Matisse among the Olives

Once the battle of the flowers was over we rushed to the car and made our way to the Cimiez area of the city which is on a steep hill. We parked and made our way through a very quaint park, comprised mostly of an old olive grove with a boule pitch and small carousel, to the Matisse Museum. We spent a pleasant hour wandering around the collection which was left to the city by the artist himself. It contained a few paintings, a number of models, sculptures and cutouts. We left the museum as the sun was setting and wandered over to the nearby roman ruins of an amphitheatre. Then we passed through the olive grove the Franciscan museum which has a marvelous garden. We strolled through the garden and enjoyed some great views of Nice before visiting the church and then heading back to the car and back down the hill to our hotel.