Thanks for the comments. Is it okay if I complain a little about the 2-1/2 days of pouring rain we had while staying in Grasse?

> The sculptures on poles in Place Massena are by the spanish Artist jaume Plensa and are not jamaenese monks or yogis- despite this being a common urban myth in Nice .

Ok that makes more sense. When you don't know about that urban myth, you would not think of Japanese monks or buddha when you look at those statues at all.

We did, actually...depends on the angle, I think.

Thank you so much for such a good report. I am going to Nice in May for about 10 days .I have not been to the south of France for about 8 years and I am anxiously looking forward to this trip. I will be travelling alone and using public transportation,My memories of this area is that Nice is perfect as a base and just to enjoy as a great city.

It is indeed--I wish we had just stayed there, pleasant through some of the rest of our trip was.

The balance of this trip report is going up under the title of "There and Back Again: from Nice to Grasse and onwared."

ttt to read later

The next segment is now up.

I forgot to say that the Mercure is entirely non-smoking, a nice bonus.

With smoking banned in restaurants (there are signs posted giving information for people who want to quit) we could again smell the food. It was wonderful.