Mega-Vacation Day 6 - Nice, France

Day 6 (Nice):
Unfortunately, the day two days after a night without sleep is worst than the first. I was in a foul mood as I woke at 7pm that morning, being dragged to my least favorite destination ever – the beach. But I sucked it up, brought an umbrella to cover my already burned face, and returned to the hotel around 11:30 to take my first of two solid naps during the day. As Hansky and MT went shopping at an open-air market, I slept – a much better use of my time, and certainly necessary if I wanted to survive the rest of the trip. We met back up again for a late lunch and then spontaneously explored Nice’s Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, which from the top affords great views of the town. This place made me realize how little I understand of modern art, however. I spent several minutes staring a painting of pure blue, no difference whatsoever between the different parts of the painting, and still could not figure out how this was art. I was dumbfounded.
After nap #2 back in the hotel, we went back to Old Town for dinner (excellent & cheap crepes) and hoped to explore the chateau, located on an elevated cliff next to the seashore, but it was closed for the night. We managed to salvaged our plans by finding a bench just below the cliff and next to the water, however. The only problem? We forgot to bring a corkscrew for our leftover wine from Italy. After about a half hour of trying every trick to get the cork out, we finally found a group of Brits who had a wine opener. But it wasn’t meant to be – the wine tasted like vinegar. Gross. Yet the sunset view was lovely and a nice end to our trip to Nice.
Overall, I wasn’t that impressed with Nice. Probably because I was in a bad mood and I don’t like large cities (5th largest in France). But that being said, there are some nice components: though I have never been, I would say Nice is somewhat comparable to New Orleans. Or rather, Nice is what New Orleans was striving to be as a French city in the U.S. Both are lively with live music, warm climate, and colorful buildings. However, Nice has the extra addition of having a modern feeling – kind of like Chicago with its Art Institute and modern art scattered around the town. Nice was nice, but I was eager to find something else – perhaps Nephew haha.