Susan's sketchbook log: Nice and the Cote d'Azur

"This week in Nice..."

Paris-Nice Final Stage

I made sure to buy a copy of Nice-Matin, the local newspaper, each Wednesday because it has the weekly calendar of events.

One highlight was the final stage of the famous Paris-Nice professional cycling race. It's called "'the race to the sun," which was pretty ironic on a cold, windy, rainy Sunday in March.

Despite the weather, I couldn't miss the chance to go see the departure and arrival back on the Quai Etats-Unis about four hours later. It was kind of hard to balance the umbrella and sketchbook.; Almost dropped both when Team Radio Shack's Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden (who would finish 2nd) lined up right next to me.

The Harmony Orchestra

Another event I found listed was a free weekly concert at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, aka Our Lady of the Port, three blocks from the apartment, so a natural on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Loved that the group was called the "Harmony Orchestra."

Aging Rhymes with Pleasure

The highlight of local events, though, was attending a lecture at the Mediterranean University Center (CUM) by a Nicoise psychologist. Couldn't resist, as the title of the talk was how aging (vieillir) should rhyme with pleasure (plaisir). Claudine asked us to say 'bonjour' to our neighbors, and though I ably followed that instruction, kept my head down, fearing I'd get busted for not good enough French. It was SRO, but I got a good seat as I monitored arrivals while sketched the building from across La Prom.

susankmiller.net | sklog home | previous | next