I decided on Tuesday to take the tramway all the way to one end, will do the other way another time. I went the furthest from my normal stop towards Hôpital Pasteur.

I am not sure how long it took, maybe half an hour or so to the end. I got off and wandered around a bit. It was mostly residential with a few boulangeries, of course.

I got back on the tram and got off again at Saint Roch. There was a market going on there so I wandered around it. Then I walked around for a while.

There are a lot of parks here and they always have children playing in them being watched by their parent. There was a small one at this stop just full of kids. Many riding their little 2 wheeled toys. There were also jungle gyms to play on. The thing I noticed that they have tried to correct in the US is that all the big toys were on cement or asphalt.

After a while, I got back on the tram and took it to Garibaldi Square. I again walked for blocks all around the area, further than the previous stops since there were more shops and restaurants to look at.

One of the things you see everywhere are dogs. They are on the streets, trams, in restaurants, and probably stores. And where there are dogs, there is dog shit. You don’t see anyone with little doggie bags on their leashes and you have to constantly watch where you walk or you will step in it.

I was walking behind 2 women. One of them was carrying a little French bulldog and another dog was walking with them. I was keeping a close eye on the dog and was just getting ready to pass when I saw it dribbling runny poop, just as one of the women stepped in the bigger pile and slid. I had to keep on walking so as not to start laughing but then I caught a whiff and gagged. Just another common scene on the street.

There are also people begging, but not as many as on the streets of Seattle. Usually they are sitting on the sidewalk, back against a building, with a little cup or hat out. They don’t typically say anything but there are usually a few small coins. Most of them also have dogs.

While Frankie assured me that smoking in France is the same per capita as in the US, I find it hard to believe. I know there are more than Seattle, maybe not more than in some of the Southern tobacco growing states. Even though you aren’t supposed to smoke in restaurants, they all have outdoor covered areas where people sit and smoke. Maybe all the wine and walking make up for the smoking.

There are always lots of people walking everywhere. Even though there are cars lining every street along with motorcycles, and there is a lot of traffic everywhere, there are still always walkers.

I had read and heard that the French didn’t wear jeans or tennis shoes and dressed up more than we do, but not in Nice. There are people wearing jeans everywhere, also a lot of flats not high heels. Maybe because it is a vacation city they dress more casually.

I decided to stop for lunch at the restaurant we hadn’t been able to get into Saturday night, Comptoir Central Electrique. There were only a few people there, but it might have been a bit early for lunch for the French.

I ordered a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad with mesclun. I thought the menu said something about berries and truffles too, but was sure.

I smelled the truffles as soon as it was set down before me. There was a large, heirloom tomato and a good sized ball of mozzarella with shave truffles on top. There were some berries (black and raspberry?) that were separated into individual seeds. Mesclun with a tiny bit of dill and sea salt along the side of the plate. It was a taste sensation that melded perfectly together.

After lunch, I wandered through old town again then head to the mall, Nicetoile. It is a four story mall with a lot of the same brand stores as in the states. I walked around every floor and into some stores but bought nothing. I have very little luggage space so am not going to be doing much souvenir shopping unless it is small or flat!

After that, I headed back to the apartment. It was another nice, warm day so I sat in the sun again and read.

I did make my chicken stock and then had leftovers for dinner. I thought I might do more lunching out and eating in both here and in Italy.