I went to be fairly early last night so I knew that I'd be up early today. Who knew that early was 7:30. I was wide awake so I decided to hangout on Facebook for a bit before getting my day started. I got myself up and dressed, and was out the door by about 9:30. I knew that it would take me some time to find the bus stop that I needed to go to and find a boulangerie for breakfast. I wanted to get on the road as early as possible because I had a full day of museum visits planned. I grabbed my directions and hit the road.
I went to a boulangerie near the Picard that I passed yesterday. I got my usual baguette. The shop had a machine for coins instead of having the cashier give you change. You just put your coins in and then wait for it to make change. It was so cool! I munched on my baguette as I went to find the bus stop. It was still warm and almost gummy on the inside just like a good baguette is supposed to be. I ate the whole thing despite being full about 3/4ths of it.
For some reason google maps doesn't believe that Nice has a bus system because it refuses to give me directions for the bus. The Musée Matisse website listed which bus lines would take me to the museum, but it was up to me to find the stop. I googled the bus system and found a map. I think used the map to find the street that the line started on, and then google mapped directions there. I only had a street name, so I started looking around for a stop when I got close to the supposed area. I was lucky enough to see a bus turn down a side street right in front of me. I looked down the street and saw a bus stop, and it just happened to be the line that I wanted.
I waited for the line 15 bus, and then paid 1,50 for a ticket. I realized after sitting down that I was supposed to validate my ticket when I got on the bus. Living in Paris has made me a crook because I refused to validate my ticket even after realizing my error. I rode for free for the rest of the day. I'm almost ashamed of my behavior.
While I was on the bus I kept looking around me to see the sites. The bus is actually a great, no-stress way to see the city. We climbed higher and higher into the hills until we came to my stop "Arénes/Musée Matisse". Last night my mom had sent me an email of some places that I should check out while I'm here. One of her suggestions was seeing the archaeology museum so that I could see Roman ruins. I googled the distance between the ruins and the Matisse museum and figured out that they were one minute apart. When the bus pulled up I saw the archaeology museum first. There was no excuse for not going now. I'm always up for some Roman ruins.
The archaeology museum and the Matisse museum are located in the same park. There was the usual carousel and small snack shop, and there were tons of trees. I followed the signs to the Matisse museum and went in. The museum is free, and well worth a visit. There were a few of Matisse's personal effects along with tons of his paintings, drawings, and sculptures. There was also a photography section that documented some of Matisse's museum openings. This section was accompanied by letters written by or to Matisse. The building itself is beautiful, and the rooms had some of the best trompe l'oeil that I've seen.
The Matisse Museum
Matisse can be a hit or miss with me, but overall I really like his style. Some of his works are so amateurish that you wonder how the person who painted them ever became famous. I'm not a big fan of his sculptures, but his paintings were amazing. The paintings collection was quite varied, and included some of his still life scenes as well as his more famous colorful paintings. The collection was a great representation of his life's work. I also really appreciated seeing one of Matisse's palettes still covered in paint.
While I was looking at the collection downstairs I stumbled into the gift shop. Normally I only buy postcards from gift shops, if I go in them at all, but today I actually looked around with the intent of buying something. While I was talking to my mom yesterday so mentioned that I should buy something that I could actually use while I'm here. You only need so many souvenir cups in your life. While in the gift shop I spotted some necklaces. There were small hearts, and some were Murano glass pendants. The strings that they were on were a little too short for my liking. I was just about to leave when I spotted Murano glass rings. I was instantly sold. I've been wanting a Murano glass piece for awhile, but they were all too expensive. Murano glass is even displayed in museums and completely out of my price range. The rings were 15 euros, but beautiful. I picked out a circular ring that had a gold background and a singular, small flower off to the side. I had to have it.
I couldn't even appreciate the rest of the museum because I was too busy staring at my new ring. I slipped it onto my finger the second I got out of the museum. Beautiful. I took myself and my new ring to find the archaeology museum. On my way to find it, I passed some roman ruins that were just sitting outside in the park. There were people sitting on them and, of course, the usual runners. I took a few pictures and then went to the museum. When I got there I found the door to be locked. I could swear that it was supposed to be open. I was slightly bummed, but decied to go see the church that was in the same park.
Roman ruins
On my way to the church I stopped to take pictures of the Roman ruins outside of the museum. I can see Roman ruins a thousand times in pictures, but they will always be more fascinating in real life. It doesn't seem real that they are as old as they are. It's slightly surreal. After my pictures I walked to the church. I took a picture of the ouside, but didn't go inside because people were streaming out of it. I figured that I shouldn't push my way inside while church services were happening.
The church
I walked back to the archaeology museum, and was determined to get in. This time I pushed open the door with no problem. The museum is obviously designed for kids, and was way less fascinating due to my lack of French reading comprehension skills. Some of the objects dated to the 1st century. There were plenty of tools, columns, and a few busts to keep me busy for a bit. Part of the museum had interactive activities for children. There was a small table filled with sand where you could use a trowel to discover "artifacts". There was also a section where you could rebuilt an amphora from broken pieces. I played around for a bit and then went ouside to inspect the ruins at a closer distance. I was the only person outside, and it was nice experiencing the ruins in the silent sunshine. After a bit I went back inside to explore the downstairs area. I should have just gone back upstairs when I read the sign that said death on it. I kept going, but started to freak out when I saw several sarcophogi. I thought I saw a human skull, and literally ran out of the museum. I can't do death exhibits.
The Roman ruins
My next stop was the Musée Marc Chagall. I had written down instructions to get from the Matisse museum to the Chagall museum before I left the house. I got to the main road, and quickly became confused by my directions. I wandered around for a bit trying to figure out what to do. I decided to just wait for a bus and see if it would take me to the museum eventually. After a few minutes of waiting at the bus stop where I had been dropped off, I realized that I was sitting at the stop for the bus in the wrong direction. I crossed the street and waited for the bus to come. The area was totally quite even with cars and people passing by. It was like the soundtrack of the area was on mute. I listened to birds singing as I waited for the bus to come.
One of the buildings near the bus stop
A bus finally came and I got on. After what seemed like no time, I saw the sign for the Chagall museum. The bus flew right passed the bus stop near the museum and continued down the steep hill. I pressed the button to demand a stop and hopped off at the next stop. If I had just wandered a bit further I could have found it on my own. Oh well. I power walked back up the huge hill and got to the museum. I had read online that it would cost me eight euros to go. Living in Paris has really spoiled me because I no longer feel the need to pay for museums. When I got to the ticket counter, I asked the woman if there was a student ticket. She said yes, and then asked for my age. She then asked for a dcoument that would prove my age. I handed her my student card, which doesn't have an age on it, and she told me that entrance was free for students. Score!
I've never been much of a Chagall fan, and I'm especially not now due to what he did to the Opéra ceiling. I figured that I'd look around for a bit and then leave. I still think his paintings are too busy, but there were some that were very beautiful. I liked his use of color. I was surprised that a lot of his paintings were religious. I didn't think that the Opéra killer was a religious painter. I really appreciated that there was a film about Chagall. It has alternate showings in French and then English. I was there when a French version was on. I stayed for a bit, and had to tear myself away because the film was fascinating; too bad I had other things to do with my day. At the end of the museum there was a large glass window that looked out into a weater feature. On the way behind the pond was a mosaic by Chagall. It was a new side of the artist that I hadn't seen before and really appreciated.
By this point I was pretty tired so I got on the bus to go home. I got off the bus in front of the post office, but to my dismay I found out that it was closed. I had missed it by an hour. I walked home kinda bummed out that I would miss the chance to mail postcards from Nice. When I got to my hotel I asked the woman at the front desk if she knew where I could buy stamps. She told me to try a tabac on the promenade, but that most places would be closed because it's a holiday. I came back to my room to take a break before heading out again.
I googled more places to go, and decided on going to see the Opéra. Before going to find the Opéra I went to the train station to buy my ticket to Monaco for tomorrow. I went to a ticket machine and tried to followed the prompts that were all in French. I hope I bought the right ticket. A round trip ticket was only 5,80. Seems too cheap to be true. I checked the board before leaving the station, and found out that trains to Monaco happen fairly frequently. I'll leave early tomorrow so I can spend the day there.
I left the train station and headed to the promenade. The directions to the Opéra seemed easy enough. Everyone and their mother was out on the Promenade de Anglais today. I hurried along the street to find my newest attraction. I got distracted when I saw a small tourist shop on my lefthand side. I went down to investigate. I looked around for a bit, and then went up the street. I went into another tourist shop and bought a bar of honey scented soap for mom. I went further up the street to a plaza area. There was a big fountain of a nacked person surrounded by bronze horse sculptures. There was a park with mist filling its entrance on one side, and an area with a series of water jets on the other. I took a few pictures and continued on my hunt. I never found the Opéra, but I did find the actual flower market. I also saw an area with old book, poster, and postcard vendors. I looked around for a bit before walking to the beach. The sun was starting to set, and I sat on the edge of the beach to watch life go by. It was amazingly beautiful. The old city was so picturesque beneath the blue sky. The area that I chose had a patch of sand contained within a square of wooden planks. Actual sand on the beach! I watched as parents completely disrobed their children as they packed up to leave. In the states you'd be arrested for that kind of behavior.
It is called the Promenade de Anglais
A square
A square with water jets
The beach at sunset
After a man sat right next to me I got up and started back for home. I went back into the area with shops. Still no Opéra, but I did find a church tucked into the row of shops. I took a picture and then kept walking. While finding my way back to the promenade, I just so happened to find a tabac. This one actually sold stamps! I bought four world stamps and then went back to my hotel. I stopped at the mailbox outside the hotel and sent my postcards.
It was only a few minutes until five so I messed around on the internet before starting to write some more of my pop paper. By a few minutes after six I decied to get dinner. The other fast food place near my hotel was closed today so I hiked up to the train station to another restaurant that I had passed while leaving the train station. My first attempt at ordering a tandoori chicken sandwich with fries was a failure, but I succeeded on the second trie. I waited for my food to be made and then came back to the hotel for dinner. This dinner wasn't as delicious as last night's hamburger, but it was huge and filling and was on a really good baguette.
I finished dinner and then struggled to write a page of my histories paper. Now it's time for bed. I'm exhausted.
No comments:
Post a Comment