Sightseeing in Nice, France

Nice is the major city of French Riviera [Côte d'Azur].

 white and blue parasols along French Riviera

 

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- Sightseeing tour bus -

open double-decker sightseeing bus in Nice.

It runs the boulevard "Promenade des Anglais"along the coast.

We found a beautiful white monument near Jardin Albert 1er.

 

 

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the Russian Orthodox Church 

[French: Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas]

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- National Marc Chagall Museum -

[French: Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall]

the stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall

in National Marc Chagall Museum

 

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rental bike in Nice.

 

Episode of Nice

Tomo & Chouchou went to Nice where is the major city of French Riviera [Côte d'Azur]. We felt that Nice was really loved by the sun. The scenery of white and blue parasols along French Riviera was very typical sight of Nice. It was so dazzling and beautiful. Nice is facing the Mediterranean so the area around the coast is flat but most of other parts are hilly. It is too hilly to walk around Nice. We took public transportation such as city buses.
We bought a French Riviera Pass including the fare of city-bus tour and city bus.
Sightseeing bus of Nice is open double-decker bus and free to get on and get off the bus at 11 spots. There is an audio guide in 8 languages which explains about Nice. Sea wind made us feel good as the bus was open double-decker.
The sightseeing bus runs the boulevard along the coast called "Promenade des Anglais".
We found a beautiful white monument near Jardin Albert 1er.

It was very beautiful to see the sun & shining Mediterranean sea in the daytime, but also it wass beautiful to see the night view.

We visited Russian Orthodox Church [Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas]. It was a bit strange for us to find a Russian building in Nice. It was worth to visiting such a splendid Cathedral. Unluckily we couldn't enter inside Russian Orthodox Church because there was a wedding there. Anyway we were satisfied to see impressive Russian architecture of Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas even from outside. 

 
In Nice, there is the National Marc Chagall Museum [Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall]. Tomo likes the work of Marc Chagall so Tomo could enjoy it a lot. We especailly liked the stained-glass windows by Chagall. Inside the Marc Chagall Museum, we can buy some souvenirs of the painting of Chagall.
Of course, Tomo bought several postcards of Chagall works and so on at the souvenir shop in the museum. The Marc Chagall Museum is located on the hill.

 

We really enjoyed the blue Mediterranean, French Riviera, beach, the sun, and Mediterranean cuisine !

Petit Train

French Riviera Pass includes the fare of Petit Train.
If you focus on enjoying around the Old Town or Baie des Anges, Petit Train de Nice will be a good choice. Petit Train is 50-min guided tour in 8 languages.

In Old Town

There are many kinds of shops such as restaurants and souvenir shops. So it's very convenient area for the tourists.

 

Tomo & Chouchou's advice for Nice

1) The Rossian Orthodox Church [Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas] is closed during lunch time so please check it out before visiting.We also recommend you to go to the Russian Orthodox Church in the morning just for in case of the wedding celemony.
 

2)We can rent a bike in Nice. It looked very practical. If you are interested in looking around Nice by bike, renting a bike would be good. It is very useful. We don't need to check the bus time table. We can use our time effectively.

 

 

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Monaco is not far from Nice! We can go by bus!


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Sightseeing city bus tour in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul

 

- Sightseeing city bus tour"Linha Tourismo" -

 

"Linha Tourismo" sightseeing city tour bus.

It was an open-top double-decker bus.

The sightseeing bus drove through the road along the palm trees.
It was very tropical atmosphere. 

 

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- around Praça da Matriz -

Catedral Metropolitana is located in front of Praça da Matriz.

 

Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores is a tall & big church.

the Municipal Chamber/cityhall

[Portuguese: Paço Municipal de Porto Alegre 

/ Prefeitura Velha / Paço dos Açorianos].

 

 

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 The bus ran along the Guaíba river [Portuguese: rio Guaíba].

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We saw the Estádio Beira-Rio.
(Official name: Estádio José Pinheiro Borda)
Estádio Beira-Rio is the home stadium of Sport Club International.

Episode of Sightseeing city bus tour "Linha Tourismo" in Porto Alegre

Tomo & Chouchou went to Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil because some of our Brazilian friends lived in Porto Alegre. Our friend took us to the sightseeing city bus tour called "Linha Tourismo". It was very colorful bus with very Brazilian taste. This bus was an open-top double-decker bus, so we could enjoy the scenery and take photos. 
The center of Porto Alegre is around Praça da Matriz. Around Praça da Matriz, we could see many buildings which had been made during the colonial period. It was very interesting to see them.
Catedral Metropolitana was located in front of Praça da Matriz. Mural painting of Catedral Metropolitana was very bright and beautiful.
Another church in Porto Alegre called Igreja Nossa Senhora das Dores was surprisingly a tall and big church. There were very long stairs till the entrance of church. Beautiful white-color church was like a castle!
We found a building with orange wall and white pillar. We were wondering what it was... We guessed it was a casino or a hotel. Actually it was the Municipal Chamber/cityhall called Paço Municipal de Porto Alegre [or Prefeitura Velha or Paço dos Açorianos]. If the cityhall is like that, we would be happy to go there.
Linha tourismo sightseeing bus also runs along the Guaíba river [rio Guaíba].
Guaíba river was very large river. At the beginning, we thought it was the sea not the river. The wind coming from the river was very comfortable. Some people were relaxed on the lawn beside the river. It's nice and recommending spot to see the city of Porto Alegre from the riverside.
And, we saw the Estádio Beira-Rio. Official name is Estádio José Pinheiro Borda. Estádio Beira-Rio is the home stadium for the Brazilian football team of Porto Alegre "Sport Club International". Estádio Beira-Rio was the one of the stadiums to host 2014 FIFA World Cup. When Tomo & Chouchou saw Estádio Beira-Rio, there was no roof for the stands. The roof had been constructed for World Cup. Exterior of the stadium also had been renovated. Anyway we were lucky to see the stadium before the renovation for 2014 FIFA World Cup!



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* Canela in Rio Grande do Sul

Northern lights tour in Iceland

Northern Lights Mystery tour

English guide
Organized by Gray Line Iceland Excursions

Iceland is the warmest place to see auroras in the world.

Gray Line picked us up at the hotel.

 

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Northern Lights Mystery tour bus departed.

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We got off the bus.

We walked with the small flashlights in the dark place.

 

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Tour guide took us to the best place to see the auroras.

We turned off the lights.

We waited for the auroras.

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We couldn't see the auroras...

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Tour guide took us to the place where we could see a legend.

The statue of Icelandic legend.
(Normally we cannot see this statue because of darkness.)
 

 

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We went back to the hotel with disappointment.

Episode of Northern lights tour in Iceland

Tomo & Chouchou went to Iceland to see northern lights !
Watching norhtern lights is one of our big dreams! Iceland is the warmest place to see auroras in the world. So we thought Iceland is the best place to see northern lights!
We participated "Northern Lights Mystery" English guide tour organized Gray Line Iceland excursions. Gray Line knows where and when we can see Northern lights the most. So they can take us to the best place to see auroras. Gray Line decides to carry out the tour according to the weather.
When we participated the tour, the weather was not so good. The tour was carried out though. Unfortunately we couldn't see auroras... It was a big disappointment... We watched carefully many times. We looked for the slight green wave or light. We couldn't find anything... (T_T)
We heard that Gray Line proposed to participate the same tour for free if we couldn't see the nothern lights at all like us. Free participation will be valid for two years after the tour date. We were unlucky not to see auroras but we decided to keep our pleasure for northern lights later.

Instead of northern lights, tour guide showed us the place where we can see a legend. Normally we cannot see a statue with our eyes because of darkness. After taking a photo with flash, we could see it on the photo.

We couldn't succed to see northern lights in Iceland at that time. However we could think that seeing auroras is more precious. We haven't given up seeing auroras in our lives. Our dream still continues! We will travel again to see northern lights for sure!! 

Tomo & Chouchou's advice for Northern lights tour

(1) Normally, it should be very dark to see northern lights, so we cannot use any lights. However we walk in the darkness during the tour. It was difficult to walk without the lights. So we advise you to bring a head light or a flashlight ONLY for walking.

(2) Tomo & Chouchou recommend you to stay longer in Iceland if you want to see auroras. Because you can decide the date according to the weather. We advise you to book aurora tour in Iceland when there's no clouds.

Tomo & Chouchou wish you would be able to see northern lights in Iceland !


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* Reykjavik in Iceland

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* The Golden Circle, Iceland (1)

* The Godlen Circle, Iceland (2)

The Golden Circle, Iceland (2)

 

Þingvellir National Park/ Thingvellir National Park

 

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We walked to the Gullfoss Waterfall.

The way to go to the Gullfoss Waterfall was iced and slippery.

 

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On the way to go down the long stairs,

We could see the lovely landscape of Gullfoss waterfall.

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We went down the stairs to approach to the Gullfoss.

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We walked a bit more. We could be close to the waterfall.
We could feel the spray and splash of the Gullfoss waterfall.
 

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We went back up the stairs.

We had lunch at Gullfoss Café. 

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Geysir Geothermal Area

Geysir Hot Spring

Chouchou found several Little Geysirs.
Around Litli Geysir, we could see the landscape of snow mountains.

Geysir has a little bit western atomosphere.

the most biggest geyser "The Great Geysir" eruption
 Geyser erupted about every 10 minutes.

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We went back to Reykjavik.

← read back to The Golden Circle, Iceland (1)

Episode of Golden Circle tour

Tomo & Chouchou went to see the waterfall "Gullfoss" located in Southern Iceland with Gray Line English tour.
In Icelandic, gull means "Gold" and foss means "waterfull". So Gullfoss means translated "Golden Falls". Gullfoss is the most biggest, most beautiful and most popular waterfall.
To go to see the waterfall, we had to walk a bit. The way to go to the waterfall was iced, so it was slippery to walk. On the way to go down the stairs, we could see the lovely landscape of Gullfoss. It was the good photo spot.
Getting down the stairs and walking a bit more, we could be close to the waterfall.
We could get the spray and splash of the waterfall. The power of Gullfoss waterfall was amazing! We felt the greatness of nature.
The scenery was totally different when we looked at the waterfall from a close distance and when we looked at the waterfall from the hill. We enjoyed both views.
In addition, in this Gullfoss area, there are a restaurant and a souvenir shop.
We had time to have lunch in this restaurant. Our tour guide recommended lamp soup in this restaurent because it's famous as delicious lamp soup. We paid a lamp soup at the cash desk, we could get refills for free. We really enjoyed lamp soup and the beauty of nature at Gullfoss.
We also went to the geyser called "Geysir". Geysir is located in southwestern Iceland. In Geysir, we could see the eruptions or hot spring's boiling.
Around Little Geysirs (Litli Geysir), we could see snow mountains. Around there, orange or red brown earth made us feel we were in the old Western America. :)
The most biggest geysir "The Great Geysir" eruption was the best to see at Geysir. About every 10 minutes, hot spring erupted. The quantity of spout of hot spring changed each time. Sometimes a lot of quantity, sometimes a little. So we watched several times. Geyser eruption was very interesting and enjoyable to see.  The landscape around Geysir was also fantastic. It was very enjoyable tour. We could enjoy Iceland a lot through this tour.

Tomo & Chouchou's advice for Geysir

The quantity of geyser eruption changes. So it's better to see 2 or 3 times minimum. At least until you see the big hot spring eruption.


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The Golden Circle, Iceland (1)

The tour which Tomo & Chouchou joined in Iceland

"the Golden Circle Classic" English tour
organized by Gray Line Iceland Excursions
Departure from Reykjavik.
hotel pick-up service included.

<Itinerary>
1.Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant [Hellisheiðarvirkjun] ⇒
2.Lake ⇒  3.Skálholt Cathedral ⇒
4.((UNESCO)) Þingvellir National Park ⇒
5.Geysir Geothermal Springs ⇒　6.Gullfoss Waterfall

We joined this tour in winter.

Departure from Gray Line office in very early morning. 

The sky was still dark.

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The Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant/ 

the Hellisheiðarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant/

The Hellisheiði Power Station 

[Icelandic: Hellisheiðarvirkjun] 

Hellisheidavirkjun is the largest geothermal power station in Iceland.

 

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 The sky was getting bright.

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The tour bus stopped exceptionally.

Our tour guide brought us to the lake.

 

The lake was covered by the snow but it was very pretty place.
 

 

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Skálholt Cathedral [Old Icelandic: Skálaholt].

Inside Skálholt Cathedral

Jesus was drawn on the wall.

The ceiling made with woods and white walls had a good harmony.

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((UNESCO World Heritage site))

Þingvellir National Park /Thingvellir National Park

[Icelandic: Þingvellir]. 

 

 

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to be continued... The Golden Circle, Iceland (2)

Episode of The Golden Circle tour

Tomo & Chouchou joined the popular English tour "the Golden Circle Classic" which is organized by Gray Line Iceland Excursions.
Departure was very early, so we worried if the pick-up bus will arrive our hotel or not... We didn't need to worry. They picked us up almost on time!
Gray Line sends many pick-up vans to the hotel. Those vans go back to their office. Then they ask the clients to move to the bigger coach there. Gray Line has efficient organization and very solid work. We felt Gray Line was reliable.

We left in the early morning, so the sky was dark. From the bus window, we couldn't see the scenery so much, but we could see white snow and snow mountains.
First, the bus arrived the Hellisheiðarvirkjun Geothermal Power Plant
(=The Hellisheiði Power Station). Hellisheidavirkjun is the largest geothermal power station in Iceland. It's the first or second largest geothermal power plant in the world. Iceland doesn't have any atomic power plant. Iceland uses mostly geothermal energy. In Iceland, there are earthquakes and Iceland has volcanic belts under the ground. Therefore Iceland uses the underground heat for the energy. We heard that the geothermal energy was safe. Tomo & Chouchou support such safe energy! We also wish Japan will use geothermal energy too.
While heading off to the next place, the sun rised and the sky became brighter.
Our tour guide stopped the coach exceptionally. We could see the lake. The lake was covered by the snow but it was very pretty place.
Next, we arrived Skálholt (=Old Icelandic: Skálaholt) Cathedral. Skalholt Cathedral was simple and quite different from European Gothic cathedrals. Colorful Jesus drawn on the wall was unique. The ceiling made with woods and white walls had a good harmony. Skalholt Cathedral was a beautiful Icelandic church.
We visited Þingvellir National Park designated by UNESCO World Heritage Site. We could see amazing view there.

to be continued... The Golden Circle, Iceland (2)

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