not so nice Nice

nice
from aix we took a train (for some reason cheaper than the bus) to nice during which it began to rain. by the time we got to nice it was pouring (see fig. 1). we got out and after a quick stop at the tourist office (extremely helpful!) and an internet cafe, happened upon a nearby hostel. we got a 'suite' with a kitchenette for 17€/night, which we thought was decent. against our better judgment, we decided to go out and attempt to explore the city despite the rain. we walked all the way down to the water and back only to discover that even the french riviera doesn't look great when it's dark and rainy.

back at the hostel our struggles with cooking continued. we discovered our kitchenette had: no knives (the woman running the hostel lamented, "they always take the knives.."), many small bugs, few and sticky cooking utensils, no soap, and forgotten nutella (this we weren't too upset about). with much difficulty, including an incredibly slow stove and a brief power outage, we eventually made some delicious and very welcome soup.

the following days were spent trying to keep dry (usually in museums and wherever else we could find cover) and trying to see what we could of nice. after a day we met up with our rather miserable and sick-looking friends who did not look excited at the prospect of more rain. we got lucky one day when the sun (gasp) almost came out and we were actually able to see how pretty the water normally is. other highlights: watching a tour bus knock over a huge lamppost - it broke in about 6 places and the driver promptly came out to check the damage.. to the bus.

the other highlight, just as with the first half of the trip, was not in nice at all. we hopped on a bus to vence (for a paltry 1 euro) where we were greeted by rain and could not find a dry place to have our typical makeshift lunch. we eventually found a small park where we sat on the ground under a bridge.. but that wasn't the highlight. after our less than comfortable lunch we walked on to the matisse chapel (excuse me. the chapelle de la rosaire.. by matisse) which, at 3 euro, was the highest admission price we paid on the entirety of the trip. the chapel was small and simple - the only colors were the yellow, green and blue of the stained glass and the black lines of the paintings on the wall - but masterfully executed. we were able to listen in on what i suppose was a docent's explanation of the chapel; it seems matisse chose nearly everything in the chapel (down to the altar stone that looked like bread) and very methodically. he called it his masterpiece, and with good reason. we spent quite a while there but probably could have stayed longer and been very content. unfortunately taking pictures was (like so many things in france) interdit, so i can't post a picture, but it's worth googling.

and that was our vacation in brief. it was wonderful, we saw some beautiful things, but we were eager to get back to lyon.