Let's start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start). Also, apologies in advance because I'm sure to make many more references to Sound of Music in these posts since I finally got to go to Salzburg and take the tour...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Nice, Day 1:
I boarded a plane to head to Nice on April 4th, feeling sick and tired. Sick, because I'd caught a disgusting cold that week, and tired because I had to get up at 3:45 am to catch my flight! Luckily, all of that melted away when I arrived in sunny, warm Nice, France. Heather, one of the girls from my program who opted to study in Nice, for the second trimester and the friend I was staying with, met me at the airport and informed me that today wasn't actually what they would consider a "good" day here. It was "cloudy", which, coming from Edinburgh was complete nonsense, obviously! I mean, seriously, I think there was MAYBE one single cloud. C'mon! Anyway, my first day in Nice was excellent. I got to drop my stuff at their apartment (and say hello to Julia, Tess and Victoria, too - her other roommates and other friends from the program) and then go on a quick walking tour of Nice. I saw the port area where there were oodles of fancy schmancy yachts, the lighthouse, the beach, and a beautiful war memorial set into one of the many hills along the coastline. Now, one thing I wasn't expecting in Nice was all the color or the style! The city feels like you have stepped back into time and also into the interior of an Easter egg. All of the buildings, houses, etc. seem to be either pale yellow, red or orange. That first day, the girls also planned a big dinner for me! Heather cooked up a delicious batch of chili (at least I'm assuming it was delicious, since I was still sick at that point and really couldn't taste anything) and Rosie, Claudia, and Linda came over to welcome me to Nice, drink, catch up and laugh. They all made me feel so welcome and comfortable. I decided I liked this lifestyle right then and there.
Monaco, Day 2:
The next day, Heather and I took a bus for 1.50 euro to go to Monaco. Yes, it costs, like, 2 dollars and takes only half an hour to get to Monaco from Nice - who knew?! The bigger surprise, though, was the landscape! I was ready for beaches, obviously, but not for the cliffs and hills that dot the French Riviera. That was, without a doubt, the best bus ride of my life! All of these coastal towns are gorgeous and the chill vibe didn't hurt, either. Monaco itself was one of my favorite things of the entire two-week trip! (Don't quote me on this, I'm sure I'll be repeating this for every town...but, really...it's all so GOOD.) Our bus dropped us off just a few steps away from the Monte Carlo Casino which is set in this beautiful old building with many sassy figures alighting the top and side. You could smell the money in the air! Plus, the city was preparing for the Grand Prix, so there were oodles and oodles of luxury cars - if you're into that sort of thing. We walked around the back of the Monte Carlo, down to the harbor where there were many more (and much bigger) fancy schmancy yachts! Then we headed up a massive hill (so much climbing!) to the old town of Monaco and Princess Grace's palace. As usual, we found some weird back way to go up the hill and saw some beautiful views of the Mediterranean. The best part of getting up the hill, because the palace wasn't that great, really, was the garden. So much color offset with the deep blue of the sea and the palace in the background. Not bad for a days work!
Nice, Day 3:
Tessa arrived all the way from the states the following day! Hooray! More Americans on parade! We gave her the grand Nice tour, with some additional highlights, like gelato from Fennochio and the famed statue of the Naked Man. Okay, it's only famous among our friends...but really...look at that hair! The stance! The butt! How is it not MORE famous is my only question.
Cannes, Day 4:
Tessa really wanted to go to Cannes, and so did I. We headed out on our own to allow the girls in Nice to get some studying done (we are in the midst of proposals for our dissertation on top of an exam and two other papers). This time we took the train, but, fear not, the views were still great! And since we were heading south, it was, somehow, even warmer and sunnier! We walked along about a mile of white sandy beaches before we figured out what we wanted to do...and that ended up being to see a movie. Really, what else CAN you do in Cannes??!! The movie was called "Le Journal d'une Femme de Chambre" and it was in French. In other words - we were SUPER authentic in our movie-watching experience! Honestly, we were able to keep up with the plot pretty well, though some of us (not saying any names, but it was me) fell asleep for a very brief period in the middle. lol
Nice, Day 5:
This was supposed to be our last day in Nice, so we took it easy. Meaning that we hung out at the beach for hours, went to the Nice Castle (which is literally just rubble, but has beautiful gardens and a cool old cemetery) and then Tessa and I prepared a thank you dinner of lasagna, garlic bread and salad! However, things went downhill the next day...
Nice, Unexpected Day 6:
So...our flights were supposed to leaving around noon. We planned to wake up, have a leisurely breakfast and then head to the airport. Instead, we woke up to our flights being cancelled due to a scheduled strike by the air traffic control people across France. How did they not know about a "scheduled strike", you might ask? The answer is that they DID know, and just didn't inform anyone. Cool cool cool. Our first thought was to rent a car and drive to Rome that day, but after a number of searches and walking halfway across the world to get to the car rental place, we discovered that would cost around 1,000 euro. ha Ha HA, we responded. Never. Our next best option was to take a train the next day, so we booked our tickets and prepared for 7 long hours in a train.
The Train, Day 7:
Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I should have known that my love for Harry Potter would get me through these tough situations, because the second train we got on had compartments! I was so overjoyed by this discovery that the three hour trip went by in a flash. For those wanting to stalk me retroactively, we took a train from Nice to Ventimiglia, then from Ventimiglia to Genoa, then from Genoa to Rome. If you look that up on the map, it shows mainly coastline and the views from that train were really awesome - especially as we rolled through Tuscany! By the afternoon, we were finally in Rome. The Big Olive. To be continued....
