Nice is Nice

“Nice is nice,” is what we said over and over as we walked through the Town Square of that southern French city. Surrounded by Italian and French influenced architecture, watching the sun set on the stony shore banks of the Mediterranean, it became our mantra: Nice is nice.

It really is.

the shorebanks of Nice

When an English professor studies the English word “nice,” I hope they realize where its origins really lie: in a place that is much like the word. For all intents and purposes, anything that is described as “nice,” is a pleasant, middle-of-the-road, kind of a thing. That thing does not have qualities of being offensive nor mean, nor snarky, nor boorish. It’s kind of like your meemaw: she will bake your cookies, tuck you in at night, read you a story and knit you a cozy sweater, even if you’re 30 years old and married with kids. There is not one unpleasant bone in your meemaw’s body. She’s just like the city: nice.

The only difference here is that while your meemaw may feast on “early bird specials” and hits the hay at the late hour of 8:00 pm, Nice is doing the opposite: it’s just starting to come alive. At night, the whole city lights up. Warm-hued, decorative street lamps pave the way down skinny alleys, and open squares.

Nice is nice Streets of Nice I love lamp(s)

Food in Nice is more than the deals you can get for $4.99 (or whatever the going rate is for meemaw’s early bird specials). It’s about socca, a light Italian pancake made of chickpea flour and olive oil, crisped and eaten as street food. It’s about seafood so fresh, you’re almost positive it may still be alive and kicking. It’s about gelato that is so good, you stop and eat two or three…different gelatos from different places… in just one night.

Socca in Nice is nice Meter-long tray of fresh seafood sure is nice in Nice Frank loves snails Delicious healthy-ish food Grilled oysters

People don’t want to retreat to their nesting quarters, but who could blame them. Nice is just too nice to pass up a quaint evening stroll down the boardwalk. Nice is the one place where it’s perfectly safe to wander down a darkened alley. Because every one is doing it with you.

Nice: It’s just really nice.

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