Southern France (Nice, Aix en Provence, and Monte Carlo)
Thursday:
We loaded the school bus with our Il Centro paninos in hand and got ready for an easy 6 hour bus ride to Nice, France. The ride over was absolutely gorgeous and we were thrilled to get in way earlier than anticipated. We checked into a very nice hotel about a block from the beach and across the street from (park name). GU did good! Brit, Emily, Rachel, and I all shared a room and stayed up chatting and gossiping with a couple other people on the program. It was nice to just enjoy eachother’s company and have a relaxing night after a long day of travel.
Friday:
We woke up to a delicious French breakfast- hello endless, warm chocolate croissants! After we had a little walking tour around Nice. It was nothing special, but a good way to get an idea of the city were visiting and figure out the lay of the land. The tour ended at the only American burger joint in the area for a lunch of wine and random French goodies. It was actually delicious, but there were just too many people for that space. After lunch, we explored the outdoor market, bought a box of perfect strawberries to take to the beach with us. Everyone did a quick change, bought plenty of wine, and headed straight to the beach. It was SO nice to just lay on the beach (even though it was an uncomfortable rock beach) and soak up the sun with some of my best friends. We had had a semester of going going going, so it was nice to just have time to relax and just be. Some people had way too much fun on the beach and Everyone headed out to find somewhere to go for dinner (with our new sunburned skin), but with so many people and pricey places, it got overwhelming and it ended up being the three amigos (Sarah, Britt, and I) having dinner in a little Italian/French place. That night, we just walked around the water and talked about life overlooking the beach. Pretty sweet life.
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| Nice, France |
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| Harbor in Nice |
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| The wisteria was everywhere! |
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| Had to hit up Wayne's Happy Hour |
Saturday:
Saturday, too, started off with a delicious breakfast and then we hopped on the bus towards Aix-en-Provence. There we had a about an hour to go to the market and buy specialty foods, fruit, and other market goods like olive oil, herbs, and cheeses. I was obsessed. Somehow my French came back to me while interacting with the market vendors. If I was to have studied somewhere else in Europe, I think it would have been Aix-en-Provence. Of all the places I have been, it was somewhere I could actually see myself living. It is full of culture, beauty, and much friendlier than I expected. We enjoyed Nutella and banana crepes in the street and the best shaved ice of my life. The man actually had a block of ice that he shaved along with about 40 flavors. It was the perfect treat on a hot day like that! It also helped that I have a good grasp on the basics of French! After the bus ride back, Emily and I had to go to buy our Longchamp bags in France because the price was right and it was a perfect souvenir and bit of luxury. Happy Easter to me! After that, a group of us went to a roof top bar at sunset. We ordered overpriced drinks and watched the sun go over the Mediterranean only it was awesome because we were on a roof of course. It was a really fun evening of reminiscing on the past semester and letting all of the embarrassing stories out. This trend continued for the next 2 weeks! After that, we went back to Wayne’s to get our burger fix because what else would you want to eat in Southern France… Oh well! The night ended with drinking on the beach with a huge group of people on GIF. The weather was nice and it was nice to just be outside with everyone.
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| Just some of the spices at the market in Aix en Provence |
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| BEST shaved ice ever. |
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| Crepes in the street |
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| Our fine purchases |
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| Rooftop bar |
Sunday:
We got out of the hotel (and not soon enough in the eyes of the owners- GIF left their mark on the hotel and I don’t think they stand a chance of being allowed to stay there again. Oh well that’s what happens when 100 college students on their last weekend trip stay in a luxury hotel.) Anyways, that morning, we got to go to Monte Carlo, Monaco for a taste of luxury. We hoped on a silly red train that gave us a narrated tour of the city. That was shot and allowed us to see a bit of the city before we got a chance to explore on our own. We went to the market and got a delicious lunch of 4 cheese (and avocado from the market) panini and Oranginas, which we ate on a bench. We saw a car show and just enjoyed walking around. Three of us did a speed visit of the aquarium before we headed onto our last bus trip of the semester! Michael and I watched a copious amount of The Office, which helped us get through the last 2 hours of the bus ride. When we got back, Sarah and I ventured across the city and got our last Gusta Pizza and La Carraia gelato.
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| Monte Carlo casino |
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