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After
a wonderful week in Tuscany we needed to head back to Germany. The weather had
changed and it was cloudy and rainy in Italy, so we sat at the computer and
used weather.com to find a destination for a couple days with some sun. We
ended up finding Nice, France.
 |
| Nice, France |
It was a very pretty ride up the coast of Italy into France. Surprising to us was
the strong Italian influence in Nice. At one time Nice was part of Italy and
you can see that in the culture of the town. We took advantage of another bike
tour of a city in Nice and really enjoyed a sunny day biking around and getting
some background on a very beautiful city. The old town is particularly quaint
and has changed very little over the decades. The streets are very narrow with
old buildings right up to the skinny sidewalks with churches tucked into small
squares.
Our
three words for Nice -
Vibrant Mediterranean Charming
 |
| Mediterranean Sea |
There
is a wide promenade all along the waterfront. The beach is not sandy, but
covered in small stones. Beautiful old hotels and apartment buildings line the
waterfront street and lead to a very pretty harbor that has a marina where
boats, large and small pull in and out. There is a famous market that is set up
in the old town of Nice, half of the market is flowers – beautiful, colorful,
aromatic flowers and the other half is fresh food. The mushrooms were amazing –
all sizes and shapes. At one end of the city is park up on a hill that offers a
remarkable view of the city. Definitely worth the hike up, or as we did peddle up
on our bike tour.
 |
| Nice Harbor |
 |
| Mushrooms |
 |
| Nice Market |
 |
| Annecy, France |
We
spent two nights in Nice and then stopped at another beautiful French town
before making it back to Koln. Annecy, France was our next stop. A very tiny
village with a gorgeous lake surrounded by the Swiss Alps. The top of Mount
Blanc was already covered in snow. Quite a beautiful sight. We got up in the
morning and took a walk through town at 8 am. The lake had clouds rising up as
the sun was coming up with the mountains as a backdrop. Early in the morning,
market stands were setting up all around the village. There had to be 50
different vendors selling fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese, salami, breads,
flowers, and meats. I could not imagine there would be that many people in the town
to do their shopping here, but as the town woke up there were lots of people buying
from the stands. A beautiful stop to end a great vacation in October.
 |
| Rushing water in the canals of Annecy |
 |
| Morning market in Annecy |
After
a wonderful week in Tuscany we needed to head back to Germany. The weather had
changed and it was cloudy and rainy in Italy, so we sat at the computer and
used weather.com to find a destination for a couple days with some sun. We
ended up finding Nice, France. 
We
spent two nights in Nice and then stopped at another beautiful French town
before making it back to Koln. Annecy, France was our next stop. A very tiny
village with a gorgeous lake surrounded by the Swiss Alps. The top of Mount
Blanc was already covered in snow. Quite a beautiful sight. We got up in the
morning and took a walk through town at 8 am. The lake had clouds rising up as
the sun was coming up with the mountains as a backdrop. Early in the morning,
market stands were setting up all around the village. There had to be 50
different vendors selling fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese, salami, breads,
flowers, and meats. I could not imagine there would be that many people in the town
to do their shopping here, but as the town woke up there were lots of people buying
from the stands. A beautiful stop to end a great vacation in October. 
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