Europe
Nice
Nice is the center of the Côte d'Azure, the French Riviera, about halfway between Cannes, of Film Festival fame, and Monaco, of Grace Kelly and Grand Prix fame. Nice has the airport of the Côte D'Azure, the port for ferries to Corsica and the end of the line for the TGV train from Paris. It has a beautiful bay lined with pebbly beaches and the Promenade des Anglais. The back of the city has the foothills of the Alps creating almost a gigantic ampitheatre-like ring around the bay.
The view shown here is from the Gairaut Hills in Nice Nord, looking south to the Mediterranean. The A6 Autoroute runs underneath these hills as it sweeps across the north end of the city. If you click on this picture you will get a larger view of it, that is bigger than your screen, but you can pan back and forth on it.
San Remo
San Remo is an interesting Italian town just a little across the border from Nice, a half hour drive. They make Reggiano cheese there, a really nice dry Parmesan, suitable both for eating as is or for grating. The town has good restaurants on several squares and an old town up on the heights that has been converted to shops. It also has a beach and a fishing port on the Italian Riviera.
For the French, visiting, many things, food, liquor, some clothes and nicknacks are cheaper than in France. Of course, the designer stuff is as pricey as in France. Soon, in 2002, with a common currency, the Euro, in hard cash form, there will probably be some price equalization, but for now... The food is very Italian, so the change is welcome.
