After the busyness of Paris, Nice offered a nice reprieve. At the top of five flights of stairs was probably the nicest hotel room we've ever seen. The bathroom alone was the size of some of our previous hostel rooms. 

Besides Nice, we day-tripped out to Monaco, Ville Franche sue Mer, and Antibes. Monaco has Europe's longest unbroken line of nobility. It also has the highest per capita GDP which was evidenced by all of the cars and mega yachts filling up the parking lots on and offshore. At the Monte Carlo Casino, a young couple pulled up in a red Ferrari for lunch, and a bunch of people rushed toward them for selfies. He or she must have been someone famous, but we're not sure who.

After watching the ceremonial changing of the guard, we took a bus back toward Nice. The highlight of Nice is a park called Castle Hill, where after a bit of a hike you are rewarded with a view of the city on one side and of the port on the other. 

Our favorite day trip was out to the town of Antibes. It was much quieter than Nice and had a sandier beach. It reminded us of something you'd find in California, except with better pasta. Nice is a unique place because it's nationality is French but it's culture is Italian. Italy only became a nation state in the mid 1800's and in order to garner the support of the French in its dispute with Austria, Italy ceded Nice to France. The deal resulted in a very Italian looking French city, where we could finally with good conscience order a proper Italian pizza.