Nice is very nice!

I would assume that most of my audience is more educated about the history, geography, governmental structure, etc. of France than I was. However, since most if not all of that group is American, that assumption may not be entirely correct so I will try to fill in some somewhat interesting information about the country - and more specifically the region - that we visited. I'm going largely by memory from what our Tour Guide, Morgan, explained to us (also from Wikipedia to fill in some gaps).

France has a  population of about 67 million, putting it at about #20 in the world. The "Hexagon" ("mainland" France's approximate geometric shape) is subdivided into 27 regions, one of which is called PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). This region holds 6 "departments", which may be considered analogous to US states, although they are generally much smaller and more uniform in area (there are 101 of them). The department that we visited is called Alpes-Maritimes; it is in the extreme southeast corner of the country, bordered to the south by the Mediterranean sea and to the east by Italy. The more famous cities in the region include Cannes (where the film festival is held), Nice (one of France's largest cities by population), and Monte Carlo (which is really a "borough" of the city-state of Monaco and "completely" independent of France).

This area is called the French Riviera, and is also known as the Côte d'Azur (blue coast), an appropriate name as the water takes on several incredible shades of blue. In my opinion, the best vantage point to enjoy these colors is from the mountains that quickly rise from the waters, reaching upwards of 500 meters (1,700 ft) within a short distance. The combination/ contrast of the mountains rising out of the sea makes for striking photos - and we took a lot of them. Nice - and the surrounding countryside - must be one of the most beautiful places in the world; it is certainly the most beautiful that I have seen. I was reminded of the California coast - San Francisco and Los Angeles - but the water sets it apart. The pictures should tell the rest of the story. (More family-oriented stuff in the next entry - I thought the area itself deserved one on its own).

Nice

The Promenade des Anglais - the road that runs along the coastline - as seen from the Tour Bellanda (an observation tower midway up the climb to the Chateau). 

The Nice lighthouse (from the Chateau) 

Lucy in the Miroir d'eau - part of a brand-new park along the northern edge of the Vieille Ville.

Sunset in the same park.

Le Chateau du Nice

We noticed a waterfall in the distance (dead-center of the photo) while walking through Vieille Ville. It turned out to be part of a park that was created at the site of an ancient castle, high above the Promenade des Anglais.

The mountain top where Le Chateau du Nice stood. The Promenade des Anglais sits on the other side.
This shot was taken from Fort Montalban. 

Climbing up the stairs from the Promenade des Anglais to the Tour Bellanda was the first part of the ascent. (Alternatively... there is an elevator, but where's the fun in that?)

This appears to have been a restored section of the grounds surrounding the castle and cathedral. 

An active archaeological site - I can't recall now if this was part of the castle or the cathedral.

I took a couple of pictures from behind the trees - I had no idea that the mountain below me was largely gone!

I finally found the waterfall - very cool but obviously not part of the original castle! 

Cap Ferrat

Cap Ferrat is situated in between Monaco and Nice. This picture was taken from the west at an observation point on the Boulevard de la Corne d'Or.

Another view with the cape in the center and the mountains in the background.

French law allows for anyone to be able to walk along the country's coastline, and the government apparently spent some funds on a fantastic walking path around the cape.
This was taken from the Grande Corniche (aka the Avenue des Diables Bleus for all the UK fans reading this), near Èze, from a much higher point than the previous one.

Near the entrance to the walking path, on the east side just south of the land that juts out. 

This is typical of the view looking away from the sea: Steep climbs, walls and fences with strong gates, topped by massive houses. It seemed that each house had its own private set of steps down to the walkway - most of which appeared to have been unused for years. Several also had lifts on tracks or suspended wires. 

There were also multiple sets of steps that led from the path down to the sea - some to areas that looked to have been carved out of the rock to create what may have been pools or "boat garages." The waves hit some of these areas pretty hard, so I don't think they would have been good spots for either use given the sharp rocks! 

The lighthouse was not accessible, but was picturesque.

This was by no means the safest family walk that we have taken, nor was this particular location the hairiest one on the path. A large portion of the walk had nothing to the left to prevent a slip from resulting in a 50- to 100-foot fall onto jagged rock.  

Eze

The history of the city of Èze begins well before Christ - by 2000 years! Seen here from the Grande Corniche, Èze is very difficult to access. This feature made it a perfect location for a castle.  

Eze from a different vantage point on the Moyenne Corniche

 

Hard to say what is more impressive - the ruins/ location (remember that all of these materials had to be carried up here hundreds of years ago) or the view in every direction. 

The area below the fortress was converted into a cactus garden in 1949. It contains an incredible variety.

As well as some cool art- 

This rose by any other name is actually a South American cactus. Never mind the thorns!

Notre Dame de l’Assomption, built in 1764.

Arènes de Cimiez & Musée et Site Archéologiques de Nice-Cimiez

These are the ruins of a Roman arena dating to the 2nd century. It held about 5,000 people.

Much of the ruins are still standing and appear to be stable (enough so that you can climb all over it).

These ruins - the Thermes Romains de Cimiez - are part of the adjacent Musée et Site Archéologiques de Nice-Cimiez.
They are not accessible for climbing.

Another view of the Thermes Romains de Cimiez

Fort Montalban 

I saw this fort in the distance from Nice and was compelled to investigate. Turns out it is - like many of the other ancient structures we found - relatively accessible. Although the gate was locked, you could climb around as much as you wanted and peek in the (barred) windows! This might have been my favorite thing on the trip-

The platform that serves as a "porch" functions like a drawbridge.
The beam above can be raised, sliding into the recessed area in the stone above. As the beam goes up, it pulls the platform up, closing it against the primary door and helping to keep everyone out!

A view into what I think is a jail cell. The dark spots on the walls look like shackles.

The view from the front porch - hard to beat!
Note the olive trees in the background - they grow everywhere - like cedars in Kentucky!

The view from here was as good as the one from Eze! 

Le Trophee D'Auguste

I saw this obviously-Roman ruin standing high above the trees while biking through the area and went to check it out.
Unfortunately, I was met with some very-stereotypically-French problems while trying to get close... I was unable to walk my bike in, the park was getting ready to close for lunch ("in 15 minutes"), and they suggested that I come back after lunch. Since I didn't feel like sitting around for 90 minutes for them to eat, I rode around to try to get a better look from the street.

At least I got some information about it!

And ultimately a decent view from the parking lot!

Monaco

The palace

And the casino. Not much else in this borough except for an incredibly nice cathedral and 6- and 7-figure cars.
Monaco and Cap Ferrat are the #1 & #2 most expensive places to live in the world. Two separate people quoted real-estate in Monaco at €15,000 per square meter. That's equivalent to $1,900 per square foot. But there are no income taxes, so that's a bargain, right?