Undeterred by the late afternoon rain suggesting the arrival of April we opened our umbrellas and sauntered in the direction of the Place  Garibaldi named for the Nice-born hero of Italy. The palm trees, Belle Epoque hotels and apartments suggest old world charm, elegance and Italy.

Once we found the tracks of the very popular Tram we merely had to follow it in the spirit of the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz. It was Sunday and many restaurants would be closed so before finding a café at the Place we picked up two soccas, the chickpea flour-based Nice specialty that is baked in a pizza oven and eaten as finger food. It was just enough to take the edge off our hunger when washed down with a very generously poured glass of Corsican red for a mere 4 euros.

There was a convention in town and they had taken over our first choice for a light meal, the Bistro/Pizzeria Barracuda but we were directed just around the corner on the Promenade des Anglais to Koudou their other restaurant. Big plates of spaghetti with vegetables in a tomato sauce and a classic fettucinni a la carbonara that I buried in freshly grated parmesan were hard to finish but assisted by a very good, reasonably priced red from Provence we managed.

By now the rain had subsided and we walked up the street to the Negresco, one of the few remaining palatial hotels in the hands of a French family. Madame Jeanne Augier has reinvigorated the hotel with luxurious decorations and furnishings, including an outstanding art collection. It’s worth the price of a drink to be able to explore the lobby of this alabaster masterpiece.

The next day we battled the rain on our way to the Matisse Museum situated on the hill of Cimiez, not far from the Franciscan monastery with its Italianate gardens, the Hotel Regina where Matisse used to reside, and the Gallo-Roman ruins. Since the 5th of January 1963 the Museum has been welcoming visitors to its collection of works left by the artist (and his heirs) to the city of Nice where he lived from 1918 until 1954.