Nice and the Bay of Angels

A stop in Nice; we climb the hill for an overall view and to hear a bit of the history of the city, set along the splendid Bay of Angels. We go to visit the Russian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, with its exteriors recently restored, and then a stroll through the centre near Place Massena, surrounded by period buildings and crossed by the electric tram which, for us from Padua, is by now a familiar presence, though sometimes intrusive. Characteristic, in the middle of the square, are street lamps depicting seated men; in the evening they light up in various colours. We visit the cathedral of Santa Reparata. Wandering through the centre, the beautiful sweet shop, with its biscuits all lined up.

We then go up by coach into the northern district, Cimiez, one of the most elegant in the city, where a lovely public park encloses an explosion of colours and scents, roses and flowers as far as the eye can see. A visit to the monastery of Notre Dame de l'Assumption, or church of Cimiez, a former Franciscan monastery. Then heavy traffic along the Promenade des Anglais, which we drive along by coach. We reach the hotel (the Park Inn) near the airport, therefore far from the city; the room is excellent and very spacious, as is dinner in the hotel restaurant.