I realize I have not been as active as I originally planned to be on this blog, but here are the summarized details from my wonderful, crazy, relaxing, touristy Spring Break 2010:
NICE: Nice was just as gorgeous as I remembered it. The water was the most turquoise blue I have ever seen, and I could not seem to take a picture that captured its beauty. It had cool fountains and these strangely awesome statues on the top of poles that were lit up at night. We climbed up a large hill/small mountain and saw a beautiful waterfall and a Jewish cemetery. We walked along the beach a lot and skipped rocks or just enjoyed the view.
On Easter we went to mass in French which was just as confusing as Italian mass. One woman sat in front of us, heard us speaking English before mass began, glared at us, and moved. The 2 elderly ladies next to me fell asleep during the homily, and communion was another free-for-all. We cooked one night in the hostel and made warm goat cheese salad, which is apparently the equivalent of a Caesar salad in southern France. We also met some interesting characters, such as a Canadian guy who is somehow living from hostel to hostel as a traveling chef. He gets a big group together who pay 5 euro each, and he cooks them a big meal, and somehow makes money off of it! He had quite some stories... Also we met a huge group of Americans who were randomly staying with each other, and only seemed to want to party. We did not see much of them though, but one of there roommates was a Belgian kid who never seemed to wear a shirt and explained his stay in Nice as "lets just say I had to get out of my town for a little while..."
MONACO: Our 3rd day in Nice, Ryanne, Alex, and I took the train to Monaco. It was also just adorable. Even the trash cans were attractive! I guess thats what you get when your country is filled with bazillionaires. We went to the palace, after being lost for most of the morning. (Ryanne and I decided that's one thing Venice has taught us, to be ok with being lost and be confident that we will eventually find our way.) We finally figured out all the bus stops had maps, and thus made our way to the Palais and Oceanography museum. Both were great visits, and inexpensive compared to some of the places we have been. Also people warned us that food would be expensive, but with a little walking we found plenty of restaurants between 5 and 10 euros. It was a perfect day trip, and even though it was cloudy it only seemed to rain right as we were going inside.
CANNES: We went to Cannes on Monday, and it was well worth the visit. Our hotel was called Waikiki, and for 25euro per person per night, we were 10 steps from the beach, with comfortable beds and one of the best showers I have ever seen. In fact, we all showered once and sometimes twice a day. Cannes just makes you feel like a celebrity! There was the big movie house where the Film Festival is held, as well as a red carpet out front. (We of course took advantage of this...) Cannes also had sand beaches, and gorgeous weather. There were these cute little stands all along the water that sold fresh paninis and crepes and gelato: all delicious. We ate a lot of sushi in Cannes as well, since it seemed to be the cheapest food, and was also quite fresh; Cannes being on the ocean. We walked by the docks and the beach and also shopped: Lexie, Ryanne, and I had not brought enough tops for our 10day trip!
GRASSE: Our last day in Cannes we decided to take a day trip to Grasse, which is known for its perfumeries. We went to the train station, only to find that there was a strike, and the first train out (which was actually a bus) was at 12:30. So we waited and then ended up getting on a different bus, but it took us to the right place. We took a tour of Fragonard perfumerie, and then asked directions to the center of town, which was supposedly about 30 minutes away, ALL UPHILL. So we trekked up to the center, which did have an incredible view and some cool old structures. We looked for other perfumeries, but when we were told they were down the hill we decided to just head back to Cannes as it was getting rainy and we wanted to use our awesome shower. Well, we found out that apparently this small town has 2 train stations, and we were at the wrong one. The other was further uphill. So instead we decided to try and walk to the nearest bus stop, which we did not realize was on the side of a HIGHWAY, so we returned to the "wrong train station" and waited an hour for another train/bus that had the worst driver I have ever seen. We felt like we were on a rollercoaster! But we eventually got back safely, and were entirely thankful for our shower.
PARIS: Paris was the last and most touristy part of our vacation. Ryanne and I were staying with friends from BC who randomly ended up being roommates, which was perfect! We didn't feel as if we were forcing them to babysit us because we had each other, but they could also trade off if they wanted to come with us certain places. It was absolutely fantastic! One day we climbed to the top of Notre Dame in the morning, the Pompedeaux in the afternoon, Sacre Cour (possibly the prettiest church in Europe) at sunset, and the Eiffel Tower at night. We ate macaroons, which are the most interesting cookies you'll ever taste and we had sushi, yes, again, at a place where it came around on a conveyor belt and you picked which one looked good. The plates were different colors, which corresponded with the price of the dish! We also saw the Rodin museum, Luxembourg Gardens, the Louvre, and Shakespeare and Co, which is probably my favorite bookstore ever. It was started in the early 1900s, and writers like F Scott Fitzgerald lived there when they were down and out! The entire upstairs is full of books for reading instead of buying, comfy couches, a piano for anyone to play, a typewriter for "your own creative use", and "The mirror of wishes" which is just what it sounds like. I could live there.
All in all it was a fabulous trip, but now I must kiss and fly.
Hope you enjoyed the pics and I promise to write again soon.
<3 Allie
