Villefranche

 We will go travelling to the city of Nice.

Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake's major religious works. ―

Nice, the fifth largest city in France, acts as a magnet attracting people from all over the world, for a multitude of reasons, Not only renowned for its grace, Nice has become a hub for research in industry, science and advanced technology since the creation of such centers as Acropolis and Sophia Antipolis. The Palais de Congres, a convention center, can accomodate diverse functions.

We had booked NICE WALKING TOUR, I am happy to report that I had a good night, felt a lot better and away we went.

We had breakfast in our room, gathered our things, made our way to the Provence dining room to wait for our turn to go to the tenders, and waited for over an hour. Finally it was our turn.

Princess changed the order of the tour so we tendered into Nice instead of Villefranche as we expected. We were transported on one of the local tenders which are always nicer than the ship's tenders. It was quite smooth and I made certain to pay attention so I was fine. The ride was very short so that was another plus.

Our bus was waiting for us and we found it and our guide right away. 

As we rode from the port to the city our guide told us about the historic buildings we were passing. I wish my memory was better, if it was I could tell you all about these beautiful structures.

We stopped at a beautiful public garden, lots of statuary , and many flower beds. There are many many rose beds. Our guide told us that they bloom in May and I can only imagine the wonderful smells and sights.

One reason for this stop, besides the beauty was the fact that there were public washrooms sort of.... There was a fee of .50 Euros and most of the passengers did not have coins with them, so we continued on.

We arrived at Rossetti Square , I think, and we were given 10 minutes to take photos inside the Cathedral Sainte Reparte. We were very mindful of the time. When we were in Cologne we lost track of time and were left behind. There were 10 magnificent side altars and I got photos of them all.

Here we did find a public wash room that gave change. At the beginning I went the wrong way and I ended up in the men's wash room, a mistake I soon corrected.

Our tour continued, at one point we went through a very upper class neighbourhood which had been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth 1. The beautiful summer home she had built, actually a palace, has now been rebuilt to be a high end apartment complex with 92 units.

We were given an hour and 20 minutes to explore the local market. It was very large and there were vendors selling almost everything you or I could imagine. So much fresh produce. The fresh strawberries were just amazing to see and smell. One small basket, maybe 2 pints was selling for 8 Euros which would be about 10 dollars Canadian.

We walked along until we found ice cream. The day was warm, bright and sunny, a perfect day for ice cream. We enjoyed our 1 small scoop (4.5 Euros each) while we people watched.

I finally decided on magnets here. I purchased 3, one for Nice, one for Marseilles, and one that says Cote d'our. 4 Euros each or 3/10 Euros. Almost the highest price I have had to pay yet and they are not the nicest. Similar ones were as low as 1 Euro.

The last square to visit was equally beautiful and it had a magnificent fountain with sculptures around. 

If you visit Place Massena, in the very heart of Nice, you will see a large fountain called the “Fontaine du Soleil”, the Sun Fountain. There are 5 bronze sculptures in the basin and in the centre stands an impressive marble Apollo. He is 7 meters (23 feet) tall and weighs in at 7 tons.

The Apollo Statue Controversy (According to Google)

Despite the symbolic nature behind the beloved Fountain, it was rather controversial when it was first placed here in 1956. According to Greek mythology, it is Apollo’s job to carry the sun across the sky on his golden chariot, pulled by four horses. Represented by the crown of horses atop Apollo’s head. However, that same year, Renault came out with a rather popular new car called the Renault 4CV or ‘4 Horsepower’. The people of Nice took one look at the 4 horses perched on Apollo’s head and speculated that it may have been an advertisement for the car. This was the first problem.

The second issue was located a little further down the nude sculpture. Some of the more conservative women of Nice thought that his manhood was created too big. Others thought it was too small but there you go. And so the artist, in an attempt to appease the masses, did the unspeakable act of taking a chisel, and cutting his poor Apollo statue down to half size. Unfortunately, the people of Nice still weren’t happy, and petitioned to have to statue removed from the main square. And so, the Fountain was dismantled and banished to the outskirts of the city where it was left forgotten. Apollo in the Nice Sports Stadium and the Roman Deities in Nice’s Water Purification Plant.

 

Or so was the case until 2007. A local journalist came across the forgotten monuments and wrote about them in the local newspapers. The Niçoise people took an interest in the sculptures and by 2011, the Fontaine du Soleil was returned to its rightful place. And so, the Apollo Statue has stood right here for all our lovely locals and tourists to ogle at and enjoy (still only at half size though).

Story according to our guide:

Our guide told us an amusing story about the statue of Apollo which is in the center. The statue was anatomically correct and the fine people of Nice decided that that was too much detail and they complained. So the city fathers decided to add a palm tree strategically place to rectify the situation. That proved to be unsatisfactory and then the service of a sculpture was requested to minimize the upsetting piece of anatomy  . That is how it stands today. 

The story from the guide is fun and Mr. Google's rendition is just as interesting. Both will stick in my mind.

This area is very beautiful, their minimum wage is 9 Euros, so it is costly to live here. One redeeming feature is the fact that all education from kindergarten to university is free for all.

We boared our bus and headed back to the port. Because of road traffic and construction we were required to walk the last little bit. It was about a 10 minute walk down winding roads. When we arrived at the port we were very impressed by how lovely it was. We could easily have spent a few hours there just enjoying the sea and the shops and the little cafes. But this had already been a busy day and it was time to return to the ship to rest. This head cold has almost run its course but I am happy to be able to rest again tomorrow when we are in Marseilles.