Post by BigRay on Jan 27, 2004 14:39:15 GMT -5
I know this is late, but one day I will get this thing up to date. Seriously.
Anyways, in my life I have only been away from home for Christmas twice. The first time was when I was in second or third grade and I went to the Philippines to spend Christmas with grandparents. That was so long ago that I barely remember it.
The second time was this past Christmas. On Dec. 23, I woke up at about 5:30am to find a good 5 inches of snow on the ground here in Prague. It was our first decent snowfall and it was beautiful. But, I had other things to do. I got dressed and got in a cab for the airport, where I was soon to be leaving the snow for the relatively warm weather of Nice, France. Later that day, my mom was also arriving in Nice where we would spend a pleasant week enjoying the French Riviera. Unfortunately, my brother was unable to come out as originally planned due to work and other restraints.
Upon arriving in Nice, I was greeted with clear blue skies (I hadn't seen the sky in weeks!) and incredibly blue water. I knew this would be a good trip. I have been to France many times, but never to the Cote d'Azur, and I was very excited to be there. As a side note, it always amazes me how people back home talk down about France and the French people, even before the war. You always hear people say the French are rude, smell bad, are crazy, and (my favorite) they don't speak English (uh, HELLO!). I have NEVER encountered this to any greater degree than any other country, including home. So if you hear this kind of nonsense, just ask the person if he/she has ever been to France. Their answer will surely tell you all you need to know about their opinion. (Sorry, I had to get it out of my system.)
Anyways, I found Nice to be delightful. Before my mom arrived I walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land and stumbled upon the Christmas market. In many places in Europe, the city organizes a market with all kinds of Christmas paraphernelia from baked goodies, to small gifts, etc. in a prominent square in town. These markets are fantastic for strolling and passing time and I was fortunate enough to visit seven or eight different ones in four countries this year, and each was unique in its own different way. I've put a Christmas Markets photo album on the web if you are interested:
community.webshots.com/user/bigrayl
Nice is cool with a good mix of things to do. There is the beautiful coastline which in winter was great for nice walks, a charming Old Town with great restaurants and architecture, parks, squares, shopping, scenic hills, monuments, etc. It's also very close to MANY other amazing places, and my mom and I did our best to reasonably see as much as possible.
On the 24th, my mom and I celebrated Christmas dinner in a great restaurant recommended by our hotel. I absolutely LOVE French food, and though Nice is not Paris, this restaurant did not disappoint. They had a fixed Christmas menu that consisted of a salad, then some foie gras, then some kind of lobster soup-like dish, then some veal for the piece de resistance. Dessert was also great, but I don't remember what it was! The meal was closed out with some nuts and biscuits.
On Christmas Day, my mom and I headed to Monte Carlo for the day. She had been there once before many years ago, and it was my first time. We had a good time going through their Christmas market (of course) and sampling all the treats like churros, crepes, and chocolate before heading up the hill to the Palace/Casino area. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people around town celebrating. I was expecting it to be pretty sedated, but it appeared to be busier than normal, which made things lively.
The next day, we hired a car with the intention of exploring a couple places across the border in Italy. Our first stop was San Remo. We arrived somewhat mid-morning on the 26th, and the town seemed pretty dead. After a short walk through the old town (and a gelato) we decided to leave. It was nice, but we didn't really stay long enough to get a feel for the city. My first impressions were that it was subdued and not as ritzy as the coastal town across the border in France, but I was happy on this day to take some pictures I felt good about--having no people around helps!
From there, we stopped in Ventimiglia, the town right on the border of France/Italy.This town was similar, but it had a big market going that day. Not a Christmas market per se, but more like a flea market that they hold once a week. I have never seen Italian leather, Gucci, and Versace being sold side by side with cheap imitations, plastic toys, and garden gnomes. We had a meal at a great little Italian restaurant on the beach before walking through the old part of town and taking pictures.
Speaking of Old Towns, all the places we went to on this trip had a well preserved historical center, with the newer part of the town growing around it. Prague is similar, and I gotten used to the concept, but one of the first things I think visitors (Americans, anyways) notice in Europe is how much older things than can be than in the US. I had a great time exploring all the different Old Towns this trip and seeing the beautiful architecture with shuttered windows and the clothes lines outside or on the balconies. Absolutely incredible.
Well, I didn't intend for this post to be so long, and now I have to go. I'll be sure to continue with the rest of it soon in Part 2.
Anyways, in my life I have only been away from home for Christmas twice. The first time was when I was in second or third grade and I went to the Philippines to spend Christmas with grandparents. That was so long ago that I barely remember it.
The second time was this past Christmas. On Dec. 23, I woke up at about 5:30am to find a good 5 inches of snow on the ground here in Prague. It was our first decent snowfall and it was beautiful. But, I had other things to do. I got dressed and got in a cab for the airport, where I was soon to be leaving the snow for the relatively warm weather of Nice, France. Later that day, my mom was also arriving in Nice where we would spend a pleasant week enjoying the French Riviera. Unfortunately, my brother was unable to come out as originally planned due to work and other restraints.
Upon arriving in Nice, I was greeted with clear blue skies (I hadn't seen the sky in weeks!) and incredibly blue water. I knew this would be a good trip. I have been to France many times, but never to the Cote d'Azur, and I was very excited to be there. As a side note, it always amazes me how people back home talk down about France and the French people, even before the war. You always hear people say the French are rude, smell bad, are crazy, and (my favorite) they don't speak English (uh, HELLO!). I have NEVER encountered this to any greater degree than any other country, including home. So if you hear this kind of nonsense, just ask the person if he/she has ever been to France. Their answer will surely tell you all you need to know about their opinion. (Sorry, I had to get it out of my system.)
Anyways, I found Nice to be delightful. Before my mom arrived I walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land and stumbled upon the Christmas market. In many places in Europe, the city organizes a market with all kinds of Christmas paraphernelia from baked goodies, to small gifts, etc. in a prominent square in town. These markets are fantastic for strolling and passing time and I was fortunate enough to visit seven or eight different ones in four countries this year, and each was unique in its own different way. I've put a Christmas Markets photo album on the web if you are interested:
community.webshots.com/user/bigrayl
Nice is cool with a good mix of things to do. There is the beautiful coastline which in winter was great for nice walks, a charming Old Town with great restaurants and architecture, parks, squares, shopping, scenic hills, monuments, etc. It's also very close to MANY other amazing places, and my mom and I did our best to reasonably see as much as possible.
On the 24th, my mom and I celebrated Christmas dinner in a great restaurant recommended by our hotel. I absolutely LOVE French food, and though Nice is not Paris, this restaurant did not disappoint. They had a fixed Christmas menu that consisted of a salad, then some foie gras, then some kind of lobster soup-like dish, then some veal for the piece de resistance. Dessert was also great, but I don't remember what it was! The meal was closed out with some nuts and biscuits.
On Christmas Day, my mom and I headed to Monte Carlo for the day. She had been there once before many years ago, and it was my first time. We had a good time going through their Christmas market (of course) and sampling all the treats like churros, crepes, and chocolate before heading up the hill to the Palace/Casino area. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people around town celebrating. I was expecting it to be pretty sedated, but it appeared to be busier than normal, which made things lively.
The next day, we hired a car with the intention of exploring a couple places across the border in Italy. Our first stop was San Remo. We arrived somewhat mid-morning on the 26th, and the town seemed pretty dead. After a short walk through the old town (and a gelato) we decided to leave. It was nice, but we didn't really stay long enough to get a feel for the city. My first impressions were that it was subdued and not as ritzy as the coastal town across the border in France, but I was happy on this day to take some pictures I felt good about--having no people around helps!
From there, we stopped in Ventimiglia, the town right on the border of France/Italy.This town was similar, but it had a big market going that day. Not a Christmas market per se, but more like a flea market that they hold once a week. I have never seen Italian leather, Gucci, and Versace being sold side by side with cheap imitations, plastic toys, and garden gnomes. We had a meal at a great little Italian restaurant on the beach before walking through the old part of town and taking pictures.
Speaking of Old Towns, all the places we went to on this trip had a well preserved historical center, with the newer part of the town growing around it. Prague is similar, and I gotten used to the concept, but one of the first things I think visitors (Americans, anyways) notice in Europe is how much older things than can be than in the US. I had a great time exploring all the different Old Towns this trip and seeing the beautiful architecture with shuttered windows and the clothes lines outside or on the balconies. Absolutely incredible.
Well, I didn't intend for this post to be so long, and now I have to go. I'll be sure to continue with the rest of it soon in Part 2.