THE FRENCH RIVIERA - France 2014 - page 1097

posedly bathed less than once a year), doctors advised people to rub fragrances into their
skin and then powder their bodies. At that time, perfume was a necessity of everyday life.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily April-Sept 10:00-19:00, Oct-March 10:00-13:00 &
14:00-18:00, sometimes closed Sun off-season, just between beach and Place Masséna at
20 Rue St. François de Paule, see map on here , tel. [phone], www.molinard.com .
Visiting the Museum: The tiny first room shows photos of the local flowers, roots,
and other plant parts used in perfume production. The second, main room explains the
earliest (18th-century) production method. Petals were laid out in the sun on a bed of an-
imal fat, which would absorb the essence of the flowers as they baked. For two months,
the petals were replaced daily, until the fat was saturated. Models and old photos show
the later distillation process (660 pounds of lavender produced only a quarter-gallon of es-
sence).Perfumeis“distilledlikecognacandthenagedlikewine.”Thebottlesonthetables
demonstrate the role of the “blender” and the perfume mastermind called the “nose” (who
knows best); clients are allowed to try their hand at mixing scents. Of the 150 real “noses”
in the world, more than 100 are French. Notice the photos of these lab-coat-wearing per-
fectionists. You are welcome to enjoy the testing bottles.
▲ Russian Cathedral (Cathédrale Russe)
Nice's Russian Orthodox church—claimed by some to be the finest outside Russia—is
worth a visit. Five hundred rich Russian families wintered in Nice in the late 19th century,
and they needed a worthy Orthodox house of worship. Czar Nicholas I's widow provided
theland(whichrequiredtearingdownherhouse),andCzarNicholasIIgavethischurchto
the Russian community in 1912. (A few years later, Russian comrades who didn't winter
on the Riviera assassinated him.) Here in the land of olives and anchovies, these proud
onion domes seem odd. But, I imagine, so did those old Russians.