FRENCH RIVIERA

So this past weekend we went to the French Riviera with the university...and yes I got a tan.


There were about 50 of us that got on the bus immediately after class on Friday (around 1:30), left Grenoble and sought out the Mediterranean.


We stopped in Aix-en-Provence for about an hour and a half, where we found this cute little souvenir shop. We spent some time talking with the owners and found out that it is a Frenchman and his American wife (who reminded me EXACTLY of Stacy) and how they have lived all over the world and even in Grenoble!


After that, we kept driving for a few hours. During this time, Megan, Kathleen and I could not help overhearring that three people next to us were the most intellectual game of 20 Questions any of us had ever encounterred: They were guessing historical and literary figures. And I am talking about philosophers, mythology, old testament, poetry, classic authors, etc. Thus, after our break to get dinner...we joined their game for the rest of the ride.


We stayed in a little town about 5 minutes outside of Nice that I cannot recall the name of at the moment. We arrived around 9:30, got situated in our rooms and then went to find the water. We ended up sitting on some rocks by the Mediterranean watching the moon shine on the water and the ginormous yachts.


Saturday, we drove to Nice around 9:30 in the morning and had until 2:30 until we were leaving for Monacco. Therefore, we took pictures of the beaches and climbed up the huge chateau that looks over the city. AMAZING VIEW. Then, we went to the outdoor market, bought some Socca (which is the famous bread in Nice) and flatbread pizza at a little stand that ended up being some of the most amazing food.


At 2:30, we got on the bus for the 10 minute drive to Monacco...but on the way we stopped in Grasse, where we learned how to make perfume!


Monacco is so beautiful. It and Nice are both a blend of Italian and French cultures and it is so neat and beautiful to see. When we got there, we stopped at the area where the palace and the Oceanographie Museum. The museum was such a cool place! I felt like I had just transported back to Junior year of high school when we had to read Moby Dick. It is all about Prince Albert I of Monacco that did all of this research in the 19th century. However, what everyone was really excited about was that the wedding clothes of the prince and new princess were on display there. (They got married earlier this month).


After having an aching surge of hunger, Kathleen and I went in search of dinner while Fallon, Megan and Jessica went to see the palace. Talk about amazing food.


After all of this, we went to Monte Carlo. That city needs a whole other message for itself.


Monte Carlo just knocked all of us out and we went back to Nice and slept.


Sunday, we left Nice at 10:30 in the morning and drove to Saint-Paul, a little old medieval village. However...the air conditioning on the bus failed to work...so people were not very happy.


Saint-Paul was gorgeous. It was all hills, cobblestone, narrow streets, ancient buildings and views that looked out over vineyards. All of it was incredible.


We then drove some more and went to Cannes. It was cloudy and extremely windy and all of us were exhausted. So, we picked a spot and ate crepes. 


And then we had our first encounter and issues with the automatic public toilets in Europe. These toilets you pay 50 centimes for (half a euro), do your business and after your done, it cleans and dries itself. Awesome idea right?! Maybe on a day when you dont have a bunch of people waiting in line and trying to get probably over 50 people on a bus on time. FAIL. We left at least 30 minutes late.


Cannes was our last city visit, but we made one last stop to eat dinner.


We got back to Grenoble around midnight and there were four of us that needed a taxi to Meylan (the suburb that we live in). This is all because the trams stop running around the city at about 12:30 at night on Sundays and the bus we take to our houses stop running at 8:30. So, we got to stand in the middle of the city, call a taxi and get ourselves home.


I got home at around 12:35...got in bed around 1.


Needless to say, monday was a rough morning, but COMPLETELY WORTH IT.