July 1: Day 2 of Nice.

And a perfect day for a bike tour. With the cloud cover, we could ride for hours which is what Tanner is afraid of.

This is a map of Nice in 1632 A.D. Nice is believed to be one of Europe's  oldest settlements. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille conquered and settled the area, calling it Nikaia, after Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Notice the fortification walls because I will mention their absence later.

A look down a street in the Italian section of Nice.

The Dome atop the Cathedral of St. Reparate. The colors of the dome are from the House of Savoy who were ruling at some time in Nice history. Good way to put your thumbprint on society to have the cathedral bear your colors. 

The front of the Cathedral of St. Reparate, relocated here in the 1500's. Reparate is Nice' patron saint. The legend says she was a teenage virgin who was martyred because of her beliefs. Usually, the Romans just beheaded someone if you were Christian, poor Reparate was tortured for two weeks and then burned at the stake. A little problem, she wouldn't burn. They got fed up and chopped her head off anyway, put her on a raft and left her for the ravens to devour. Another problem, the ravens would not touch her. So she floated, of the people of Nice believe she was pushed by angels right up on their bay and beach. Her remains are buried in this chapel.

The Europenas sure know how to use space.

Riding through Place Rosetti, the most Italian of Nice's piazzas and home to the cathedral. See Tyler and Tanner on their bikes.

A typical sight all over town on a Sunday morning. We snapped this on our way by.

Gustave givig the kids a chance to go around the square infront of the palace alongside the Cours Saleya and open market.

A palace along Cours Saleya.

See if you can see the optical allusion. Tyler got it right off. I didn't. Back in the day when an artist was sketching a building, all sorts of grand plans were made. Then the budget guy comes along and makes cuts here and there. Well, the Italians were masters of disguise. If you look closely, you will see that the two middle windows are not windows at all, but paint. If things, such as windows, molding, balconies were cut, no problem. We will just paint them in. Can they do that with the government budget crisis?