Day 2061 (Sunday) 29th January 2023.
These are today’s photos found online
This is Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat
This is Beaulieu sur Mer
This is Nice
And this is Antibes
The rowers were out practising for the battle of the flowers here in Villefranche on the 13th February.
It was a lovely sunny day again and there were a few people on the beach and a few people swimming in the sea – idiots!
We decided to go up to the café on the Moyenne Corniche to enjoy the view and an Orangina but we went to the fort in Mount Alban first and the view was as spectacular as ever.
We were very disappointed that the café was closed so we went to the café near Eze but that was closed as well.
It was so incredibly cold on Kisbee up there, we were absolutely frozen by the time we got home. It was hard to believe it was 26 degrees on our balcony – it took us ages to thaw out.
The centre of town was very busy, which is always great to see.
Here are some more quirky facts about Nice…
The Most Important Attraction in Nice is the Promenade Des Anglais
The Promenade des Anglais (the English walkway), known to the locals as “le prom,” is a 7km paved seaside walkway that runs along Nice’s coastline from Nice airport to the other side of the Baie des Anges (bay of angels).
It has uninterrupted views of the bay of Angels and its surroundings and is home to many art galleries, museums, shops, restaurants and hotels. A bike path runs throughout its entire length, but you can also see runners, skate boarders, roller skaters and performers along the path.
It was initially called the “Strada del littorale,” or “coastal road or shore road,” but was renamed La promenade des Anglais in 1844 after the English aristocrats who built and financed the walkway for English upper-class tourists who wanted to walk comfortably along the seaside in the warm climate. The coastline was uneven and rocky at the time.
Site Of A Terrorist Attack In 2016
On July 14th 2016, a terrorist attack occurred in Nice, France, resulting in 86 fatalities and 458 injuries.
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel deliberately drove his huge cargo truck into a large crowd celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France.
Nice Has The 7th Most Hours of Sunshine in Europe.
After Valetta, Marseille, Lisbon, Athens, Madrid and Monaco, Nice is the European city with the 7th most hours of sunshine.
Although that may seem like a lot, no place beats Yuma, Arizona, which receives 4,015 hours of sunshine annually.
Why Nice is below Monaco, which has the same number of sunny days, I don’t know.
Bay of Angels is Named After a Fish, or is it a Saint?
The Bay of Angels is a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful scenery and clear waters stretching from Nice to Cap d’Antibes.
There are several legends about how the bay of angels (Baie des anges) received its name.
The Fish Story
The first legend is that the bay was named after the large population of angel sharks that once roamed its waters. When the local fishermen saw these winged sea creatures, they must have thought they resembled angels. Angel sharks are no longer found in the waters in Nice.
The Christian Martyr Story About Saint Reparate
Some say that the Bay of Angels in Nice was named after the patron saint Reparata (French: Sainte Réparate), whose story is well-known in Christian history.
As the legend goes, this 15-year-old Palestinian girl from Caesarea, a Roman Province, was tortured and killed by the Romans for her religious beliefs.
Supposedly, she was to be burnt alive at the stake, but the rain saved her. Some stories say she was forced to drink boiling tar, while others say boiling lead was poured over her to persuade her to sacrifice to the Roman gods. In either case, she was unharmed, so she was beheaded, but a dove flew out of her neck.
Her body was set adrift on the Mediterranean Sea in a small boat and guided by angels to the bay of Nice.
Her bones are located in the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate de Nice, a place of prayer for the people of Nice and a popular tourist destination. It’s also been registered as a Historic Monument since 1906.
The official feast day of Saint Réparate is October 8th.
I know I’ve done this story a few times but I love it.
A Fake Canon Shot is Blasted Every Day at Noon.
Everyone in Nice knows about the “canon de midi” (the noon canon) that has gone off like clockwork since 1861.
As the legend goes, Sir Thomas Coventry, a former military man and his wife were living in Nice.
Frustrated that his wife would habitually return home late from her morning walks along the bay of angels, Thomas approached the Mayor with an unusual idea.
Sir Thomas Coventry proposed a cannonball fire at noon to remind his wife that it was time to come home. Sir Thomas offered to provide artillery and finance the costs.
The Mayor of Nice agreed, and the midday alarm continues today, but a firework has replaced the cannonball. Every day, an appointed fireworks technician goes to the lower terrace of the Chateau, the same place as the original cannon, ignites a large firework’s fuse and throws it several dozen metres into the air before exploding in a loud bang reminiscent of the famous noon cannon shot.
There are a Few Occasions When the Noon Shot is Changed or Cancelled.
July 14: France’s National Day
The Mayor of Nice cancelled the traditional noon canon firing in 2017 on July 14th as a tribute to the victims of the terrible terrorist attack on the Promenade des Anglais that killed 86 people on July 14th 2016.
In 2022, the canon firing was reinstated, but six shots were fired instead of one shot to mark the six years that had passed since the tragedy. The victims’ families had been calling for 86 shots to be fired, one for each person killed: six was a compromise.
April 1st: April Fool’s Day
Every year on April 1st the city of Nice offers its residents an annual April fool’s day prank. The traditional noon cannon is fired at 11 am sharp! The history of this tradition is unclear, but it’s said that many of the city’s residents take part in the fun by eating an hour earlier than usual.
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