Some days on vacation, you just get blessed. The forecast for today, even as of this morning, was rain on and off all day. We managed to get through the entire day and evening with just one short drizzle of about five minutes, and the morning was great, with puffy clouds and warm temperatures in the low 60s. We got a long day of touring in (my pedometer on my watch logged 14.2 miles for today), and we had a really good day.

Meredith N., Regina, and Shelby decided to do their own thing this morning (shopping and going to the Russian Orthodox cathedral), so Mer, Victoria, and I all set off about 8:30 to head over to Castle Hill, a high point of land on the east side of Nice where a castle used to be. The castle was destroyed in the early 1700s by King Louis, who did not want to risk having to fight the castle someday, but it is still called Castle Hill, and now there is a park and playground at the top. We walked through the flower and fruit market in the old town along the way to take in the sight of rows and rows of pretty flowers being sold.

There were stairs to climb to get to the top of Castle Hill, but Nice was kind enough (and wise enough) to supply an elevator. Sadly, it did not start operating until 10:00, and it was only 9:00. So, the stairs it was. There were several viewpoints along the way to stop and rest at, and the day was very fine for views.

We reached the top and wandered around – it is quite a large area on top of the hill. We came across a cafe that was just opening at 10:00, and since Victoria had missed breakfast this morning (other than a mini-croissant in the market), we stopped to enjoy a light snack and great views. We swung down the front of the cafe area to see the huge artificial waterfall, and then decided to take the elevator down to the seafront again. It was sunny, at least for the time being, and Victoria wanted to try being the needle in a huge human-sized sundial near the “I Love Nice” sign. Since Mer and I wanted a rain-free picture of the sign, we agreed it would be fun. The sundial was hard to figure out, because you needed to make some time-of-year correction we did not fully understand, so we moved around on the dial until we simply got the right time. Voila! Victoria was also kind enough to take our second picture at the sign.

We all wanted to visit the cemeteries at the top of the hill, so we went back up the elevator. The first cemetery was the Jewish one, and it was small and crowded, but was still in at least some use (based on the dates on the headstones). Next door was the much larger and less crowded Christian cemetery, which was also still in use. I assume the size difference in the two cemeteries dates back to a much earlier time when Jews would have been forced into smaller spaces, but I am not sure of the actual history.

We walked down the back side of the hill and the all the way around it, since that was how the road went. We went back to our crepe place for lunch, and the others showed up there toward the end of our meal, having just come from the Russian Orthodox church. That was a little funny, in that that was where we were going next, so we made plans to meet up later to go to the Matisse Museum.

We walked over to the church, stopping at a bakery along the way (it was a munching kind of day). The church is beautiful, in a traditional Orthodox style, even though it was only built about a hundred years ago. We went inside and were offered the chance to take a tour, which we were happy to do since none of us speaks Russian and we knew very little about the Orthodox faith. Our guide spoke good English and took us on a tour of the icons (pictures of saints) in the church. She also showed us a door that was built for the Tsar of Russia, but he was killed by the Soviets before he ever got to use it, so the door has been barred shut so that no one will ever use it.

The church was built fifty percent by the Tsar to honor his son who died at twenty-one years old of spinal meningitis while in Nice, and fifty percent by donations of Russians living in Nice, which had become very popular. Since it was built, Russians have continued donating art and icons to the church, so that it is very beautiful inside.

We finished off our tour with a small chapel outside the church that had been built before the church was constructed. The chapel honored the son who had died, and was built around the location of the bedroom where he actually passed away. It was brightly decorated inside, with some modern paintings based on traditional icons. The entire tour only lasted a little over thirty minutes, but it was very informative.

We swung by the hotel so I could look up the bus line we needed to get to the Matisse Museum, and then we headed over there. We met the others at the entrance around 4:30. The museum closed at 6:00, but we had read it was quite small. In we went.

I knew almost nothing about Matisse. His work looks really simple and abstract, sometimes looking like a sketch or caricature. But he did enough “traditional” drawings and sculpture, especially in his early work, to show how talented he was; the simple-looking art was a conscious decision on his part. The museum housed three floors of his art, spanning his long life. Since I cannot read French, I could not read the placards next to the art, so we all finished up fairly efficiently – we were done by 5:00.

Mer and I wanted to see the nearby Franciscan church and monastery/gardens, which the others had seen while waiting for us to get to the museum. We agreed to meet for supper at 6:30, and Mer and I walked the short way across the park to the church. It was simple and tasteful, painted with scenes from the life of Saint Francis. The gardens were not fully in bloom yet, but there were some flowers out, and there were pleasant views of the east side of Nice (away from the beach/bay).

The evening wrapped up, still rain-free, when we all met for supper and then gelato. Victoria and I wanted to get back to the hotel to rest, and the others went to the Promenade des Anglais. Mer told me they went to the fancy hotel, the Hotel Negresco, for drinks (which included hot chocolate). I was back at the hotel watching boules (a ball game like bocce) on TV. I like quirky foreign television, and sports do not require me to understand words.

Our rain-free (more or less) Nice portion of our vacation is drawing to a close. We have our five-hour train ride back to Paris tomorrow, and then home on Sunday. Nice has treated us very well.