By stlake
I know this isn’t an original title. I’m sure all of you, even those of you who didn’t know I went to Nice, France this past weekend, figured it out. Hopefully I get more creative as I write. The Nice Airport isn’t exactly a place of inspiration, especially if your flight is delayed two hours…
I can honestly say Nice is the most beautiful place I have been in my life. The Old Town had buildings of every color, little winding streets, cobblestone roads and a fresh farmers market everyday. It’s right on the water with a port with yachts you dream of owning someday. One of my best friends, Madeline met me there from the GW Paris program. We were moved from our original hostel days before travel, but the one we ultimately stayed in was actually better. Except for our toilet paper dispenser…let me explain. It was the normal metal dispenser, just like you see in your basic public restroom. But, the front of it wasn’t locked. So as I was sitting there, it flung open and hit me in the face. I now have a nice little cut and bruise on the bridge of my nose. Between the piece of urchin in my foot (yup, it’s still there-reference the last post) and this bruise, you guys must be concerned about me. I’ve never been one for normal injuries but even these are surprising me. I promise to be more careful.
But besides the violent toilet paper dispenser, the Villa Saint Expuery was clean, had Wi-Fi and a shower with good water pressure. These amenities are all you can ask for in hostel as a young student studying abroad and traveling on a budget. What is more important is the location; and it was a quick walk from the Old Town, the port and the beach. I would definitely recommend it.
My favorite site in Nice was the Parc de Chateau. It was a breathtaking, woodsy walk up a mountain. There were gorgeous views of all of Nice and all the way at the top, there was a man-made waterfall. I'm thinking of making a Tumblr of pictures soon, so stay tuned!
The #YOLO moment of the trip was when I tried mussels and clams for the first time. For those of you who don’t know, I have a phobia of eating anything from the ocean. I don’t know if it’s the smell, the saltiness or just the fact that one time when I was 7, I threw up after eating salmon. Who knows, but it’s been about 15 years since I had anything fishy. And, I’m pretty sure that was a fish stick, so it doesn’t really count. But Madeline was craving them all day and ordered an overwhelming amount for dinner. I hesitantly tried them and I have to admit, they were not bad at all. They tasted like extra salty meat. So far abroad, I have tried and liked calamari, shrimp, mussels and clams. I still can’t stand tuna but hey, baby steps.
The only downside to Nice is that everything is extremely expensive. Alicante definitely has me spoiled; I don’t pay for any meals and Mama Dominga’s cooking is great and I never go hungry (literally, she makes me eat every 2 hours. She is definitely close to her ultimate goal to make me a gordita [see post #1 for explanation]). Also in terms of going out, the normal drink in Alicante is 3 euro. In Nice, 7 euro was the average price which led me to spend 15-20 euro on dinner each night. Luckily, Madeline and I discovered the McDonalds to have the chicest breakfasts of bacon and egg McMuffins and coffee.
We also traveled in Monaco for a day trip a la Selena Gomez in Monte Carlo. Most of you might be more familiar with Monaco in terms of James Bond, but I’ve always wanted to be a Disney Channel Star pre young adult breakdown (#prayforMiley) so, I’m gonna go with this analogy. It was just as beautiful as people say and the wealth was out of control; the nicest cars on the roads and the most beautiful gems in the store windows. Madeline and I even brought some jewelry; wrap bracelets made by this local woman who was extremely sweet. I even got her business card and she said I can order them for friends in the states! So now I can say I own jewelry from Monaco. No it’s not a diamond or any other stone, but let me live the dream for a little ok?
Next stop on my Fall Break Extravaganza; Rome, Italy to channel the sanest of Disney Channel child stars, Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Until next time loyal readers xo