Travel Art Journal #1: Carnaval Nice, so nice
Although the Carnaval was cancelled because of coronavirus, Nice in the winter did not disappoint. Here’s the story of my little jaunt around town.
A fantastic first glimpse of a few floats left out for Carnaval’s final day hints at the spectacular parades of the past two weeks.
DAY 1
Getting off to a bit of a rough start, I had a train mishap (because France, and let’s be honest, my own mistake), and ended up arriving four hours later than planned. I had so much coffee.
My classic train scene made even more french by a grey, drizzly ride through Marseille.
I stayed at an Airbnb as usual and my host met me at the tram stop with his TWO fluffy golden retrievers (I’m overjoyed at this). After I got settled in (mostly petting dogs and the cat, honestly) I took a walk to see the Carnaval that got cancelled.
Even though I missed my train, I was happy to have a few hours to work admin art things at the station.
The theme every year is always “The King of…” and this year it was “King of Fashion”. I’m not sure what that means for this particular lady.
This has to be a demonized french politician float.
A very fashionable fellow indeed! The Carnaval last week must have been crazy, he’s missing a glasses lens.
Usually the parades would have been going through here with the viewers on the stands, etc.
Although the last day parades were cancelled, the restaurants and cafes still boasted a few decorations. I booked this trip less than three days ago on a Missing Nola Mardi Gras whim, so I’m happy to see anything and everything.
The fashion of…demons?
The fashion of Trump! I also love that this is adorning a kids’ toy store.
No Avery Ches journey is complete without some vegany food goodness and this place helped me forget how I missed my train by one minute that morning and it was only partially not my fault.
Vegan Falafel plus beer equals un repas parfait.
New Orleans is never far away! This article was featured in the jazz festival paper on my lunch table.
It seems like everything here is colored some variation of green and yellow.
Walking through the old town showed me and my camera some awe-inspiring, super french/italian buildings, doors and shutter.
My first taste of the truly remarkable color palettes of Nice.
This bike sat outside one of the coolest, most European, authentically bespoke shoe shops I’ve ever seen.
Not exactly bright, I still love this soft grey, blue and green scheme that speaks of quiet serenity.
Yellow and teal are a color palette that gladly runs my life.
Day 2
I took the day to walk around town and take in all the sights. I found some amazing views and lovely walks along the water. I’ve heard Nice is usually swamped with tourists so I was thankful to have the town mostly to the locals and few scattered Carnaval stragglers like me.
This beach reminds me of a warmer Maine beach made of all round, smooth stones, not sand.
Apparently this painter comes here everyday and all the locals fought his bogus arrest one time in support of his painting here.
The sun came out for a few hours in the afternoon and I got to see the famous Côte D’Azur blue.
Steps down to the sea are probably bustling during the summer.
A man works on this beautiful old boat in the port of Nice.
During the winter you can actually get a photo of the #ILOVENICE sign without tourists!
I was very happy to be in the sun.
I heard some locals saying how crazy British tourists were going swimming.
Blue and orange compliment each other constantly in this city.
A path cuts down from the high lookout point Parc du Château de Nice.
Day 3
It rained freezing, almost sleet on the third day so I made my way up to the Chagall Museum. Unfortunately, it was so miserable and wet outside I didn’t stay long and pretty much rushed back to the Airbnb as soon as possible to get warm again and watched “To Catch a Thief” which was filmed in this area in 1955. Grace Kelly is about the most beautiful classic film actress in the world.
Grey drizzle does make for lovely photos even if I was freezing and soaked.
After the rain let up I had to treat myself at this very french café in the old town.
After the storm the beach was totally transformed and all the previous rock formations of the day before had been flattened.
The waves after the storm were enormous and even the locals were coming out to exclaim about them.
There are some nice little bars on the beach strip where I snagged a Gin and Tonic.
The rain finally stopped enough to have a perfect sunset.
So there you have it! Nice was an amazing city which I’ll definitely return to if I can but mostly to see the little towns around that area that look more interesting than the big city for the next time. I hope you enjoyed this little photo story of my trip to Nice.
Hit reply to this email with your Nice or southern France travel stories! Also, I’ll be making art of some of these photos soon so stay tuned!
À bientôt,
Avery