Saturday February 18 was cloudy and felt cool, even though the high was 14C. The sun makes all the difference. Our late morning activity involved going to a small fish market in one of the squares about a 10 minute walk away and then going to the Cours Selaya Market which we visited as part of the Free Tour.
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| The wonderful cheese shop at the end of our street |
We stopped to get a baguette at a nearby boulangerie. Lovely store and great looking breads and pastries.
Prices are always low for this staple of French Life. 1.30 euros for a baguette traditional. One bakery near us in Toronto just raised their price to $5.00 due to an increase in flour prices.
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| Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Artisanale- Francis Lefèvre -La Capeline |
We walked by the Cathédrale Sainte Réparate which we had passed on our Free Tour. The doors were open so we walked in. The construction of the main part of the current cathedral's body started in 1650 and finished in 1685. Further construction continued after its consecration in 1699, with new structures and decorative elements added to the cathedral until 1949.
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| Inside the Cathedral |
We bought some dorade and cod at one of the three fish stalls in a small square north of our apartment (forgot to take a photo). Then we headed south towards the water and the Cours Seyala Market.
We came across a spice purveyor who also had a lot of different teas for sale. The quality and choice of spices was fabulous. We bought some herbes de Provence.
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| Some of the best bulk herbs I have ever seen- beautifully displayed as well |
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| Lots of wonderful teas |
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| Herbes de Provence |
We had to get some artichokes-- we never seem to find decent ones at home.
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| Artichokes in all sizes |
We went back to the apartment with our purchases and had lunch. Baguette, fabulous brebis (sheep cheese) from the cheese shop near us; tomatoes; radishes (the smaller ones) and some of the fruit jelly bar for dessert.
We then headed out for a walk. We passed more Carnaval sculptiures.
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| Snake along the way |
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| An afternoon Carnaval event-- closed off for ticket holders only |
We then walked down Promenade des Anglais.
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| Apple sculpture in front of a hotel |
We had wanted to stop in at the very famous Hotel Negresco, as Julia, our Free Tour guide had said that the Hotel had a very extensive art collection. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the door saying that entrance was only for Hotel guests and those visiting their restaurants.
The Hotel was named after Henri Negresco (1868-1920). It opened in 1913. It was converted to a hospital during WWI and went into financial decline. It was seized by creditors and sold to a Belgian company. In 1957, it was sold to the Augier family. Madame Jeanne Augier reinvigorated the hotel with luxurious furnishings and the art collection. The fifth floor is for "VIPs". In the wake of the 2016 Nice truck attack, the hotel's main hall was used to triage the wounded.
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| Outside of the Negresco |
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| Trumpet player |
We walked a bit more and found a plaque outside the Hotel Cronstadt honouring Angelo Donati (1885-1960) who lived there from 1940-1943. Donati came from a prominent Jewish family in Modena, Italy. He is famous for saving Jews from Nazi and Vichy persecution in Italian-occupied France. He was Consul General of the Republic of San Marino from 1925-32 and then president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Paris, a position he had to leave when the German troops entered the French capital. He found refuge in Nice, and began to rescue Jews, becoming a bit of a legend in Nice, which was then under Mussolini's rule. He had also devised a rescue plan to send thousands of Jews to Palestine, which was in the works when the Germans occupied Italy on September 8, 1943. The plan could not proceed and Donati had to remain in hiding for three months before taking refuge in Switzerland on October 14, 1943.
In 1945, he was invited by the Italian Government to go back to France and was appointed as the general assistant delegate of the Red Cross. He was later appointed Chargé d'Affaires of San Marino Republic in Paris. In 2016, Nice organized celebrations in his memory and unveiled the plaque which we stumbled on today.
We walked back to the apartment at sunset--- people were lining up for a Carnaval event and the lights were on at the Ferris Wheel.
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| Lights on and people lining up for seating at Carnaval event |
Alain made a fabulous dinner of cod, potatoes, tomatoes and green beans. We had a glass of a delightful Crozes-Hermitage. A relatively quiet day. On Sunday, we head to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat for our first day trip.
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