Our walking route was the Sentier du Littoral (Coastal Path), which follows the coastline around the cape east of Nice on a winding, hilly and sometimes-paved hiking trail. We spent three hours covering the 5.2 miles, backtracking once, climbing the equivalent of 44 flights of stairs (according to Kathleen’s Apple watch) and stopping often to enjoy the breathtaking views of the sea and coast.
Jay and Danielle took the train to town and we met for lunch at Les Palmiers, which had many other English-speakers besides us—two other tables and the bartender were Australian. We took a quick stroll past the historic citadel and the adorable 16th-century Chappelle Saint-Pierre, then boarded the train back to Nice. Map link: Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
We returned to our apartment for a quick change of clothes, then attended Christmas Eve mass at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice, a lovely neo-gothic church completed in 1868. We did our best to follow along with the French service and children’s pageant, although much was understood by context and experience with Catholic rituals. After mass, we made an unsuccessful attempt to find some gelato, but stores were closed for the holiday, although several did find some take-out at the ethnic restaurants that were open.
Bonus Question: Who is the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields? (Answer at end of post)
Bonus Question Answer: Marie Curie won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She was the first woman to win the prize, the first person to win the prize twice and with her husband Pierre, who was co-winner in 1903, the first married couple to win the prize. She invented the word “radioactivity” to describe the emissions from certain elements and died in 1934 at the age of 66 from anemia, likely caused by her chronic exposure to radiation.
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