I want to start off this post by showing some pictures of Nice! I realized that I haven't really taken pictures of what I see most days... So below are two pictures taken from Place Massena - one of the biggest open areas here. The first photo is looking north - just past the fountain is Avenue Jean Medecin. Jean Medecin is one of the main streets in Nice and the tram way runs all the way up this street. The second photo is looking east towards "Old Nice".
Last weekend (Sept 17,18,19) was the Patrimonie weekend here in Nice (and all over France actually). Patrimonie is loosely translated as "heritage". This means that last weekend all of the museums in Nice were free and there were tons of free concerts, heritage events, and conferences to teach tourists and locals about Nice's heritage. Friday night I attended an organ concert at one of the largest cathedrals in Nice. On Saturday I walked through the Musée Matisse. I never knew much about Matisse before going to the museum but fell in love with his work. He used hundreds of different mediums and techniques and I especially liked his collages. The museum was set up almost chronologically and so I could follow his transition from starting as a museum-trained, dark, unoriginal painter to experimenting with color and texture to really finding his own style.
Sunday morning I went to the Eglise Saint Croix which is located in Old Nice and is NEVER open. The church is in desperate need of major repairs and is covered by huge tarps as they wait for money to start work. Inside the paint is peeling and faded, the walls are crumbling, and everything is covered by a thick layer of dust. Despite all of this Eglise Saint Croix is the most beautiful church I have ever been in. The church was opened on Sunday morning for an a cappella concert. The group was made up of 3 men and 2 women who sang exclusively in Niçois - the true language of the city. Everything about the morning was spectacular.
Next I headed to Musée Massena. This museum is housed in a former villa right along Promenade Anglais. I loved the old posters advertising Nice as a destination for the winter months. Many doctors from northern Europe in the 19th and 20th century advised their patients to go to Nice (and really anywhere on the Cote d'Azur) so that the sun could cure any sickness that they might have.
Monday morning after my Musicology of Baroque and Renaissance, Heather (the other Wheaton student in Nice) and I took a train to Saint-Raphael - a small town just west of Cannes. I was intrigued by the town's website - which promised mountain hiking and tons of sporty, outdoor activities. The website lied. The hiking that they advertised was actually closer to Nice. Oh well. Monday evening we walked around Saint Raphael and the quiet neighboring town of Fréjus.
While walking along the boat dock in Saint Raphael we saw a map of the area - and a hiking path that followed the coastline all the way to Agay - a few towns over. Heather and I were looking for something adventurous and the next morning, without really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we set off on our hike.
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| the very left corner of the map is Saint Raphael and the bay on the right is Agay |
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| Ile d'Or (Island of Gold) |
The path was clearly marked in some places and completely lost in others...we had to jump a wall and were clearly trespassing on private property more than once. We made our way along the coast climbing up and down rocks and dodging waves as we inched along walls. The coastline was absolutely gorgeous - red rocks were contrasted by clear turquoise water. We got a few weird looks from French beach-goers as we trudged along the beaches sweating and carrying big backpacks. When we finally reached Agay we collapsed on the beach and slept for an hour. We ate at a restaurant and explained to the owner/waiter what we had just done. He looked at us like we were nuts and told us that we had just hiked 12km - about 7.5 miles. I slept really well that night.
Wednesday morning I was back to school and had my second Art History course. This class is one of the Sweet Briar College courses - but is still taught exclusively in French. We spent the morning discussing architecture in Nice and walked around for a little bit. Our professor showed us apartments and other buildings that were built in the 1920's - 50's when architecture changed drastically in Nice because of the war. The once wealthy were forced to abandon their grand villas and many were replaced with high-rise modern apartment buildings. Some (definitely not all) of the modern apartment buildings are spectacular and have strong art deco influences. We had the opportunity to walk into one such building which had a grand foyer similar to a hotel, a giant modern stained glass window, and (my favorite part ) a wide snail-like staircase that crept along 4 giant pillars that reached all the way to the ceiling - 8 stories high.
Next we went to Musée des Beaux-Arts - another museum housed in a former villa. This museum has a wide variety of works both modern and old including Rodin's marble sculpture,"Le Baiser".
Wednesday night I attended my first opera. One of my host mom's choir groups performed the opera of Napoleon III which was written specifically for this year - which is the 150th year the Nice has been a part of France. I was really impressed by the soloists who were singing and acting simultaneously.
Thursday there was another strike but none of my classes were cancelled this time. Getting from one side of the city to another without public transportation took a very long time - I really rely on the tram and bus systems now. While walking through Place Massena I saw the beginnings of a demonstration but nothing seemed riot-like or out of hand. This weeks strike was held for the same reasons as the last one - but nothing seems to be changing the government's decision to raise the retirement age.
Thursday night I went to my first indoor soccer club meeting - "Foot Féminin" as they call it here. This club meets just once per week but I'm just happy to be playing a little bit of soccer while I'm here :)
After my Musicology of Romantism class on Friday morning I ran into my professor at the Boulangerie near my house. She invited me to a practice of her choir/orchestra group who is performing tonight (Saturday) at the Cathedral d'Antibes. I was completely blown away last night, even though it was just the practice. I was one of only 5 audience member and felt like I was attending my own private concert. They perfomed Bach's Oratorio de Pâques and Mendelssohn's "Psalm No.42 Wie der Hirsch schreit". Both were extremely beautiful. Both the choir and the orchestra were made up of about 40 people. I couldn't believe my chance encounter at the Boulangerie turned into such an amazing experience. My professor told me that the actual concert will be even more spectacular because the acoustics in the cathedral are far better than in the practice room. Unfortunately I cannot attend tonight's concert in Antibes because a) it's completely sold out and b) I have a flight early tomorrow morning to Paris!
I will spend the next three days traveling to Paris, Zurich, and Geneva to represent Wheaton at college fairs. I'm very excited to visit Paris and explore 2 cities that I've never seen even if I only get to stay in each place for 20 hours! Hopefully I can convince some European students to apply to Wheaton, too!
À bientôt!
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