beautiful victory.

{school assignment}

The name Nice comes from the Greek word ‘Nike’ meaning victory. In French, Nice is known as Nice la Belle.

Nice is a different world than the hustle and bustle of Paris and the pastoral atmosphere of Bretagne and Normandy. Familiar yet altogether foreign, sometimes resembling Southern California with hints of French and Italian culture, Nice is a nice (haha. Funny) repose and adventure all at once. And now I feel like I’m starting to sound too much like Rick Steve. Hmmm…I should be concerned.

In the last week, I went to church at the most welcoming ward I’ve yet to visit, swam in the Mediterranean, made friends with seven-year-old Nicole from Yorkshire while collecting beach glass, ate gelato, watched the moon rise, with the sounds of Arabic music in the background, and explored the flower/produce/flea markets in Old Town.

Nice la Belle.

For class, we were required to visit a Chagall and Matisse museum, Old Nice, a castle that is really just a hill with an amazing view, and a Russian Orthodox Cathedral. So, after church on Sunday, we first made our way over to the Matisse museum. The best part about this museum was the building itself, which was red stucco with turquoise shutters. Paris is composed of all neutrals. Nice pops with color, just like the paintings of Matisse. That is why he moved here, for the color. The Chagall museum felt like a dream. Psychologically explorative, sometimes disturbing, sometimes whimsical, sometimes ephemeral, Chagall truly captures the complexities of humanity. The next day, Melissa, Heather, and I finished the rest of our assignments, beginning with the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. There is Russian presence here in Nice, as the Czar and his family used to vacation here to escape the brutal cold of St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, the Cathedral is currently undergoing renovations and is closed to the public. But we still enjoyed peering through the gates at the domed spires and vivid colors that are so different from anything you can find in the U.S. After we winded our way through Old Nice, loosing ourselves in the small alleyways and dead ends. I imagine that this part of the city resembles Italy and I particularly loved all of the pastel facades of the buildings. The smells of fish and pizza and the sounds of lilting accents and seagulls made it a sensory experience.  Ensuite, we took an elevator up to the top of a precipice that overlooks the entire city. Breathtaking and soul-expanding.

Also, my friend Heather (who took the photo of me on the side reading by the castle) did a photo shoot with Melissa and I in Paris if you want to check out the photos:

http://passthefrenchtoast.blogspot.fr/2012/06/photoshoot.html