The beautiful old quarter of Nice looks and feels more like Italy than France. The street names are listed in both French and Italian (which is quite ridiculous, really. Place Rossetti and Plassa Rossetti? Definitely near-homophones). The fish fountains? Roman style. The churches, too, look more like what I've seen in photos of Italy than those I visited in Paris.
I feel like I visited Italy without crossing borders or leaning Italian! Quite cool. But really, just not the architectural differences between Old Nice and Paris:
Like night and day!
As we wandered through the old city, enchanted by the terribly romantic Italian feel, we followed the signs up to the hill. We saw the ruins of the old château, which was less-than-exciting, but the view from the top of the hill that overlooks the sea and the city is gorgeous. We also visited the cemetery on the hill. The French-Italian blend of the city was evident here too: people with very French first names (Jean-Baptiste, Claude, Émile) and very Italian last names (Benedetti, Cosetti).
I like Nice, especially that old quarter. Plus, last night we went and got gelato in Old Nice and it was absolutely to die for. There must have been at least fifty flavors to choose from. Beyond the standard Chocolate, Strawberry, Straticelli, and Lemon flavors, there were more exotic things to try like Chocolat piment (chili chocolate), Ginger, Avocado, Lavendar, and Violet.
We're going back tonight.
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