Nice Archeology Museum, flash of Cannes and the Ile St. Marguerite

This is a completion of a couple trips. The first was a simple walk through northern Nice, a well to do area called Cimiez, to the Musˆ©e Archˆ©ologie de Cimiez. The museum is adjacent to the ruins of Roman Nice. The museum is also next to the Matisse museum which I just can't recommend as being worth the time unless you are a big fan. The older section of the Matisse museum is poorly lit and not air conditioned. There were a couple of sculptures and line drawings I enjoyed, but there were also a monotonous series of self portraits and explorations that just didn't warrant the time.

Anyway, also on this page is a day trip via train to Cannes to visit and hike around the Ile de Magurite an island just off the coast from downtown Cannes.

Click on the pictures for a larger version. (slideshow controls)

	Very nice 1st century BC bronze head of Baccus... if I remember correctly one of a pair that were on the side of a large wine jar.
	Bronze corner element from a table.
	Prehistoric bronze statue from the Mt. Bego area... see my page on the museum in Tende.
	Roman stele found in the vicinity of Nice.
	"Out back" includes the ruins of the Roman baths part of which had been converted into an early baptistry. The "red" three story building is the Matisse museum.
	This is an entrance to the remains of the Roman arena. This space is still used by the city for events, the most famous of which is probably the Nice Jazz Festival.
	This is a bust of Louis Armstrong in a park next to the arena, actually on Duke Ellington St. The French may like American Jazz more than Americans do.
	Ok, walking back home the clouds rolled in, but can you believe not one drop came out of this!? Hot and humid.
Ok, so on to Cannes. Just a quick map to show you that Cannes is not very far away from Nice. Probably a 20min train ride.
	One of the many sand beaches at Cannes
	Small boat marina at Cannes.
Western beach panorama.
	Nope, no money here... wonder if that will fit in my bath tub?
Leaving Cannes by water headed towards the island. View of the fort from the water.
Quite extraordinary cannon pulled from the waters off the island. The latin inscription translates roughly as "The final reasoning of the king". I guess the same goes for presidents.
View from the fort back towards Nice.
Inside the walls of the fort
	One of the "claims to fame" of the fort is that one of it's occupants was "The man in the iron mask." Dumas took poetic license to place "him" down the coast in Marseille, but "the real one", whoever he was, was kept in this cell (picture of bars) until being transferred to the Bastille in Paris where he died. The prison also held a group of 8 Hugenout (i.e. Protestant) priests who died here. Their cell has been turned into a memorial to Protestant persecution in France.
After the fort I decided to just continue walking around the island. Lots of small boats anchored, people sunning, swimming and a little snorkeling. Clear water.
	Great balls of fire! Literally! This is one of four remaining canon ball furnaces left in France. Basically the cannonballs would be loaded in the hopper (upper right) a fire would be built under the ramp and the shot heated until it was glowing red. When fired it basically turned the cannonball into an incendiary device. If I remember correctly this is circa Napoleon.