February Already

So we have bid adieu to Paris and moved on to Nice. Our friend John joined us the last few days in Paris and then on to Nice. We took the train down and arrived in the last bit of rain from the north. It has been sunny and lovely since our arrival. We've spent a few days acclimatizing and familiarizing ourselves with the Cote d'Azur.  Nice definitely feels different from the north, not just the warmth, but in the flavor of the city, neither better nor worse, but distinctly Mediterranean, whether seeing people swim in the ocean and sunbathe on the beach Nice has been incredibly generous to us so far. On a whim we stopped by a seafood restaurant and had one of our best meals in recent memory, not just the food of course but the whole experience was like we were invited into someone's home. 

We took the 23-minute train ride to Monaco to explore what the other half looks like. The aquarium is lovely and we dined in Monaco City (the royal palace is distinct) where we were spoken to in 3 different languages by our server. Sometimes you forget that you can hit 3 counties in the span of 30 minutes...

~Brian

John & Brian & the Tower

Not the Best Weather to Visit the Tower

The Beach at Nice

The Last of Paris 2025

Our friends Forest and Ginger reached out to us while on their recent trip to europe. Conveniently they would overlap with our last week in Paris. We enjoyed giving them the lay of the land and spending time with them as well. Ginger is also a Philadelphia Eagles football fan so we combined forces to watch the game and root them on to the Super Bowl. It was a weird experience watching an American football game start at 9pm on a Sunday evening in a bar full of fellow English speakers in Paris. I met people from Toronto, D.C., Philly and even West Africa. Most of the Commanders fans left at halftime though...

Forest, Ginger, Brian, Lucy

The Game

We're always up for dinner out!

~Brian

Decathlon

This is going to sound ridiculously old lady-ish but when we went to the Decathlon shop to get my annual yoga mat, they had hand grip strength donuts and I bought one (€4!). I've read that longevity is linked to grip strength (tho correlation vs causation needs investigation). And one morning in Paris I popped the top off the new jam with no problems and pointed it out to B. Six weeks paid off!

Upon arrival in Nice we headed into another Decathlon location. I was undecided about getting the tougher donut (€4.50) vs. this, but went with the package (€15). Because this has the options to strengthen by pulling your fingers out and not just in. It has proven a winner by having a foot massager ball, which is a great addition. We've been walking a lot!

~Lucy

Louvre Couture

I spent my last day in Paris ditching Brian and going to peek at a new exhibition at the Louvre. 

https://www.louvre.fr/en/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/louvre-couture

It was an interesting visit. It started with a first for me - seeing a would-be guest denied access to the Louvre. I glimpsed her in the security line ahead of me and wondered what was going on. She was wearing what looked like a cheap wedding dress, white gloves, a thick white and gray wig, a short veil, white face paint, and weird plastic jewelry. When I reached her group and while the guard was saying no, she was throwing odd hand gestures. Perhaps she was dressed as an anime or manga character? She was Asian, with a group of 7 people, and they were struggling to understand why they couldn't enter. The guard just kept telling them the outfit was not acceptable in the Louvre.

I whisked past quickly, so no photo was taken of the getup. And then popped into the new exhibit. It was a bit on the odd side, too. It felt a little contrived. The exhibit was timed to coincide with Paris Fashion Week. It was also in the Richelieu Wing, which is generally the less crowded area. They may have been trying to shift crowds over there to ease the pressure on the Denon Wing (while the escalators were shut down for service). 

The conceit of the exhibit is that it was inserted into existing exhibit rooms, and showcased inspiration designers (may) have taken from existing art? So tapestry coats on mannequins were displayed by wall tapestries. Several bejeweled gowns were displayed by Catholic reliquaries, with a particular Dolce & Gabbana dress with the Virgin Mary printed on the front nestled in with altarpieces. The Napoleon III Apartments, with their over-the-top decor housed similarly styled red and gold gowns, silver garments, and other pieces. Some of the pairings made sense. Many felt like a stretch. But I suppose when your collection is as vast as the Louvre's, you get a bit creative in your visuals.

Matching the Draperies?

This Dior dress was lovely, but the headless dinner party theme was confusing.

~Lucy