Travellin' photos: Nice

[highlyeccentric]

Full disclosure: there are some photos of a Jewish war memorial in here.



Dr J and I go on holiday, and we spend a lot of time climbing up stairs and hillsides to get to forts and castles. In Nice, sensible people take the tourist road tram. We are not sensible people.

Herewith, the only photo I took of Nice proper:



Weird sculptural stylites. As you do.

Old town Nice is pretty spectacular. I am fond of the brightly coloured houses:





This early 19th century church was MAGINIFICENTLY OVERDONE, but alas I only got one interior photo before I realised cameras weren't permitted:





See these stairs? These were just the first of many many stairs we ascended to get to the castle, and to archaeology.



Off to one side, before we got to the steep stairs, the oldest doorway in Nice:



The old town, viewed from the stairs:



And from further up the citadel hill:



At which point, we found:



Neither of us had really thought about it before (well, in my case, aside from as prompted by A Place to Call Home, but of course there'd have been jewish french resistance fighters. The very definition of a group with nothing left to lose...



At least they get a cemetery with a view:



This view came a little further up and around the hill:



Here, a surviving part of the original castle wall:



There was a huge citadel complex up here, starting with a small church, then an 11th century keep, growing into a huge renaissance donjon before the nobility decampled to a new, fancier citadel on the other side of the hill in the 17th century or a bit later.

I was determined to find the remains of the 11th century church, which I was informed by Lonely Planet were up here somewhere. In fact, they're barely distinguishable from the overlying 14th century foundations, but both are currently easily visible as it seems like archaeological work was going on and then stalled.



Here we have the east part of the nave, the choir, and the apse at the far end. I belive that one set of pillars - possibly the set with the low wall? - used to be home to the rood screen and the much shorter chancel beyond.



If i recall correctly, there was once a tower where that tree now is.



Nice little side chapel.



Now, I THINK the reason I took this close-up is that it shows the different floor levels - 14th century on top, 11th below.

Westward view:



Now onward, around the citadel and back to the escarpment below the keep.



Here is a postern gate!



Same gate, other direction, with medievalist in situ. Observe the unusual spectacle of an Englishman on holiday, having unearthed his palest clothes and a most elderly pair of shorts. The pink bag is carrying his sturdy work shoes, which had only that day been replaced with sandals. When I suggested he might look foolish carrying it, he announced that 'any masculinity which cannot withstand hot pink is not a masculinity worth having, and you can quote me on that'.

The photos of me in this gate are much cuter, but since he's just finished uploading his photos from LAST summer, you can expect to see those this time next year.



The outer gate was apparently reconstructed from a town gate in the 19th century, since the existing gate was insufficiently imposing.



Cascade! A 19th century work, naturally.







Huge seagulls! So much bigger than their Australian counterparts!



More view!

On the way back to the train we had tea (excellent tea!) and american-style pancakes at Emily's Cookies. What I wanted and still haven't had was really good French crepes, but these were astonishingly good American pancakes instead.

Comments

[ofearthandstars]

Fantastic photos. The cascade is lovely, I want to be there in the mist.

[highlyeccentric]

After hiking up there in the middle of August, the mist was very welcome!

[monksandbones]

I'm really enjoying all of your travel photos! FRAAAAAAAANCE!

[highlyeccentric]

Traaaaavel....

[liv]

The thing I like about this post is that the first section almost exactly matches my memory of holidaying in Nice. Walking up way too many steps in the summer heat, and finding an unexpected Jewish war memorial and some amazingly pretty views. And then your account diverges from mine into detailed analysis of the ruins, which is also cool.

[highlyeccentric]

There is something to do at the top of the hill other than examine archaeology?

... that's a risk when you go on holiday with I or with Dr J. Both together is dangerous!