Now as I sit here sick with the awful cold that the entire school seems to have caught, I finally have time to write this. I never imagined I would have trouble finding time to write down my thoughts but that seems to be exactly the problem now that I have arrived and spent my first two weeks here. So the last ime I posted was just before we left for Nice and Monaco.
On Saturday morning, we all rushed to the Cezanne statue at the Rotunde to board the buses, once everyone had arrived we set off for Nice. It was quite a pleasant scenic drive as we left Aix and headed toward the coast. We were almost at Nice when we stopped to switch bus drivers and grab a little snack. When I last visited France, I discovered the crazy flavor potato chips so I just couldn't help but buy another bag of the delicious cheeseburger chips. We reboarded the bus about a half hour later and finished our drive to Nice.
On Saturday morning, we all rushed to the Cezanne statue at the Rotunde to board the buses, once everyone had arrived we set off for Nice. It was quite a pleasant scenic drive as we left Aix and headed toward the coast. We were almost at Nice when we stopped to switch bus drivers and grab a little snack. When I last visited France, I discovered the crazy flavor potato chips so I just couldn't help but buy another bag of the delicious cheeseburger chips. We reboarded the bus about a half hour later and finished our drive to Nice.
After arriving, we headed to the market for lunch where I found groseille berries (which are apparently red currants) and strawberries. Both were absolutely amazing. Lunch was a fougasse which was kind of like a pizza just all wrapped up in dough. It was pretty tasty. We decided to hike up to the ruins where the ancient fortress was located. Unfortunately we did this after lunch so after we climbed the 300 some stairs we weren't feeling that great. The view of Nice and the Bay of Angels changed that pretty quickly though. There aren't really any remains of the fortress but there was an archeological site that was uncovering the remains of a cathedral though. Paige and I were determined to at least wade into the Mediteranean despite the cold cloudy weather so we left the mountain and headed down towards the sea.
The rocky beaches at Nice made getting into the water quite difficult and trying to run from a massive wave even harder. By the time we left the beach, both of us were soaked... We finished our time in Nice with a tour of the old city.
We went to Monte Carlo that night. The casino was totally new to me, not being 21, I can't go into a casino at home so I only had images of casinos from movies in my head. I was a bit surprised by how quiet and empty it was. I always imagined casinos to be packed with people and very loud as people pull levers and win. Totally not the case in Monte Carlo, there were a couple slot machines and a couple tables but after about an hour and 4 euros that went towards keeping Monaco tax free, I had spent enough time there so I headed to the cafe next door. The next morning we headed back out to see the rest of Monaco. It was nice but the whole country is less than 1 square mile so we got bored quickly and headed to the gardens to rest and sunbathe. On our way back to Aix we visited Eze and the Fragonard factory. I loved Eze, all the winding little roads and the ancient feel of it made me wish I could live there.
The rocky beaches at Nice made getting into the water quite difficult and trying to run from a massive wave even harder. By the time we left the beach, both of us were soaked... We finished our time in Nice with a tour of the old city.
We went to Monte Carlo that night. The casino was totally new to me, not being 21, I can't go into a casino at home so I only had images of casinos from movies in my head. I was a bit surprised by how quiet and empty it was. I always imagined casinos to be packed with people and very loud as people pull levers and win. Totally not the case in Monte Carlo, there were a couple slot machines and a couple tables but after about an hour and 4 euros that went towards keeping Monaco tax free, I had spent enough time there so I headed to the cafe next door. The next morning we headed back out to see the rest of Monaco. It was nice but the whole country is less than 1 square mile so we got bored quickly and headed to the gardens to rest and sunbathe. On our way back to Aix we visited Eze and the Fragonard factory. I loved Eze, all the winding little roads and the ancient feel of it made me wish I could live there.
The second week of classes began and it was quite the busy week for me. Not only did I have a couple short papers to write, I also had an interview and moved. When I arrived at my new house, my host mother explained that it was customary to give something to the guest so she had bought me roses. She told me that she loves flowers but roses are her favorite so the next day when I passed a flower shop that sold rose bushes, I stopped to buy one to thank her. She genuinely appreciated it and now it sits in the middle of her table. Friday morning we both woke up sick unfortunately and I was glad that classes only went until noon because then I was able to return and rest. So this weekend as the students who aren't sick are out traveling, I am staying inside to rest and avoid the unusually cold weather.