Nice, Monaco, et Èze
Several weekends ago (wow, does time fly by, here), IAU went on an all-school excursion to Nice, Monaco, and Èze. A brief geography lesson (because honestly, I didn’t know where those three cities were in relation to each other until this trip):
Nice's Promenade des Anglais, as seen from la Château
As you can see, Aix is an inland city just north of Marseille.
NICE
Nice is a French city further along the coast of the Mediterranean, east of Cannes. The oldest part of the city, along the shore, is known as la Vieille Ville—the Old City. This part was founded by the Greeks to mark their victory over the competing tribes of Gaul (ancient France). That’s why the city has the name it does: it's named after Nike, Nikaia, the Greek goddess of victory.
NICE
Nice is a French city further along the coast of the Mediterranean, east of Cannes. The oldest part of the city, along the shore, is known as la Vieille Ville—the Old City. This part was founded by the Greeks to mark their victory over the competing tribes of Gaul (ancient France). That’s why the city has the name it does: it's named after Nike, Nikaia, the Greek goddess of victory.
Street in la Vieille Ville
There are Greek ruins here, but the interior of the Old City now is mostly medieval, with narrow streets and yellow buildings like in Aix. On our visit, we entered in just one of the medieval buildings, a palace-turned-museum that houses hundreds of obscure old-fashioned musical instruments, like walking sticks that are also violins and a harp with a piano keyboard on the opposite side. You would never know it from the outside of the house, but there’s a narrow courtyard that opens up to the sky right in the middle of the house! It was built to keep the air moving, as it gets quite hot in summers due to Nice’s Mediterranean climate.
We also hiked up the long staircase to the lookout known as le Château; there’s no longer a castle there, but there is a waterfall and an excellent view of the crescent where the city meets the water. The beach itself here is covered in gray pebbles, but there’s a broad walkway known as la Promenade des Anglais, as Nice was one of the prime vacation spots for wealthy English people in the 18th and 19th centuries. The hotels and houses along the water are all in delicate pastels, pink, powder blue, seafoam green, yellow, and orange.
We also hiked up the long staircase to the lookout known as le Château; there’s no longer a castle there, but there is a waterfall and an excellent view of the crescent where the city meets the water. The beach itself here is covered in gray pebbles, but there’s a broad walkway known as la Promenade des Anglais, as Nice was one of the prime vacation spots for wealthy English people in the 18th and 19th centuries. The hotels and houses along the water are all in delicate pastels, pink, powder blue, seafoam green, yellow, and orange.
Tasting socca with friends.
Foods Nice is known for: la salade Niçoise, which features onions, olives, red peppers, radishes, tomatoes, tuna, and anchovies. I tried it without tuna and anchovies, which may sully the name of la salade, but I’m not a fan of les fruits du mer (seafood), and I maintain that it was delicious even so! Other food specialties: candied fruits, sugared almonds, and socca—made kind of like a crêpe, but salty and potatoey, like the Niçoise version of chips.
But maybe most of all, Nice is known for its parade during la Fête de Carnivale! We weren’t there for the parade on this trip, but we returned a couple weeks later to partake in the festivities.
But maybe most of all, Nice is known for its parade during la Fête de Carnivale! We weren’t there for the parade on this trip, but we returned a couple weeks later to partake in the festivities.
The principality of Monaco
MONACO
Monaco is actually not part of France, but its very own principality (city-state) that occupies less than a single square mile, surrounded by France on three sides and the ocean on the fourth. Its government is a constitutional monarchy, and it has been under the control of the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when, according to legend, Francisco Grimaldi disguised himself as a monk and captured the fortress atop with a small band of men at his command. We visited the fortress/palace there long enough to witness a small changing of the guards ceremony, then lounged around in the lush greenery of the royal gardens overlooking the sea.
Monaco is actually not part of France, but its very own principality (city-state) that occupies less than a single square mile, surrounded by France on three sides and the ocean on the fourth. Its government is a constitutional monarchy, and it has been under the control of the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when, according to legend, Francisco Grimaldi disguised himself as a monk and captured the fortress atop with a small band of men at his command. We visited the fortress/palace there long enough to witness a small changing of the guards ceremony, then lounged around in the lush greenery of the royal gardens overlooking the sea.
Palace of Monaco
It was a perfect day, the water an exquisite aquamarine and the sunlight blinding as it reflected off the white walls of the city. Like you see in postcards; you don’t think places like that exist in real life—surely the photos of them must be photoshopped!—but that afternoon was proof that they do. My friends and I also stopped into the Cathedral of Monaco, where the American actress and a Princess of Monaco by marriage, Grace Kelly, lies buried.
Monte Carlo casino
In the evening, IAU’s students headed to the famous Monte Carlo casino. The gardens there are impressive, too, but the inside of the casino was not what I had imagined. As members of the general public, and not in possession of fortunes to gamble away, we were only granted access to the three main rooms of the casino, which contain a few rows of unexceptional slot machines, a bar, and four tables for blackjack, poker, and such. The casino is a major part of the economy in Monaco, but most of the big money is passed around behind closed doors. The décor is extravagant, I will grant you that; every surface shines with marble, glass, crystal, satin, gold. The gentle murmur of card players mid-game and the sharp sound of cards shuffling are muted by the thick rugs that cover the floors. I played the slot machines the littlest bit; I won a Euro!—and then lost three, and stopped. A couple friends of mine won 10 Euros each at blackjack, which was cool. But I think I’ll stick to spending my money on guaranteed purchases, in general.
Fun fact: according to one of our tour guides, Monaco is literally the cleanest, wealthiest city in the world. There are more millionaires and billionaires living there than anyplace else in the world (largely due to certain tax exemptions, which are so worthwhile to these people that they actually give up their citizenships to other nations in order to live there; Monaco insists on its residents being citizens). That’s a different world from the one I live in, but the city certainly was clean.
Fun fact: according to one of our tour guides, Monaco is literally the cleanest, wealthiest city in the world. There are more millionaires and billionaires living there than anyplace else in the world (largely due to certain tax exemptions, which are so worthwhile to these people that they actually give up their citizenships to other nations in order to live there; Monaco insists on its residents being citizens). That’s a different world from the one I live in, but the city certainly was clean.
Parfumerie Fragonard
ÈZE
Èze is a tiny little town perched atop a cliff between Monaco and Nice. We hit it on our way back west towards Aix. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it up to the oldest part of the city. Instead, I opted for a tour of the famous Fragonard perfume factory! I saw the machinery used to reduce tons of flower petals down to their essences, which are used to make both perfume (the stuff that comes in tiny bottles and that you dab on your wrists and neck) and eau de toilette (the less potent scents that come in actual spray bottles). According to our guide, the south of France is THE prime area of the world for perfume manufacturing; almost all of the world’s mostly highly-trained and sensitive “noses” live in this area, and the climate is perfect for raising the massive amounts of flowers required by the perfume industry. As Emeril Lagasse says on his cooking show, I wish someone had invented Smell-O-Vision, so I could capture the perfume experience for you here, as well. (Bam! That would kick this blog up a notch!) But we got to try our turns at identifying individual scents: lemon, strawberry, chocolate, rose, mint. And then we tried the scents Fragonard actually sells, which are combinations of scents boasting luxurious names like Etoile (star), Belle Chérie (basically "sweetheart"), and Diamant (diamond).
Èze is a tiny little town perched atop a cliff between Monaco and Nice. We hit it on our way back west towards Aix. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it up to the oldest part of the city. Instead, I opted for a tour of the famous Fragonard perfume factory! I saw the machinery used to reduce tons of flower petals down to their essences, which are used to make both perfume (the stuff that comes in tiny bottles and that you dab on your wrists and neck) and eau de toilette (the less potent scents that come in actual spray bottles). According to our guide, the south of France is THE prime area of the world for perfume manufacturing; almost all of the world’s mostly highly-trained and sensitive “noses” live in this area, and the climate is perfect for raising the massive amounts of flowers required by the perfume industry. As Emeril Lagasse says on his cooking show, I wish someone had invented Smell-O-Vision, so I could capture the perfume experience for you here, as well. (Bam! That would kick this blog up a notch!) But we got to try our turns at identifying individual scents: lemon, strawberry, chocolate, rose, mint. And then we tried the scents Fragonard actually sells, which are combinations of scents boasting luxurious names like Etoile (star), Belle Chérie (basically "sweetheart"), and Diamant (diamond).