Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Day Three, Nice and Grasse

We woke up back in Nice to another beautiful day, and another outdoor market experience. The more markets in southern France that we visited, the more we grew to love them. Day three's market experience was one of mostly flowers and produce. The colors, sights, and sounds of the market are hard to capture in a blog--you have to experience it in person. We bought some lavendar, olives, dried fruit, and a few useful souvenirs for the kitchen.







After exploring the market and a quick visit to the beach in Nice, we hopped back in the car for a roadtrip to Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. There we toured the Mollinard perfumerie, watched a group of individual sculptists at work in a symposium (amazing to see them in action), and then explored the town on foot. It was a bit like Nice but much smaller, quieter, and less busy.




















We walked through the old part of Nice where a narrow street comes out onto the Place du Petit Puy where stands the 10-11th-century Notre Dame du Puy cathedral (rebuilt in the 17th c.) and its huge 18th century clock tower. (See pictures below). Just outside is an interesting memorial to those of Grasse who have died in war. The names are actually engraved on the columns.
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