Day 41 & 43: Sites & "Getting Lost" in Monaco

On Monday I went with a group of people to several different areas/sites in Nice as a class assignment--Old Nice, chateau (really, they're chateau ruins) and a Russian orthodox church. I love the bright colors of the buildings around Nice. I wish I could have had more background information about the chateau/ruins before we went to find it. The church was really neat though! The iconography is interesting. I told Rachel that it is fun to compare the art of the Byzantine era with the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The changes that came about with the Renaissance with the Roman Catholic church and the continuity and consistency of Eastern Orthodox to Byzantine styles is pretty interesting. After so much time has passed, it has remained virtually the same.

Russian Orthodox Church in Nice

Old Nice

Today Grace, Judy and I went to Monaco. We didn't actually get lost, but we were flaneuses--we didn't have a specific walk we needed to do, we just needed to get a feel for the environment and notice what was around us. It started as an adventure getting to the right bus station and going around Nice with a cranky bus driver. But we did make it to Monaco, standing all the way. Grace and Judy got off and then the doors shut so I got off at the next stop. :) We met up about 5 minutes later. We walked through Old Monaco, through the cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried (they have signs everywhere with her picture and captions in several different languages telling what she did at that place), and then we walked around some more. Monaco was cool, it wasn't entirely what I was expecting after hearing that it is such a rich place to live. It seemed pretty dirty and cramped to me. I wouldn't really want to live there, sandy beaches and all. But whatever, to each his own.

I just thought this sign was funny :)

Grace Kelly is buried here