha Leva

The parade itself is held in an area with very tight security.  Unfortunately, France suffered from several very tragic terrorist attacks a few years back, and like major cities around the world they have enhanced their security efforts tremendously.
Once inside the parade grounds, and seated in one the four grandstands, the party kicked off pretty quickly.  First with pre-parade festivities that included a rotund, overzealous announcer riding around on a Segway imploring the crowd to stand, wave, sway, cheer, make heart shaped hand gestures and a variety of other things.  Next there was a troupe of young people dancing, doing acrobats and imploring the crowd to stand, wave, cheer, and sway.  To their credit, I don't remember them imploring us to make heart shaped hand gestures.

Pre-parade festivities.....in between standing, swaying, cheering, etc.

I have to confess that I've never been much of a parade guy, but I've never attended one as large and grandiose as this one.  The title of the parade was Bataille de Fluers (Battle of the Flowers).  All the floats were covered with flowers of every color imaginable.  Additionally, there were literally tons of colorful streamers and confetti being shot and thrown, by both participants and audience members.
It was really a fun hour and a half of soaking up the Carnival de Nice spirit.  The most interesting thing occurs at the end of the parade.  The floats make a second pass by the grandstands and the flowers are pulled off and thrown to the audience.  We were sitting up pretty high and some of the ushers would bring flowers up and throw them to us.  The folks sitting down low were the ones that really brought home the motherlode of flowers.  As we were leaving we saw quite a few of these people leaving with more flowers than you'd see at a wedding or funeral.

This was once a colorful float.  The flowers are being taken off and thrown to the crowd

There was plenty of sunshine left in the day, so instead of taking the bus back to the condo as we had intended ,we enjoyed a leisurely walk back, retracing our steps from earlier in the day.  We were back in time to enjoy sunset...……………….  Happy brains filled with colorful memories and tired feet ready for a rest!

A few suggestions on the parade:
You can buy tickets in advance online.  This is what we did.  There were a few empty seats in the grandstands of yesterdays parade, but it was a mid-week parade.  I think the night and weekend parades are the most popular.
There are options to buy "standing room" tickets or grandstand tickets.  The prices vary by the parade, we paid $26 euros each (approx. $30 dollars) for grandstand tickets.  The "standing room" tickets are around half as much.  Having a seat was well worth the money for us.
There are security lines but they seemed to move pretty quickly.  The screening is similar to going to a major sporting event or concert.  Scanners are used and all bags are inspected.
Although we didn't, it looked as if you can bring food and beverages into the parade grounds.  There were a few concessions inside where you could buy drinks, snacks and souvenirs.
If you want flowers, sit low, although I think you can take in all the action better from up higher.  If you want flowers and to be able to take in all the action sit high and near an aisle.
There were four grandstands to choose from when selecting seats.  We had no idea what to choose but were pleased with what we picked.  I'm assuming the names of the grandstands don't change from year to year so here's a little bit about them.
Verdun-small and completely in the shade the whole time (even on a warm day like yesterday I would imagine this grandstand would have been chilly)
Faure-small, partial shade and sun
Jaures-one of the two larger grandstands, this is where we were sitting.  It faces the sun, which was mostly appreciated but it did get a little warm.
Phoceens-the second of the larger grandstands.  The sun will be overhead and at your back.  Knowing what we know now, we'd probably pick this one.

Below is a two minute video of clips taken during the parade.  I'm probably still a few years away from winning an academy award for my film making and editing skills.

  

Wrapping up the Normandy Region

So many baguettes...…….so little time!

Yesterday was a "travel day" for us.  We left Honfleur before sunrise for the three hour drive to Paris.  The main airport (Charles de Gaulle) is located about 20 miles outside the city center on one of the many ring roads.  Getting out of and back to the airport was relatively easy.  The flight from Paris to Nice was a little over an hour.  We then took a bus (actually two buses) to a stop that is conveniently located about a ten minute walk from our Airbnb.
We're staying in Villefranche-sur-Mer which is a small community just a couple of miles outside Nice in one direction and Monaco in the other direction.  There will be plenty more on our time in this area in the days to come.  While I'm certainly no expert, here are a few tips if you're going to be visiting the Normandy region of France.
Getting there:
You can get there by plane, train, bus or auto.  We enjoyed having a car because of the flexibility it provided.  The navigating and driving was very easy thanks to the GPS on my I-phone.  Most rental cars are manual (stick shift), you'll pay extra if you want an automatic.  Gas is expensive!  It's currently around the equivalent of $5.50 a gallon.  The roads from Paris to the Normandy region were very nice multi-lane highways.  They are all toll roads.  The toll booths are not manned, you can pay with cash (the machines give change) or credit card. Paying by credit card was fast and easy.  The roads around the smaller cities in the region are very nice and easy to navigate (thanks again to the GPS).  Unlike some places I've driven around the world, drivers were courteous, although tailgating seems to be the norm.
What to do:
There is so much to do in this region of France, we just scratched the surface.  I would recommend at least one full day dedicated to the D-Day invasion sites.  If you are a real WWII history buff, you could spend an eternity visiting the sites and museums.  One nice thing that we found was that although it has been close to seventy five years since the liberation of France, the citizens of the Normandy region are very grateful for the sacrifices made by American, British and Canadian troops. This gratitude has been passed down from generation to generation and was really special to experience.
Bayeux was a nice city for us to use as a base.  It had several interesting sites (Cathedral & Tapestry), plenty of restaurants, and was a good "walking city".  The D-Day sites that we visited were all within an hour of Bayeux, with Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery being just 25 minutes away.
Mont Saint-Michel was about an hour and a half from Bayeux and is definitely worth seeing as well.  It's a full day adventure, but for us it was something we really enjoyed.  If you've followed this blog, you know we like walking and there was plenty of great walks in and around Mont Saint-Michel.  If stairs are your thing, there are plenty of those as well!
A day in Etretat is a day well spent!  Take time to hike up the cliffs and enjoy the magnificent views!
Honfleur was a really nice place to relax and enjoy.  The harbor, public gardens and walk along the River Seine are highlights.
What to eat and drink:
There are plenty of bakeries that sell freshly baked baguettes and pastries.  Restaurants tend to serve only at select times of the day.  Lunch is from approximately 11:30-2:30 and dinner from 7:00 or 8:00.  Your options are going to be limited if you're wanting a meal outside of these hours, although there will be some options near the "tourist sites".
Sandwiches are a good and economical choice, and I'd highly recommend you try the mussels (Normandy Style) and the cider.

It's called a buckwheat pancake (galette in French).  It had cheese, potatoes, onions and bacon inside.

Crepe with nutella

Lemon Tort

Check out the American (and French) Flag on this sandwich!

Mussels Normandy Style

Omlette…………..it's not just for breakfast

Our time in the Normandy region passed quickly.  It was a great place to visit and somewhere that we will definitely add to our ever expanding "visit again list".  There's so much to see, do and eat!

There was an article on the University of Florida in the Air France magazine...…….how cool is that?

Au revoir Bayeux, Bonjour Etretat et Honfleur

Honfleur at sunset

No, I'm really no more fluent in French now than I was a week ago.  It is pretty easy to figure out how to say goodbye to one city and hello to two others, especially with google translate.  Yesterday (Sunday) we left Bayeux for our next destination, Honfleur.  Along the way we stopped at the coastal town of Etretat.  This small town of less than two thousand residents is known for the tall white cliffs along both sides of the city's waterfront.
The cliffs rise close to 100 yards above the English Channel and have been the inspiration for many artists including Monet.  There are hiking trails up the cliffs that offer great views down to the city and rocky shoreline.
Etretat is a popular destination for both tourists and day trippers.  The cloudless sky, warm temperature (around 60, which is warm for here at this time of year) and the fact that it was a weekend brought out a big crowd.  Finding a place to park was a bit of a challenge and figuring out how to work the pay station for the parking was an even greater challenge.  I did feel a little bit of comfort in the fact that even those folks from France, who could read the instructions, were having a problem.  A nice attendant came over and helped me properly feed the beast and we were soon legally parked and on our way to enjoy the scenery.  We hiked along the flat boardwalk before going up to the top.  The views were magnificent and by then we had worked up a hearty appetite.  We both enjoyed huge bowls of mussels, that gave us a protein lift to hike a little more before heading back to the car.  On the way out we decided to drive to the top of the opposite cliff where there was a small chapel.  The views were equally magnificent from this cliff and as an added bonus, the parking up there is free!

Looking down on the city of Etretat from the cliff

There's free parking behind the chapel!

From Etretat to Honfleur was an easy one hour drive.  Honfleur is located at the mouth of the River Seine where water flows from Dijon, through Paris and into the English Channel (482 miles).  We arrived just as the sun was setting.  We met our Airbnb Host who gave us some very helpful suggestions for things to do in Honfleur.  Not wanting to waste any time we headed out for the city center and it's small but scenic harbor.  The water in the harbor was perfectly still which allowed Beth to take some great pictures that captured the reflection off the water.  We weren't the first to discover this, it has been the subject of paintings and pictures for centuries, including famous works by Claude Monet.

This morning we enjoyed a long walk along the bank of the River and through the public gardens which were quite nice even though nothing is blooming right now.  From there we explored the city center some more including Saint Catherine's church, which was built in the second half of the 15th century.  It is very unique because it was built by shipbuilders and is constructed of wood.  There is a separate bell tower that is also constructed of wood and the church has the distinction of being the largest timber built church in France.

Along the banks of the River Seine in Honfleur 

An old guy on a park bench in the Honfleur Public Gardens

A hot mama on a bridge in the public garden

St. Catherine's Church-Honfleur

The Bell Tower of St. Catherine Church

Honfleur basin by day

 This afternoon we took a short twenty minute drive to the twin beach communities of Deauville and Trouville.  These cities are located directly on the English Channel and have wide, sandy beaches.  We were surprised to see how busy they were on a Monday but we learned that this is winter break for many schools in France.  They were nice to explore but we soon retreated back to the friendly confines of Honfleur to enjoy a glass of the local specialty on the balcony of our apartment.  No...…….this region is not known for it's wine.  It's famous for it's fermented apple cider.  There are numerous brands ranging from dry to sweet.  We've tried four and they have all been tres bon (very good)!

The boardwalk along the Deauville Beach

Deauville Beach

Cheers!