We only have one full day to play in Nice. There are lots of options. Have a long lunch at the marina? Visit the shopping district? Stroll down the Promenade des Anglais? Visit the flower market in Cours Salaya? I don’t know. We’ll just have to see…
I had an entertaining morning, watching construction activity across the street. Perhaps not the best use of my time, but it was early, before breakfast, and way more interesting than watching the news on TV.
What to Do, What to Do?
But now it’s time to get a move on. There are tourists visiting Nice who would spend the day touring museums. It would be easy to do. Nice is a great starting point for day-trips, too, so a lot of people head for Monaco, Grasse, or the lavender fields nearby.
Those are good options, but we’ve been on the road a lot lately. We want to do something easy.
We could spend the day at the beach, lounging under blue-and white umbrellas, ordering food and drinks served by nattily-attired french-speaking servers. I don’t know… that might be TOO easy.
By the way, note the wooden floor under those blue umbrellas. They’re at the beach, but Nice’s beach isn’t sand – it’s rocks. Sharp little rocks. Not the greatest for playing beach volleyball, but perfectly fine for lounging – especially if you’re under a blue-and-white umbrella.
Allons-Y!
After breakfast, we started walking toward a large, open square called Place Masséna. We didn’t have a plan, other than to start walking and see where our feet take us. When in Nice, that’s actually not a bad plan.
Place Masséna is home to the Fontaine du Soleil – the Fountain of the Sun. The fountain surrounds a 28-foot high statue of the Greek god, Apollo. You can’t miss him.
One might assume that Apollo would be highly respected, but for this particular Apollo, that hasn’t been the case. See, the Apollo we’re looking at isn’t the original Apollo. Well, part of him isn’t original.
The original Apollo’s manhood was deemed to be out of proportion compared to the rest of his body. It was too big. (Really? When Apollo is 28 feet tall?)
Ce n’est pas Bon!
Offensive to some, admired by others, and always a hot topic, Apollo’s privates became a favorite target for prankster college students. Something had to be done.
By popular – or possibly unpopular – public demand, the sculptor had to take Apollo into the shop and operate. (We’re not going to get into the details of the procedure here).
The new Apollo made his debut, equipped with a smaller, uh… package. But apparently it was still too big. Apollo was relocated from Place Masséna to a sports stadium where he could finally get some respect – and maybe even some admiration.
Time passed, things changed, and the people of Nice decided that Apollo was too awesome to not grace the fountain at Place Masséna. So in 2011 they brought him back, stood him up, and he’s been standing there ever since.
There’s quite a bit more to the story, which you can find where I found it. It’s on a fun and interesting website called The Curious Rambler.
Now it’s time to stop checking out Apollo and find something fun to do in Nice. Hey… Hello… Ahem… C’mon honeybunch! We gotta go now!
To be continued…
Blue and white umbrellas on the beach at Nice – Credit: istockphoto/VV Shots
