Nice Day

Headed to the eastern fringes of Nice today. Passed a spectacular bakery and hit real estate agents advertising villas where the elite, meet.

Check out that mirror glaze. Yowza. And hey, anyone in for a 39 Euro fig tart?

Let me get this straight: 7 million is public, and the rest are price upon request?

First stop the Terra Amata, site of a dig which found human remains (dental fragments) from 400,000 years ago. As museums go, it was a bit dull, but it was a nice juxtaposition to the Roman ruins yesterday.

Early European hominid skulls: Left, Greek. Right, French. That thing in the middle? English. Go figure.

“Stone cutters made them from stones/Chosen specifically for you and I/Who will live inside/The mountaineers gathered timber/piled high/In which to take along/Driving many miles, knowing they’d get here” Yeah, I never understood that song…

From there, along the harbour further east. The weather report was: Cloudy, windy, rainy, cool. Not to call meteorologists as flaky as economists, but, you know, I guess it was cloudy. Maybe the temperature was only 20 or so, but the humidity was sky high. And not a whisper of a breeze, even standing at water’s edge. Plenty of people were swimming, none in wet suits.

Next stop the grotto of Lazaret, a huge cave which has been excavated and now, for the public along a catwalk, shows remnants of ancient animal (deer, panther, elephant, auroch) and human remains from the middle paleolithic. The tour ends with a light show, depicting the rise and fall of sea levels, animals, humans and most recently archaeologists. Weird. And interesting.

Unlike Johnny, Mike Douglas sat on the left

Following the excursion in a cave, I walked about an hour along the seaside promenade, and checked out a few antique markets en route to the centre. Getting peckish, and really craving something light and fresh, I stopped at an extremely popular spot for a salad. It came with prosciutto, Parmesan and a huge hunk of burrata. Oh, and two tablespoons of arugula along with four cherry tomatoes. Light.

After lunch, deep west for the Russian orthodox cathedral of St. Nicholas. Tsar Nicholas II enjoyed the temperate climate on the Cote d’Azur; it made sense to subsidize a church with a St. Basil’s-ish theme for when the fam was in town.

In the crypt they had religious relics side by side with Tsarist trivia, including a DVD of Katia.

No matter who wins, have the anthem ready

Curd Jurgens fun fact: He was in the David Bowie bomb Just a Gigolo. Just a Gigolo fun fact: It was Marlene Dietrich’s last movie. Just a Gigolo fun fact: It was directed by David Hemmings! Who also starred in it!! Just a Gigolo fun fact: The 1920s song Just a Gigolo was covered by David Lee Roth. OK, enough with the Just a Gigolo stuff.

Following that, uphill, again, to the museum of beaux-arts. It was, how can I put it? um, as dreary as beaux-arts get. Some decent Rodin, Cassatt, and one Monet, but, in general, a weirdly curated hodge-podge. I mean not as bad as that stinker Just a Gigolo, but…

Beaux Arts Ugh. Just… just not my thing at all. When I see this I think of how Andy Murray doesn’t use the downstairs toilet because his wife, she, how can I put it? She made some poor choices with the wallpaper

She was cast in the Meaning of Life and helped chase Arthur Jarrett to his death

After that, downhill to the centre, the Massena museum. Housed in a belle epoque mansion, it was bequeathed to the city by the Duke of Rivoli in lieu of death taxes. There’s a lovely public garden, and the interiors are resplendent in garish exuberance. The top floor had a hugely engaging show focused on the history of Nice with one wall in each room a magnificent wide angled enormous drone shot that looked like super Panavision.