Catching Up and Saying Goodbye to Nice

Monaco, Cannes, and the end of Nice
So much catching up to do! While I'm currently in Florence, Italy several cities and trips have taken place on the journey here that I have a couple of catch up posts to do.
It seems as though our month in Nice flew by without us really realizing how fast the time was going. After spending the weekend in Paris with Jules every day in Nice was filled with classes, beach trips, and visiting local cities nearby. The Chicago kids and I explored as much of what we could as possible, and yet even after a month in the city of Nice we didn't see much of what our own city had to offer. We definitely got our fill of the University, the beach, local night clubs, and shopping, but probably could have given a little more time to some of the museums and parks there were, but it seemed as though the beach was just a bit more appealing after our days in class.
Our third and final weekend in Nice was spent with day trips to both Monaco/Monte Carlo and to Cannes. Monaco was gorgeous, despite being WAY too hot for our liking. Brian, Alex, Andrea and I chose to take one of the hop on hop off tours so we didn't have to hike all the way up the giant hill to see the castle in Monaco. It was totally worth the cost and even though we got kicked off at the end of the tour, and had to walk through the scariest tunnel of all times with cars flying at us, we eventually found our way back to the train station in the Mountain and made our way back to Nice. The city itself is not as big as you would expect, and while the Monte Carlo was pretty from the outside and the cars are extremely impressive, the service at the cafes near it was just plain awful and unless you're dressed to the nines don't plan on getting to go inside the casino. I did find a diamond ring I'd like some day, but the biggest purchase of the day was a magnet for Mom.




The next day the girls and I headed out to Cannes to meet up with one of the French students who was having a bar-b-que at his parents house in Cannes. After the train ride from hell, where they ended moving us all up to a first coach cabin because the second coach was so hot people were literally about to pass out and leaving puddles of sweat in their seats, we eventually made it to the beautiful city of Cannes. While we thought we were late enough to have missed the city tour with Adrien (the French student) we ended up taking a tour around the city, climbing mountains, monuments, and sweating more than I have in my entire life. Our shirts looked as though we had just taken a shower and I eventually ended up using one of the public fountains plus Snuffy, as a shower just to try and cool off. After visiting the Monks castle, the Cannes film festival site, the Hotel Carleton, and the first sand beach we had seen in months, we were off to Adrien's parents house up in the hills of Cannes. The amazing chateau (yes literally a Chateau) has been passed through the generations of his family and is where he grew up. His parents being out of town, we had free range of the house and enjoyed the french version of a B-B-Q (the picture of me aerating the fire is what we ended up cooking on)complete with football (both American and French version)dance parties, and meeting a new friend named Climo (is that the right spelling Alex?)Because the last train back to Nice was at 10pm and NONE of us were capable of finding our way back to the train station at that point in time, we all ended up crashing at Adrien's house for the night, either on the floor, the "couch" or outside in the grass. We left bright and early the next morning complete with severe headaches, great memories, and more bug bites than any girl could possible need.




Our last week in Nice was spent with a final trip to 50 cent champagne night, studying for finals, taking finals, a short trip to Antibes with Brian, and a final goodbye party with everyone at the law school. Because of the terrible cold/cough that pretty much everyone had caught by that point, I spent my final night at the hotel with Andrea eating strawberry tarts, exchanging pictures, and watching a movie on her laptop.
Nice was absolutely amazing, and while we were all beyond ready to be done with France and some of its people, it was an amazing home for a month.

Paris with Jules

AKA Paris Part 2
My third weekend here I was off to Paris again, only this time it was a completely different experience. When I was in Paris the first time I knew there was absolutely no way I would be able to see everything I wanted to see and experience everything I wanted to experience in the 3 and a half days I was there with the boys, so I opted to skip Spain and Running with the Bulls (still a tough decision, but after hearing the stories one I'm pretty satisfied with)and return to Paris for the weekend. Initially I was only going to go for Friday and Saturday night and return to school on Sunday but low and behold one of my closest friends Jules decided that she would fly out and meet me there. But plans changed, and suddenly a 4 night 4 and a half day adventure was planned. I left for Paris from the Nice airport right after school on Thursday (we don't have classes on Fridays)and although I missed the first tram between the stations at the airport I successfully made it to the airport, printed my plane ticket and checked in for the hour and a half flight to Orly airport in Paris all speaking French (along with nodding and pointing of course)

Despite warnings from my Professor about how terrible AirFrance is I had no problems with the flight at all and actually enjoyed my own row and being one of the first to receive their baggage. I navigated my way through the airport to the Metro and found my way to the end of the number 4 line and the Metro stop Porte De'Orleans which led directly to my hotel and to Jules who was waiting in the hot pink lobby. Despite my great find on the hotel, there was one slight problem with it, there was no air conditioning at all. Now while this wouldn't normally be a huge problem in Paris in the summer time, we of course picked the weekend with record breaking heat waves and the room was a bit uncomfortable the first night (I eventually bought a fan from what can best be described as a Paris dollar store except things weren't a dollar)but got better as the weather cooled down and the rain kicked in.
Jules and I had both agreed that this would be a leisurely trip for both of us with no set plans and a simple agreement to see what we could see when we could see it. Every night was spent at the Eiffel Tower taking ridiculous amounts of pictures, laughing at the random people we talked to (Americans who were drunk and touched Jules feet to inspect her tattoo, French guitar players who sang Britney Spears and the Beatles, Italians who moved to France but couldn't speak a lick of English, and all of the individuals who tried to sell us wine, cigarettes, beer, key chains, champagne, and helicopter toys)and simply enjoying our own personal heaven, followed by pizza and way too expensive sodas at the the cafe by the Metro station.



We purchased Museum passes so our days were spent exploring all of the random little museums I didn't get to see the first time around including Musee D'Orsay, Musee L'Orangerie, The Crypt at Notre Dame, the Deportation Museum, Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, and several other parks and bookstores along the way sneaking illegal pictures and giggling at some of the subjects that were chosen to be displayed.


The Musee L'Orangerie was my absolute favorite and I think Jules and I both could have spent an entire day there. The water lily rooms were to die for and getting to see Professor Golden (my contracts prof. who is also teaching in Nice this summer) and his wife was an added bonus to this tiny museum that deserves far more recognition. We took way too many pictures and videos of this one and enjoyed every minute of the air conditioned glory.




In addition to visiting the museums I didn't get to see the first time around, I also made sure I got to get in some quality shopping time this trip. Poor Jules followed me up and down the Champs-Elysees, as I walked into and out of stores, most of which I couldn't afford but enjoyed thoroughly anyway and eventually found my way to the affordable boutiques where I picked up some things for myself and a couple of things for some others as well. (Yet another Zara I can add to my list)A personal favorite of both of ours was the Swarovski crystal store where the stairs were made entirely of the gorgeous gems. Between those and the chandeliers we saw in the D'Orsay Jules and I have our future houses planned out.





We also made stops at Saint Chapelle, the French Supreme Court, the Top of the Eiffel Tower (AMAZING views and I would recommend it to anyone no matter how long the wait is),Moulin Rouge (just hop on the metro, go take some pictures and hop right back on because it is a SHADY neighborhood there), and Giverny (where Monet lived and the actual water lily gardens are, about a 45 minute train ride outside of Paris, an awesome side trip that would be better if it weren't 102 degrees outside)
Despite the days being horrendously hot, we did our best to enjoy what we saw and not to complain too much. Unfortunately the heat really did cut into some of the peace and enjoyment of the trip, but it was still a great experience topped off by the final game of the world cup which we watched on the Trocadero with about 5000 other people (some of whom decided to light fire works and throw them at trees which then lit on fire and caused people to run for their lives...including us)
Paris is an AMAZING city that I still feel I haven't experienced fully. Everything about is magical and I am so glad I got experience it again and this time around with such a good friend. I can't wait to come back and explore more with others and fall in love with the city all over again. Thanks for an awesome trip Jules, can't wait to do it again!
(More pictures to come, the internet is just being HORRIBLY slow at the apartment right now)

Things I've Learned While Traveling

All Those Random Things That Need To Be Remembered But Don't Fit In A Particular Post:
~Flying coach is not a lot of fun
~The TV sets on above mentioned flights are also not always very fun
~Mind The Gap (and sometimes the gap is REALLY big)
~London at night, even in the summer can be FREEZING
~Hotels that don't allow guests are usually pretty lame
~You need a child to get into Princess Di's playground in Hyde Park
~1pound or 1euro does NOT equal 1dollar, no matter how much you might want it to
~Leaving your watch set to "home" time while sentimentally valuable is often quite confusing while traveling
~Rolling backpacks that are WAY too heavy plus London/Paris/Amsterdam/Brussels trains and metros is a BAD BAD BAD idea
~Berkeley St. and Upper Berkeley St. in London are not the same thing
~Everywhere they sell beer they sell wine (Trust me, I've tested it out everywhere we've been so far)
~Maps Lie
~Train schedules lie
~Boys lie
~Getting mail in Europe is about a million times more exciting than getting mail in the U.S. (thanks Mom and Dad)
~Mailing postcards is WAY too expensive
~ZARA is amazing in every city you go to and will have different merchandise in every city you go to
~CASINO in France is in fact not a casino, but a super market, but a Casino can be a regular casino...its confusing
~Air Conditioning is the greatest invention ever
~Ice should be a requirement and not a request
~In no way shape or form should a person have to pay 9euro for a soda...and yet we all do it
~Regular Ice Tea (aka not Peach or Mango or Tonic or Passionfruit) is non-existent in Europe
~France is hot in the summer
~Amsterdam stairs are the most ridiculous things you've ever seen and should be called ladders
~Homesickness is no respecter of age
~Skype is the second best invention ever (after air conditioning)
~The Eiffel Tower is pure perfection except for the grabby guys and people selling stuff to you (except for the 5 keychains for 1 euro...that guy is good)
~I still don't know what Coo Coo Yum Yum means, but I love the guy!
~People from Chicago are awesome
~Brussels pretty much shuts down on Sundays
~Hop on/Hop off tours are the best way to go
~Laundromats in Nice France are the hottest place you can possibly go to (it is a SAUNA)
~Peer pressure to buy a float is not a good thing (not the best use of 20 euro)
~Pinnochio, Pinnochyo, PinochYo, and Pinochio are all very different things
~France has no idea what an appropriate amount of people to shove into one space is (this includes bars, restaurants, buses, restaurants, cars, trains, etc.)
~I don't care what anyone says shorts rompers are one of the most comfortable and easiest things to wear
~Rock beach=almost as ok as a sandy beach
~Jelly fish=no fun
~Sometimes its hard to live with boys
~Sometimes its fun to live with boys
~Blogging takes more work than one would think
~Everything costs way more than you think it will
~No dog compares to Benny
~Learning french is really hard, but if you smile and nod your head and giggle when they do sometimes people will think you understand
~Paris hotel with no air conditioning=BAD IDEA
~Missing home is part of every trip

It's Nice in Nice!

Nice-"Home, Sweat Home"
It only took 2 and a half weeks of being here but I'm finally updating about Nice. To be fair, we haven't done a lot in those 2 weeks besides enjoy the city and go to school, but it still deserves a description in the blog. Nice is a city of paradoxes, audacity, discovery and pleasure, and a LOT of sweating. Located in the heart of one of the world's most highly prized regions, at the gateway to the major European cities, it offers its rich history, wonderfully sunny climate and geographic location between the sea and the mountains. The city of Nice itself is absolutely gorgeous and divided into many different subdivisions that you can easily access by bike, bus, or foot. Our hotel is called the Citea and is kind of equivalent to an American time share. There are long term apartment rentals and short stay hotel rooms, a pool and private "kitchens." I'm rooming with Mike and Kenley in a "2 bedroom" and I managed to talk my way into getting the private bedroom with the full bed and closet. Actually unpacking was one of the highlights here and being able to stay in one spot for more than 3 days has been awesome. The boys stay in the main room where there is a trundle bed and the kitchen area. We're located on the 7th floor with the best view out of anyone on the program, looking directly towards the French Riviera and the "plage."
Our days are spent going to school at 8:30 in the morning for 4 hours and then coming home grabbing a quick lunch and hitting the beach for a couple of hours and then spending a night out somewhere. You can literally see people turning different colors as the program goes on and tanning oil is a hot commodity in this city. We all have bought multiple types of rafts, innertubes and boats to enjoy the sea and avoid the jelly fish the best we can. We are definitely hard to miss when we all launch TJSL "floatilla" and I'm sure the French people just love us.
Our classes take place at the University of Nice which is located up a HUGE hill about 10 minutes from our apartment. If you think that the walk has become easier or less of a pain in the butt at 8am, you think wrong. Everyday every student walks into class out of breath and dripping sweat and we all run to the back of the room to stand in front of the air conditioning. I can not begin to describe how hot and humid it is here. The best comparison is to Florida in summertime, but even that doesn't do it justice. Our motto is "Sweat Happens" and we've all come to learn that there is really no point in doing your hair or makeup and that sweat stains are simply a way of showing you're having a good time. My classes are interesting and we had the opportunity to visit the French Court and witness a murder trial where two identical twins were being accused of murdering another individual. It was a neat experience but one that was far too long and far too French.
The nightclubs here are small and hot, though most play American music and have decently priced drinks. Our favorites so far are Waynes, BullDog, The American Bar, and Le Ghost. The biggest difference is the fact that there is no drinking age in France so we're often out with all of the 15 year olds which has proven for many interesting nights. Many times we just end up with a couple of bottles of wine on the beach and practice skipping rocks and having a great time.
We all tend to hang out as a big group, though I've become particularly close to the students visiting from John Marshall in Chicago. Alex, Andrea and Brian are awesome and we always have an amazing time together. We have plans for them to come visit San Diego over Labor Day Weekend and I'm hopefully going to head out to Chicago to see them at some point soon as well. Needless to say, we're all pretty happy Andrea discovered this program and convinced Alex and Brian to come here instead of Australia.
We have a week and a half left here and our plan is to explore everything close by. It's Bastille Day today and we're getting ready to go out and celebrate on the beach and watch the fireworks and people dancing on the boardwalk. I'm sure I'll get some great pictures.

Paris, je'taime

June 23rd-June 26th
I know I'm late, but it's been a crazy week and I finally have time to update the blog, so 2 posts are coming, starting with Paris!
Ah Paris, how could you not love that city?! I loved it so much I'm going back in a week (more on that later!)Once you get over the smell, the fact that they charge for baggage when taking a Taxi, the no personal space issue, and the grabby men it's one of the most remarkable places you can visit.
When we finally made it into Paris from Amsterdam we were all taken aback by how ugly the train station was, but we quickly realized we were on the back side and the "Paris" we knew was directly ahead of us. Despite the fact that we had all agreed to take a Taxi to the hotel Kenley somehow got separated from us (his backpack instead of suitcase allows him to go a bit faster than us) and we experienced our first true panic of the trip. Mike, Justin, and I spent the next hour and a half at the train station searching for Kenley (the one member of the trip who does not have a cell phone or computer) dodging Gypsies (travel tip: if they ask if you speak English, just don't answer)learning that accueil means help/reception and that's where you go to page someones name over the intercom system, and eventually taking a cab to the hotel praying that somehow Kenley knew where he was supposed to go. Low and behold, upon our arrival at the hotel we discovered Kenley was already there and settled in at the shower. Despite some initial questioning, Kenley assured us that the room with one full size bed was indeed the triple and we were where we were supposed to be. (Turns out they had put us in a double, like Mike and I had thought, and one of us ended up sleeping on the floor every night)

The view from the hotel balcony was great and after we all took some time taking initial pictures we decided to head out, grab some dinner and do some night time exploring. We went to a cute sidewalk cafe where we had our first experience with the true language barrier. Trying to get across the point that we wanted something besides drinks was a task, but we eventually managed to order our way too expensive food and get out of there. Justin headed back to his hotel and the other boys and I went to explore the night scene around our hotel. We walked along the river, through the statue gardens, towards the Notre Dame and I caught my first glimpses of the Eiffel Tower (it's true you can see it from pretty much any location in France)The river was packed with people and we managed to stumble upon a group of people Tangoing on the river banks. The city is absolutely mesmerizing at night and I fell in love right then and there. We walked around a bit more, tried to figure out how to take pictures at night that could actually capture the amazing lighting of the buildings and eventually found our way back to the hotel where I had my first encounter with the truly creepy young french men. (think two young guys, figuring out what room we were in, asking if I was dating either of the boys and going from there)

The next morning we headed out bright and early to explore all of the big ticket Paris places and to grab our first real "pan au chocolat" (chocolate croissants). First stop was Notre Dame (well actually first stop was some random fountain I found that I wanted to take a picture with) which is next to impossible to impossible to describe adequately. Everything about it is majestic and I could have stayed there for an entire day and not had enough time to take in the architecture and artistry of the building. We stood in line to be able to walk in and I took the next hour to explore the stained glass windows, candles, art work, and religious items, taking note of the detail of each one. Even being Jewish, you could see how this was a holy building where people feel more spiritual. I absolutely loved it and it is a must return to on my trip back.




Next stop on our trip was the Louvre, one of the most famous museums there is. We all went in fully knowing we didn't have enough time to explore everything so we would hit the big stuff and see what we could in the two and a half hours we allotted ourselves. The museum is an art lovers dream, covering every decade and century with great detail. Despite being horrendously hot in there, the crowds were relatively decent and we made our way through the four sections fairly quickly with stops at the Roman and Egypt sculptures, Hammurabi's code, decorative arts section, and eventually working our way to the prints and paintings where we saw the Madonna and child, the Venus de Milo, and of course the Mona Lisa (yes, it is true what everyone says, it is small and somewhat disappointing, but a definite must see when you're there.) As we were leaving the museum we witnessed a woman get her camera get stolen and despite a valiant effort Kenley was unable to stop the guy, though he did knock his shoes off.




After the Louvre we headed off for the furthest stop, the Arc De Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories. Due to filming that was taking place, and a LONG line of people waiting to climb to the observatory, we didn't take too much time here, just going to see it, take a few pictures and then go on our merry way. Mike accidentally led us to the Grand Arch which is MUCH further down Champs-Elysees but we got to see an interesting thumbs up statue and found a great view of the city.


From the Arc we headed towards a museum that offers the best view of the Eiffel tower where we stopped and ate lunch from a street vendor, took some quick pictures, and then headed back to the hotel to get a much needed break from the sun.

After naps and showers we grabbed a picnic dinner and some bottles of wine from one of the street markets, reconnected with Justin, and headed off to the park at the Eiffel Tower for the night. This was by far my favorite time in Paris, simply enjoying our time with each other, laughing at the french antics, and watching as the night sky lit up. It was true perfection in Paris, and another one of those pinch me moments. (All of the great pictures from then are on the camera I don't have the cord for, but don't worry its being mailed to me! Thanks Mom and Dad!)After we saw the tower light up and got a quick group shot of the four of us we headed back to the Metro to head home. Little did we know that a strike was about to occur and despite not being anywhere close to our hotel we were promptly kicked off the subway and told to find our way back a different way, cue creepy French man situation number 2 (not including the many grabs and stares while walking throughout the day)After a proposal, an invitation for me to bring him home, and a picture session where he made Justin use his cell phone to capture the moment, we finally separated from my new "French Fiance" and started the LONG walk back to the hotel. After a good 30 minutes of walking, I was completely over it and hopped in a cab with Justin back to the hotel, where luckily there were no visits from the guys from the night before.
The next morning, after sleeping in a bit (meaning more than 5 hours of sleep in one night) we hopped on the trains and headed out to spend the day in Versailles. Thanks to a friendly family from New York we learned we could skip the horrendously long ticket sales line, and simply sign up for the guided tour, something we all wanted to do anyway. We spent the hour before our tour was to begin, trying not to melt in the heat, or trip on the cobblestone pathways, and exploring the gardens of Versailles. Because it was so unbelievably hot that day we didn't go too far out into the maze of gardens, but observed from the top near the, for lack of a better word, mansion. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, and the fact that something like that was originally commissioned as a summer house, is kind of hard to believe, but I guess if you have the money, why not? We joined up with some fellow American tourists and began our guided tour through the private rooms of Versailles, learning about the history of the expansion of the different wings, and the aristocracy that lived there. My favorite parts were easily the Opera Hall and Hall of Mirrors, both of which are absolutely incredible pieces of artistry. Everywhere you looked there was something extraordinary, that I couldn't believe was in a house. The whole experience made me want to learn more about the time period and go home and watch Marie Antoinette (I'm sure Jules will appreciate that one). Learning about the life they lived and how everything was in public, kind of made you feel bad for them and question how a society like that would operate today, I don't think it would.



After Versailles, we stopped at McDonalds so the boys could have a hamburger, and then headed back into Paris and enjoyed our final night at the street side cafe. We packed up our bags one more time,and after an intense game of Bada Bada I ended up getting the distinct pleasure of sleeping on the floor. We woke up SUPER early the next morning, grabbed one more pan au chocolat and hit the trains for the longest ride so far to our home for the next month NICE!