Out and About in Nice

I am going to start this post with a little lesson in geography for those who are ignorant about the layout of France. My first two weeks in France were spent in a small town in the South of France called Cannes, home to the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is on the Mediterranen Sea. Just down the coast from Cannes is a larger city called Nice, known for centuries as a playground for rich Europeans who wanted to escape cold Northern climes during winter. Paris, where I am now, is much farther north.

My roommate and I visited Nice one day after class and a few days later, all the American students went together to visit a modern art museum and take a tour of la vielle ville, or the old city, the oldest part of Nice. Nice is very close to the French-Italian border. As such, the city is a mixture of Italian and French culture. My first visit to Nice, with just my roommate, entailed a visit to the Museum of Art and History in the Palais Massena and a quick walk around town. The bus took two hours, so we didn't have a lot of time to explore, but as the bus ride itself was nice we definitely weren't complaining. Here are some photos from the Musee de Massena.

European museums definitely aren't as well-labeled as American museums, so all I can tell you about the rooms in these pictures is that they were once the dining room of someone rich and important, probably of the family Massena.

The coronation robe of Empress Josephine WAS well-labeled, so here it is!

J and I spent a while relaxing in the gardens outside the Palais Massena. We pretty much had the gardens to ourselves and it was pleasant to sit for a while with this view:



Sometimes I get tired of running around, trying to see everything in Europe all at once, so sitting on a bench with a new friend is always appreciated.

I'm going to fast-forward a few days to our group visit in Nice. For this, we all boarded a tour bus and drove straight to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC). We had an adorable French woman as a guide, which was much appreciated because I don't know much about modern art. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

The museum itself was a work of art. From the roof, one can view much of Nice.

After the museum, I grabbed gelato with a few friends. I tried a flavor that I THINK had chile in it (?). It was good but definitely a little strange.


My new favorite artist calls himself simply Ben. He produces works such as these, and I fully intend to buy notebooks for school decorated with his little sayings.

One final image from Nice: