Moving Backward - Missed Nice

I realized that with all the excitement in Marseille I forgot to finish my entries for Nice. When I arrived in Nice I was not smitten with it but after three days I was in love with it. After my first day of wonderful doings, I woke on Monday and went to the health food store right around the corner from the Nice hostel, one of the French La Vie Claire stores, which had a large selection of gluten-free foods including palmiers, a favorite pastry of mine since childhood and one I was regretting not being able to eat while in France. Well I got my chance thanks to the Valpiform company and their sans-gluten mini palmiers. I also purchased bio sheep’s milk yogurt with chestnuts (delicious) .
I went in search of the Bio & Cie vegetarian and bio restaurant– see picture – and ate a large salad there for lunch later in the day. Bio & Cie is small with about 12 little tables, but was plenty busy.
I wandered through the antiques market and saw a few fun and wonderful things, but most were priced out of my range. See picture of Chantelle and notice lamp placement ☺
Then took a bus to the Chagall Museum – a MUST for any Chagall lover – and for that matter anyone. Breathtaking, huge paintings depicting scenes from the bible, as well as some of his earlier, smaller paintings are spread out through the airy and light museum dedicated to Chagall’s work. I would post the photographs that I was allowed to take, but web posting is not allowed so you will have go to Nice yourself to experience this glory.

After lunch I took a regional bus to Grasse – perfume center of the world. Grasse itself is not much to write home about. I did go to both the Molinard and Fragonard Perfume exhibits. Fragonard’s is extensive with an array of perfume artifacts dating back to ancient Egypt, the Orient, and Europe – worthwhile for any one interested in the history of scent and the origins of the perfume industry – which up until World War II was based on natural plants as the sources for perfumes.

My last day in Nice I found a larger health food store – Biocoop – another French chain of health food stores – located where the “real” people live. I bought a heart shaped mini wheel of bio sheep cheese “Coeur de Brebis Bio” to eat for lunch on the beach. On my way, I checked out the Marche de Puces – the second-hand market. This was my only real disappointment in Nice. It is in a makeshift covered building with a handful of stalls. Most of the vendors had been at the larger, outdoor antiques market on Monday – and these were not the vendors with the best stuff – to me it was overpriced and under-quality – no bargains to be had for sure.
My last hours in Nice were spent on the rocky Nice beach. The water was especially turquoise – see picture – and there were many beach worshippers enjoying the sun and water. I ate my French picnic and savored the moment. Then onto Marseille having no clue what was in store for me.