One of the delights of a city in hot weather is that the evenings are relatively cool and ideal for strolling and soaking up the atmosphere and in the case of Nice, the coastal views. Taking a walk along the seafront or through the old town was a regular feature and one we all enjoyed.
On our second night it was the Baruhige Day celebrations and rather impressive firework display over the bay.
We always walked up to the headland between the Promenade des Anglais and the Port where the sweeping views across the bay under the setting sun was breathtaking.
Follow that with a walk through the old town, people watching, reading restaurant menus and eating ice cream and waffles.
The buildings of the old town always looked especially fine in the evening.
There was always a happy crowd down on the pebbles every evening.
A couple of the very grand and very expensive seafront hotels.
By way of a slight diversion from the theme. We hired a car for a couple of days to explore inland a little. The first day was rather frustrating in that it was cloudy and wet and a closed road within a mile or two of our chosen destination meant we spent several hours just driving around.
The scenery was superb and the rain stopped long enough for us to have a picnic but we should have gone back to the coast and driven along the corniches.
However I was determined to fulfil my desire for a mountain swim in one of the narrow slot canyons or Clues as they are known locally.
This one is the Clue de Aiglun and its spectacular and it coincided with a dry spell in the weather.
The walk down was much further and much steeper than the guidebook had indicated so it was a solo swim in the end.
A truly wild swim and a little daunting as the water was high after the rain and the flow pretty strong so I was nervous about some of the pools. A great swim anyway.
We then tried the Clue de Riolan where the water was much calmer and the swim much better.
The gorge was extremely narrow and the water deep and calm. It started raining again so again I was on my own but I enjoyed myself if a little guilty for forcing the rest of the family top spend most of the day in the car to indulge my whims.
Reason for this little diversion in the post is that when we returned to Nice the skies were beginning to clear and the evening strolls were the most memorable of all.
I took a brief stroll to pick up some food for tea and Place Massena and the Promenade du Paillon were in fine form.
Reflections in the fountains area
A Nice space age tram passing under our apartment balcony.
Clearing skies from the apartment.
The setting sun started the light show while we finished our evening meal.
With clouds clearing, the haze washed from the air and a low setting sun the light was just amazing as we took our evening constitutional.
The seafront was packed with people taking advantage of the drier weather after a wet day indoors for most I’m guessing.
I got a bit carried away with the photos as you can tell.
With views and light as good as this, well you just have to.
From a disappointing and frustrating day came a grand finish. The clearing skies gave hope for a memorable outing I had planned for the next day.
surfnslide 