Well I stayed up listening to a Short History of Almost Everything via audiobook last night so wound up sleeping in this morning. So I slept in this morning.
Then I went on this.
although to be fair, I did it during the day. It’s about 50m high at the apex and it costs 6E which I have to say is not what I’d consider overly price (not compared to the price of a Coke in the Grand Café de Lyon.
This is what the Place Massena looks like from up there:
It will look more impressive when they get rid of the Carnaval seating, sometime next week.
After that, I took the elevator up to the top of Castle Hill. You don’t have to quote me on this but there used to be one hell of a castle up there, but it was gradually decommissioned after some peace accord or other. There is a sports zone up there that dogs are not allowed into in case they foul it up a bit. There is a cathedral that they are busily excavating. There are mosaics to die for and there are views of the Bay of Angels also worth dying for. I used to think that Nice would be kinda kitsh and touristy and frankly it probably is but you know, there’s a reason it’s popular. It’s actually a really good place to holiday.
I didn’t bother getting the elevator down so got to see the waterfall and the two cemetries.
That’s a bit of the waterfall.
For the two cemeteries, both of them hit me in different ways. When you walk into the Jewish cemetery, there are two urns on your right; one, according to an inscription, contains the ashes of four people who died in the gas chambers in Auschwitz. The inscription is a bit more blunt, in fact; it points out they were murdered. The second is particularly chilling. It says it holds soap made human fat from the concentration camps. I can’t remember the exact wording but…
That being said, when you see familiar psalms inscribed on the stones, you tend to wonder exactly what the main difference is….really.
I didn’t take any photographs in there; it felt all wrong. I’m not sure why; I don’t tend to have the same problems in Irish burial grounds for some reason. I mean I have a picture of Sean O’Riada’s gravestone somewhere taken when i was 13 and then there are all the Celtic crosses I’ve accumulated over the years. Anyway.
Next door was the Christian burial ground and that one reflects the feelings I have about France and Ireland in general. When it rains in France, it never seems quite as grim as when it rains in Ireland. I put this down to the fact that most of the stone in Ireland is grey limestone and most of the stone in France is yellow sandstone. For some reason, the graveyard in Nice is distinctly cheerier than any graveyard I’ve ever been in in Ireland, despite the fact that like all graveyards in Ireland, it’s basically full of dead people. And the most ornate monuments I’ve ever seen anywhere, including Pere Lachaise. There are some seriously wealthy people buried in there.
[I didn't see the notice about photographs until I was leaving. oh dear. Usually I see these things before I get in]
It did get me thinking though. I don’t actually want to be buried per se when I die. I find the idea a bit ick, to be honest; don’t like the idea of rotting away into nothing. I’m all for cremation and then scatterings to the four winds, preferably on a beach somewhere at the moment, given my love of the sea and for real kudos anyone doing the scattering might do it at the Pointe du Raz in Brittany. I am not sure I want to be dead for a long while yet; if only one thing I want to come back to Nice in many years’ time.
On the way down one of the locals followed me down the stairs and said he actually really wanted to get to know me. He wasn’t overly happy to hear I didn’t live in Nice and was skipping back home tomorrow. I like France. Most of the people here think I am 10 years younger than I am and evidently the red hair might have been a good idea too. I didn’t much like disappointing him either but there you have it.
From there I went down to the harbour wall where I knew from yesterday I’d find waves breaking up against the breakwaters. Today they were pretty spectacular.
Apparently this sounds like I packed an insane amount into the day.
All told I don’t think I did too badly this week between the train trip to the Alps, general wandering around the shops and the sea front yesterday and the Ferris Wheel, the gardens and the seashore again today.
I like Nice. It along with the Maori restaurant where I ate tonight and Tuesday night are back on my holiday plans. I may come in September if I have any money.
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