After having breakfast, we were determined to get that turquoise blue coastline picture. So, we climbed up the Chateau de Nice. I think we cheated by going up the lift instead of the stairs. We managed to stop by the Flower Market and bought a bucket of big, fat strawberries – leather goods stall not open today.

 

Nice Flower Market

There are some Roman ruins up here in the Chateau. Some preservation works are still on going. We went to a lookout point addressing the Port of Nice. The sky was cloudy – our hearts sank. We still took the coastline photo eventhough it was cloudy. We waited for a long time for some sunshine with no avail. When I and CB ate our strawberries, rain started to pour down. No. Just No.

After 5 minutes, we decided to go down from the Chateau. We passed through the Nice Memorial just at the hill’s foot dedicated for those who lost their lives in WWI and WWII. We walked along the port and board the boat to the city center. We went to a Kebab store near the church for lunch. It was the BEST kebab I have ever eaten in Europe! It is small restaurant.

While eating, it was raining heavily and then we heard a strange sound. When we looked outside, it was a hailstorm a.k.a hujan batu.memang hujan ais batu! We asked the store owner and they, too haven’t experience this before, better yet Nice has never rain heavy like this. Since in Paris, we have been in love with a kebab sauce named Algerian. Everywhere we go, we will pack this up.

On the evening, we went on a shopping spree. I and Su walked to every mall and every store including our neighbor – La Fayette. We went to Longchamp so I can buy some bags to bring home – 1 for my mum and 1 for my friend. While in La Fayette, I spotted a beautiful Michael Kors bag and went on to asked if they have a store in Nice. They do!

We ask for direction, and went to the boutique. I bought a canary yellow Sutton Bag, fresh for the Summer 2014 collection. Su bought 1 handbag too. Let’s face it.. Goods in Europe are cheaper than in Malaysia. All stores prepare our VAT slips for tax redemption.

CB bought some nougats at one of the shopping mall. Okay, nougats are famous in Australia. I have to say, Nice’s nougats are much better. It is softer and tastes better. On our way back to the hotel, we say that the tram line was flooded. Hmm, Nice never had those heavy rainfall I guess.

Today, we will do a full day tour covering Eze Village and Monaco. At first we thought we’re going to separate these two but since Monaco is just along the way, we figured it would be best just to combine the two.

From our hotel, we took the tram and we took a bus from the central bus station to go to Eze Village. Eze Village is an old, medieval village located on top of the hill. It took about 30-45 minutes to reach there from Nice. I wonder which one of these properties located on the cliff belongs to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Eze Village was actually a located at the border of France and Monaco. When you walked in the village, you will feel like you are in some kind of medieval movie set. All buildings were made by limestone including its path way. Eze village existed around the 3^rd century but the preservation is good. It was a bit chilly up here because of the wind.

We had our lunch at a local Italian just before Eze Village’s entrance. As usual, we ordered some Margharitte or Salmon Pizza. I went for the 4 Cheese Pizza. Like I mentioned, there is no sharing policy, so yeah everyone take home some leftovers from lunch.

We then went to the famous perfumerie just 100 m from Eze Village called Fragonard. Fragonard in Eze serves as a manufacturing site and a museum. It includes display of old distillation column and they have a free personal guide. We went on the free tour and learned about the process of making perfumes. They used tonnes of flowers from all around the world- including Malaysia!

They make the bar soaps by hand. Here, they sold 100% perfume extract, means it has no water content. Parfums contents no water, Eau d Parfums contains some water and Eau d Toilette contains most water. People get confused thinking EDP is perfume, where it is not. The word “Eau” means water in French. Storing method also is different. Perfumes are stored in aluminium case to avoid degradation. While EDP and EDT are in glass.

We were taken to the gallery where we have some session for picking out perfumes. The price for Fragonard perfumes not EDP not EDT:

15 ml   - Euro 27

30 ml   - Euro 39

60 ml   -Euro 57

120 ml –Euro 85

I bought two 15 ml Perfumes called Frivole and Diamant. Su, CB and Dila also bought one perfume each and they bought some lotion too. The perfumes last all day. Betul, tak tipi.

We then continue our journey to Monaco via bus. We stopped at the tourist information center and walked from there. We were in luck because when we went there, they are helding the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. So, roads are closed, tracks are laid and there are a lot of merchandise.

We went to the world-famous casino, Monte Carlo. There is a gold Ferrari and many other Ferraris lining up outside. Monaco is small, so it is possible to walk from one place to another. We then went to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. It is an uphill climb. We bought some souvenirs here (Bought the 2014 F1 GP T-shirt) and there is a lookout point where you can see the Monaco Port full of yachts.

Kitorang asik teringat cerita Madagascar je yang ada scene dekat Monaco. Animal hunter yang dari France kejar diorang masuk casino semua tu.

Well, since the Grand Prix is here, roads were closed and it was congested. Traffic was so unforgiving. The bus ride back to Nice was the longest ride I have ever been. Patah kaki masing2 berjalan.

Today, we travelled back to France, this time to Nice. We checked out at 10 pm, return the rental and board the 2 pm flight to Nice. Nice is a famous city at the French Riviera, casually called Cote d'Azur.

On board the flight, we can already see the turquoise blue water below greeting us at the Cote d Azur. We boarded the city bus towards the city center. Because the sun shines brightly that day, we managed to witness the bright turquoise water of Nice prior to Landing.

Arriving at the airport, we choose to take a bus towards the city centre. Bus dropped us at a bus stand near the boardwalk and we proceed to the hotel by walking – we should take the tram instead with the huge bags we are carrying. The tram line Massena was 20 meters from our hotel. * I did mentioned in the previous post that our hotel is located next to La Fayette*. While in the bus, there was this one elderly couple that still acts lovingly and romantic towards each other. I heard that this is their dream destination. Somehow, my heart was touched by that sentiment.

This hotel was managed by a friendly alderman called mr Ahmed. He was so friendly and kind. He never fails to greet us and to make ourselves feel home. Settling in, we went to have a walk at the beach. By then, it was cloudy so, no turquoise blue sea for us L . We met a Malay Singaporean couple who is walking next to us. We talked a lot about our destination. The couple, whose wife worked with Hyatt (therefore entitled free stays at Hyatt hotels worldwide) came to Europe to explore. They have been to Europe for number of times.

We took a tour to Nice Old City. Went through the building and we found the Flowers Market at the square. They sell a lot of things here, not just flowers. The square was filled with seafood restaurant where you can smell the fragrant of baked seafood. Me and Su went to a small stall selling small leather goods. We bought it. It costs me Euro 35 for my small handbag (which I still wear until now, a year plus). In the bag was stitched a label saying “Made in Nice, France”. I love locally-made items- that is souvenir. Label tu yang mahal dan itulah yang Nadia suka. Beli barang made locally.

The streets of Nice

We went around and managed to browse in La Fayette before it closes. In Nice, shops closed very early, around 6 p.m. So if you have some shopping, please coordinate. We did a lot of shopping in Nice - all the shopping that is.

Me and Su got lost in Nice that night. We want to go back to the leather goods stall at the flower market. We get confused and ended up getting lost. Frustrated, we went back to the hotel.