NICE: Evening walk on Promenade des Anglais

Bonjour Everyone and Happy Easter! We had a few hours in Marseille this morning before having to get to the station to catch our train to Nice. We were looking for a place to have coffee, but everything seemed to be closed. Just down the street a few blocks, we found a Starbuck's. I haven't seen the interiors of many Starbuck's, but look at how nice this one was:

Even though the interior was decorated so nicely, we sat outside at one of the small tables. When we looked across the street, this is the building we saw. This is a typical building in Marseille:

We then walked toward Vieux Port, knowing this would be our last opportunity to see this lively plaza. We sat in the bright sunlight on a bench. This was one of the nicest mornings so far. A group of older men were laughing and talking, while lifting a boat out of the water before scraping and scouring the barnacles off of the hull.

We later passed by a man playing the accordion and singing the heart-warming old French tunes.

We went over to see the display of the morning catch of seafood. There were lots of people crowding in to see what the fishermen had brought in. The fishermen were busy chopping some heads off and throwing them in buckets. (I didn't take a picture of that);

Also, we were happy to see a large flower market once again. I couldn't resist going over for a stroll through and all the while taking in the fresh scents of flowers. It's amazing to see how many people purchase bouquets of flowers. It truly is a market! Look at the Easter lilies and colorful bouquets!

So, that ended our last morning in Marseille. We walked back to the apartment, collected our suitcases and proceeded to the St. Charles train station where we caught our train to Nice. The train station was mobbed with people. Our ride was smooth and really interesting. The train stopped in Toulon, St. Raphael, Cannes, and Antibe. We could see the Mediterranean almost the entire time. We arrived in Nice and to our apartment at 4:30 p.m. We were so happy with the apartment. It is spacious and the best one so far.

It overlooks the busy market street called Cours Saleya. There was lots of activity out there when we arrived.

There were people laughing and talking while sitting at outdoor cafes in the sun. This was so different to what we'd seen in Marseille. There's no litter to be seen, and no loud talking on cell phones everywhere! It seems really pleasant and we're going to love it. We went just out our front door to a café almost right under our window. The café was called La Cambuse. We met our waiter named "David". Of course, we love that name, (since it is the name of our youngest son). We shared a pizza, and watched the people go by. After, we went for a walk along the Promenade des Anglais. It was dusk when we first started our walk. There were sparkling lights all along the coast, and then when looking out to sea - it appeared very clear. In other areas, it was almost misty - like I couldn't tell where the sea ended and the sky began!

Pretty soon, it was dark. The air was cool, but somehow it just didn't have the same chill as the evening air in Barcelona or Marseille. There were still lots of people milling around. Many were strolling along looking for the perfect restaurant in which to have dinner. Although we have visited the city of Nice a few times, we've never actually stayed here. So, tomorrow begins our first day to explore the beauty here. Happy Easter to everyone! Karen