Livin' the high life on the French Riviera

Current City: Cannes, France

I guess we didn't realize that Cannes could - and would - be the most expensive part of our trip. Fortunately, it is also the most relaxing place we have been so far...give and take, right? We have spent the last two days lounging in the lap of luxury. There are quite a few beach clubs that line the beach, and for about the same price as dinner you can rent one of their lounge chairs for the entire day - either on the sand or on the pier. Yes, yes the public beaches are free....but there's something to be said for spoiling yourself every once in awhile!

my life for the past two days

We are staying at the Chanteclair hotel located in the middle of old Cannes. The location couldn't be better...we are steps away from the cutest street in the city, the beach, and tons of restaurants.

On our first evening we took a walk down the street that parallels the water...basically Santa Barbara's Cabrillo Boulevard. This is the "très chic" part of Cannes, where you find the Carlton Hotel, haute couture shops, and the venue for the Cannes Film Festival. Hearing our English, an older man began walking with us. He told us about the best spots in Cannes, the most touristy places to avoid, and some of his life story. And then this 83 year old man asked as to have champagne on his terrace. That's when we said, "Merci!! Au revoir!!!" and hurried off to have dinner. 

the Cannes harbor

The last couple of days have been incredibly relaxing - exactly what I need before starting a potentially stress filled semester. In just a few hours I will be in Nice and meeting my host mom! I am increasingly excited to settle in Nice and begin my classes!

J'aime la France!!

Current City: Aix-en-Provence

Aix is my new favorite city! After a very challenging night of feeling very homesick and a stressful day of traveling (my cell phone was stolen in the morning and the trains were pretty confusing) I was relieved to be in France which feels a bit more like home - and I can speak the language! We arrived in the early evening and took a cab to our hotel (neither of us wanted to lug around our 60lb suitcases any further). We are staying at a little tiny hotel on the edge of old Aix. The hotel has a tiny winding staircase and teensy rooms - perfectly French. We are in walking distance of Ave Mirabeau- the main street in Aix. Mirabeau is a gorgeous tree-lined avenue dotted with small hot-spring fountains that lead down to one giant fountain. At the end of the street, just to the left of the fountain, is an adorable merry-go-round. Miri and I were laughing and looking at all of the animals and the man who was running it let us have a ride for free!

The fountain at the end of Ave Mirabeau

Me on the chicken at the merry-go-round!

Last night after dinner at an outdoor cafe we walked down Mirabeau where vendors had set up little shops. We strolled down the street - stopping to buy a few things. The vendors sold only handmade and local crafts like jewelry, clothing, honey, soap, and lavender.

This morning we woke up and had a typically French breakfast of baguettes, croissants, jams, butter, tea, orange juice, and hot chocolate.  We left our hotel with cameras and a map and started wandering around. The old part of Nice is filled with little outdoor cafes, winding streets, and beautiful apartment buildings. 

Aix is a very calm city and so far everyone that we have encountered is incredibly friendly and really do not fit the stereotype of the snooty French. As we were walking we found a building that was being remodeled. Through the window we could barely see a little garden that we were intent to get a better look so I asked the painter inside. He said “Mais oui, mais oui!!” (Of course, of course!!) and ran around to open the door for us. The apartment was stunning. The rooms were huge and had very high ceilings. Everything from the fireplace to the doorways were detailed. If I could I would move in next week :)

Next we stumbled upon a farmer's market. We ate gorgeous nectarines and walked around looking at the beautiful fruits, cheeses, and olives stuffed and dipped in all sorts of delicious things. I really hope that Nice has similar outdoor markets where I can buy fresh fruit and veggies. 

Cheese and bread at the farmer's market

One of my absolute favorite things to do in France is to visit churches. I love thinking about the time and commitment that has been invested in building these magnificent buildings and keeping them preserved - you can literally feel the energy as soon as you walk in the door. Today we visited three different churches, one of them was the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur. The inside was absolutely stunning - every window is filled with stained glass. Through a doorway on a right there is a courtyard. Circling the garden are amazing stone-carved pillars. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Courtyard at Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur

So, as you can probably tell, I am completely in love with this city already. It is absolutely gorgeous, the weather has been perfect (much cooler than Barcelona), and the people are so nice. I would love to spend more time here but we will be leaving tomorrow at noon. I am already planning to come back to Aix for a weekend with my parents and Raffi later in life! Tomorrow we will be in Cannes!

Barcelona!

Current City: Barcelona, Spain

View from the Park de Montjuic (Sagrada Família is visible in the background)

Today is my third full day in Barcelona!  I arrived on Saturday at 6:30 in the evening and half of my luggage had been lost (it was delivered yesterday and I found out that it hadn't even made it on my first flight from LAX to London!). I was definitely frustrated but knew that there was really nothing I could do – and had to meet up with Miri as soon as possible. She had bought tickets for the FC Barcelona game that night. My cab driver into town was awesome (I always seem to have the best conversations with cab drivers). He told me so much about the city during my 10 minute ride into the city. He pointed out the harbor, statues, and the cemetery along the hillside. He was very, very jealous that I was going to the game. As soon as I got to the hostel and dropped off my bag we were off again, jumping in another cab to get to the stadium. The match we watched was a final game - FCB was playing Sevilla at their home field for a trophy. Sevilla had previously beaten Barcelona 3-1, so Barcelona had to win by at least 2 goals to take the trophy. Everyone was very tense until Barcelona started scoring (the first goal was actual a deflection off of one of Sevilla's defenders!) Barcelona ended up winning 4-0, everyone was cheering and clapping.  While at the game I looked around and noticed that people of every single age were at the game, and there were a lot of people- the stadium holds 110,000! Soccer (I should really say fùtbol) is all-important here... after Messi scored his third goal everyone stood up and bowed to him. After the game the spectators took the streets – there wasn’t any room for cars at all. People were shouting “BARCA! BARCA!” It was quite an experience…I’ve never been to any sporting event that could compare.

Barcelona is spectacular. The architecture is beautiful, little tiny details that barely catch your eye are everywhere. Miri and I walked around yesterday for a couple hours (I didn’t wake up til 3pm major jet-lag) and saw beautiful churches, lampposts…everything has so much detail and craftsmanship. Below is a photo of mosaic work outside of the Museo de la Música. 

We are staying at a youth hostel and there are people here from all over the world. There is a large common area where we have breakfast and dinner. We’ve had quite a few power outages but they only last about 15 minutes.

Days are really stretched out here – dinner is commonly around 10 or 11 at night. This is something that I’m not really used to. Here in Barcelona it’s perfectly normal to see an older couple walking their dog at midnight. I suppose the heat might have something to do with that though…

The weather has been insanely hot (when I flew in at 6pm it was 30 degrees/90 degrees) – after spending a very cool summer in Santa Barbara I am really not used to this. I’m hoping that traveling north into France we have cooler weather. But I’m really not complaining.

Today Miri and I did some more tourist-y things like visit Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. It was so spectacular, breathtaking really. Construction has been going on for 120 years and they are still working on it today. It was taller than I expected, I had to strain my neck back to be able to see all of it. The architecture is very earthy, the front of the building almost looks like a drip-castle that I made at the beach as a kid. The huge winding towers are decorated with colorful fruits. 

Tomorrow we are off to Aix-en-Provence!!

Here I go!

Current City: Santa Barbara, CA, USA 

With only three more days in Santa Barbara I've tried to soak up every minute of being at home, but I've been way too busy! I've spent the past week packing, running errands to pick up last-minute necessities, and babysitting as much as humanly possible. This will be my fourth trip to France so I have a pretty good idea about what I need to pack...just some bikinis and a French dictionary, right? On Friday afternoon I will board a flight from LAX to Barcelona, Spain to meet up with Miri, my friend from SB. The plan is to travel from Barcelona to Nice in 9 days, making stops along the way in Aix and Cannes. We know where we will be sleeping every night and we have train reservations, but the rest of our time is unplanned! Miri and I have talked about doing a "euro-trip" together for years and years and  we're finally getting around to it.

So here's what I'm about to do...
I will be spending the fall semester of my junior year living in France through a study abroad program with Sweet Briar College. As I said, this will be my fourth stay in France but the most intensive language and culture immersion yet. I will be living with a woman in her apartment in Nice and attending classes at the University of Nice. I have absolutely no clue as to what my class schedule will look like...and the French professors don't even know what they will be teaching! Throughout the semester I will also be able to travel in Europe. A few close friends will be studying in Europe this semester so I will definitely visit Jackie in northern Spain and Miri in Firenze! I will be representing Wheaton College at three college fairs at the end of September in Paris, Geneva, and Zurich and will spend one whirlwind day in each of these cities! In October my dear old Mom and Dad will visit me in Nice for a week before driving around Spain for a couple of weeks. I know a lot about driving with my dad across countries (we've zig-zagged the US 9 or 10 times) and let me say for the record, mom - you have no idea what you're in for :) After my finals are turned in and I've said goodbye to my host mom I have an incredible, overly-romantic reunion to look forward to when my boyfriend and I meet in Paris after 4 months apart. Oh la la!!


If nothing else, this blog will be like a journal where I can record my thoughts, my adventures, and my inevitable faux-pas. It will be amazing to read through in December when I'm back at home in the United States!


Next stop....ESPAÑA!

This photo is from 2005, during my first summer abroad to France. It was taken on a hilltop park in Nice with two other girls from the program. No doubt I will visit this spot again!