For the past few days I've been very sick. Nothing is worse than being sick in a foreign country. I thought being sick away at college was hard, but at least the pharmacies speak English and I know how to get to a doctor! Luckily some of the others on the trip have been sick as well, so a group of us went to the pharmacy together. Through broken French, English and gestures we were able to secure some cold pills and cough syrup. Hopefully that will help. I don't want to dwell on my illness, however. This post will focus on my past few days as best as I can remember them.
Hiking in the Alps was unbelievable. We had to wake up at an ungodly hour, but as a wise woman (my maman) once said "I've never regretted waking up early for something." So I went and it was sooo worth it. After about an hour and a half up a winding mountain road in a bus that was far to large to be attempting the narrow roads (side note French bus drivers are magicians! more on them and public transportation later). Luckily I was able to sleep through most of it. When we finally arrived we realized just how cold it was! None of us were expecting it, as we had just come from the coast which, even at 7am is hot. Once we finally got moving, though, we warmed up and made it all the way to the top! Views were gorgeous, I'm so glad I went.
Unfortunately I am experience technical difficulties, which are made worse by the fact that I don't speak, read or write French.....so no pictures yet. I will work on that and get back to you. I hope my French adventures are enough to engage you for now....
Back to the Alps. After hiking back down, which was much quicker than the hike up, we stopped at a charming little restaurant. Best olive oil, hands down! We couldn't get enough of it, or the delicious homemade omelettes we ordered. Then we went on to a cafe and sat and talked for a while, enjoying hot chocolate and coffee to warm ourselves up. Who knew just a two hour bus ride could make such a difference in the temperature! The bus ride back was uneventful, or so I'm told. I fell asleep again!
The Alps was Sunday (7/17) and the rest of the week was fairly uneventful. This Sunday, however, was Monaco! Another gorgeous place, although mostly uneventful. Well at least now I can say I've visited! I saw the casino and even went into the lobby. It was beautiful and I wish I could have gone inside to see the rest of the glamour, but I'm too cheap to pay €10 to get in. Perhaps if I meet a prince... I also saw the church were Prince Albert was recently married (oh mon dieu, such rumors!) and the castle itself! The group I was with was able to take a guided audio tour of the part open to the public. While beautiful, as one girl pointed out it was a bit like Disneyland. Very clean, almost fake looking and lots of shops for tourists. Ah well, the views from the top of the hill where the castle was were beautiful.
On Tuesday we went to Cannes. I had a similar experience in Cannes as I did in Monaco. It was beautiful and I'm glad I went, although nothing special really stood out to me. Perhaps I need to come for the film festival...again, where is my prince?!
So many days blur together here so I don't recall the exact date this happened, but I had so much fun I thought I'd share. I was feeling restless in my room and unproductive (I have two research papers to do while I'm here!) so I thought I'd take a walk into Old Nice. On the way I mailed some post cards. Once I made it into Old Nice I felt so much better! It's filled with so many ally ways that twist and turn you could get so lost. Luckily shops line the allies so it's easy to keep yourself entertained while you try to find your way out of the maze. I stopped for a Nutella crepe for energy. They are quickly becoming my weakness! And then on to one of the cutest shops ever! It's filled with salts, spices, mixes, flavored sugars, soaps and I don't even know what else. The best part is it's not just any salt or spices, but really unique ones. Of course I immediately knew what my father's gift from France would be. Ever the foodie (http://soundfood.blogspot.com/) I knew he'd LOVE anything from this shop. Me being my mother's daughter (AKA total shopaholic) quickly got to work picking out what I thought he'd have the most fun experimenting with. My haul: Egyptian salt, seaweed salt, some kind of red salt that I think I read goes well with chicken, chocolate flavored sugar, a fish rub, a steak rub and another mix I think is supposed to be for vegetables. Most signs were in French, but I could translate a bit and I know that my dad will have fun with anything I get him. Successful day! I can't wait to see what he mixes up for me....hint hint :)
This post is far too long to be with out pictures, so I will end here and hopefully get my technical difficulties sorted out soon!
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