Nice Is Not Just Sympa: Nov 5th-Nov 7th

4:30 am seems to be my best friend for 7am flights. Dear Easy Jet, can you please make your flights at normal times in the morning? Thanks. At least I arrived in Antibes early enough to enjoy the entire day.

This weekend I stayed in Old Antibes, which is a small French Riviera, town in between Cannes and Nice with my friend Ingrid. I met Ingrid this summer at the French embassy and we bonded over our hatred of the visa process, Connecticut and the fact that we were both going to France for the semester! Ingrid is so sweet, cultured, intelligent and a great chef, so I was lucky to be able to stay with her in her charming apartment.

Upon arriving Ingrid toured me around her area, so that I could sea the Meditteranean Sea! Its always been a secret goal of mine to put my feet into every ocean, but I had to settle with just a hand, cause I was not purposely getting gross to spend the rest of the day touring. Thus I missed out on swimming in the Mediterranean Ocean this weekend, but it is Novemeber!

(At least I got to put my hand in the Mediterranean!)

I completely acted like a giddy tourist and I have to thank Ingrid for putting up with my ridiculous behavior until we met up with her friends Alex and Marianna at the train station to head to Nice, where we just casually wandered through the city talking, taking pictures and most importantly eating.

(Ingrid, Marianna and I casually walking through Nice and eating Gelato.)

Lisa you would love souther france. It is a mixture of france and Italy, so the gelato was still delicious here and there were pasta shops where you could go in and choose any kind of freshly made pasta and bring it home to cook. I was in heaven and I desperately wanted to buy some, but I don’t have a kitchen to cook in, which poses a problem!

There is nothing extremely touristy to do in Nice besides the boardwalk, so we had a crazy fun time striking poses on the famous beach.

And taking photos of the massive amounts of police officers that were in town because of Sarkozy’s and the prime minister of China’s visit to Nice that day. I would have loved a photo of Sarkozy, but he was MIA.

Dinner was hysterical. We went to a burger place and had French fries and of course burgers with a north African twist. The soundtrack in this fastfood restaurant was the best I had ever heard. Never again will I underestimate the dining quality of a fast food restaurant. Not every burger barn is like McDonald’s!

Saturday in Nice proved to be less eventful, but much more relaxing. While Ingrid, got ready I walked a huge circle around Antibes to explore the place where I was staying. I found…

Beautiful views of the ocean,

Antique markets and art markets, which I did not photograph because I felt insanely touristy with my large and in charge camera,

And monuments? That’s my best guess for these buildings and statue I found.

(Land of the yachts.)

After and hour of walking and almost getting lost I picked up Ingrid and we headed to Cannes, which is where they have the film festival every year. Cannes is the strangest city I have ever been in. It is small and insanely sketcy with porn shops and the ghetto by the train station, but a two minute walk towards the ocean leads to a rich, vibrant Cannes filled with stores like Gucchi and Versachi and restaurants and hotels that I will never be able to afford. It was bizarre, but along the coast of Canne near the famous film screening building is a beautiful boardwalk, lined with shops, restaurants, beachfront and yachts. It truly was a French paradise.

(The building where they have THE movie festival of the year. Me I'm just be a chameleon.)

(Ahh sunshine. How I miss you here in Paris.)

I was sad to leave bright and early at 5 am on Sunday morning, but Paris just feels like home now. Also, on the plane I gave directions to two French families. Je suis parisienne et maitenant, c’est vrai.

A Week Spent in Florence

Tuesday was my very first day in Florence and I had no idea what to expect from Tuscany, but it is clear that Florence is the heart of Italian culture. In one day Erin and I were able to visit 75% of the touristy spots like…

Saint Lorenzo,

Palazzo Medici Riccardi,

Santa Maria Novella,

Saint Frediano in Cestello,

(I love the truck. I think it really adds something to the church...)

The Ponte De Vecchio

(The smallest car I have ever seen. It seats one person and has three wheels. I saw this right before we crossed over the river, where there were others!)

Giardino di Boboli,

(This guy was a stud. I had to get a photo with him.)

Palazzo Pitti

(Inside the palace there were special exhibits. The ones we had entrance to were fashion throughout time, jewelry and Egyptian history and wine making. Its really hard to sneak photos in Florence, but I got a few inside the palace exhibits. muhaha.)

For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant near our hotel and split a pesto pasta dish, so good. From there we were going to go see Kinsella and Matt play in a bar downtown, but we were exhausted from our recent travels, so we stayed in. We still have plenty of nights left in Florence so I am not worried!

Wednesday

This was supposed to be another tour filled day and it did start out that way. We started by going to the other bold buildings on our map, but there was nothing really to see. Either we had to pay a lot of money to go into random art exhibits or the buildings were not that pretty, so we started wandering towards Ponte Vecchio when I happened to see Matt Castanho on the street. I had no idea that he was studying abroad in Florence and I literally stopped, pointed and shouted his name, while confusing Erin beyond belief because she thought that I was pointing at some building. As an English major, I should really be able to use my words better to communicate, but such is life. Matt was great and he invited us to his apartment down the street where we met his roommates and group of friends in Florence. Needless to say my super power is being connected to everyone…here it goes

1) Matt Castahno

2) His roommate Chris (I’m friends with leanne who is friends with his girlfriend Cat)

3) Cat (she was also in Florence for the semester)

4) Anne Hartman (Kate Hartman is her older sister and is GSS with me at Delaware)

5) Cat and Chris’s friend Sarah is studying abroad in Paris and she lives down the street from me ( I hope we do get to meet up for coffee soon in le marais!)

6) Steven, Matt’s roommate, knows the lacrosse boys from Avon Old Farms that I lived with freshmen year

7) The rest of south Windsor high school including, Kinsella, Matt, Langer, Mondy and Erica Misenti.

Needless to say South Windsor High School was dominating Florence during this week!

Anyways, Steven and Matt took Erin and I to get the cheapest, yet most delicious gelati that I had ever had, but the great place was where we ate it. We hopped over the wall and climbed down to the river to eat our gelati on the river dam in the center of Florence. This was such a fun afternoon and Erin and I got some great advice about Florence. For instance, we went to kitsch for dinner. It’s a bar where you pay 8 euros for a drink and then there’s a buffet. Erin and I enjoyed the music and the atmosphere of the place more than the food, which was like eating a chili pepper, but the drinks were just what we wanted. I’d say that Wednesday was a pretty amazing day and Florence only got better as the week went on.

Thursday

This was our museum day. We started out at the Gallery of the Academy to see Michaelangelo’s The David. Although, you cannot take pictures inside the gallery, I am a master and now have a photograph of the original David. He was HUGE!

Our next stop was The Uffizi, which we spent almost two hours in line waiting for and an hour and a half inside. I found some of my favorite paintings in here, but overall it could not compare to the Louvre. We went and saw what you have to see in your life.

(The one and only picture I was able to take inside the museum.)

(We copied the married coupled next to us and got ourselves a photo on top of the Uffizi.)

After this we made our way to Michaelangelo’s Plaza to get one of the best views of the city. We got a little lost, but that can never be a bad thing. It just meant we got another view of the city at sunset. Need I say gorgeous!

As always, it was then time for dinner, so Erin and I tried the group’s favorite pizza place, Gusta Pizza.

(Thanks UCONN! I miss them already. I wish they were in Paris with me!)

We then met up with Matt, his roommates and the girls at their apartment for a night of wine and asshole and then a casual dash to the bar down the street. It was a lot of fun and it was so nice just to casually hang out.

(All of us who went out to dinner!)

Friday

This was a leather market day. Erin and I spent three hours exploring the leather market down the street from us. Italian leather is art, that is for sure. I wasn’t completely suckered into buying unnecessary pieces, but I did splurge on the best boots ever made and a journal. They are nice mementos of my time spent here, not to mention the boots are hot! All the Spanish ladies surrounding me agreed when I tried them on. It was hilarious.

(My favorite leather market.)

From there, Erin and I met up with the group to go out for dinner. We enjoyed our supposed last night with the group in Florence and were bummed to say goodbye to them at 5am in the morning after our night of pasta, wine and asshole. It was a great night well spent.

Saturday

This is what I like to call the day from hell. Erin’s debit card number had been stolen in Rome, so we could not withdraw any money to pay for our hotel or to pay for the rest of our trip. We literally thought that we were stranded in Florence, but everything did work out, thanks to Chris and his roommates. They let us crash at their place all of Saturday. They took us to the market, where we bought stuff for dinner and after amending Erin’s bank situation we played cards, broke out a bottle of wine and had a dinner party. A little later on the girls arrived and we thought it was brilliant to watch Anchorman and to drink everytime they say Ron Burgandy, Ron or Mr. Burgandy. I was destroyed, needless to say because they say his name a ridiculous amount in that movie! On the bright side, I stuck to tradition and drank on Halloween, although I was wearing pajamas the whole time instead of a costume, but that counts right?

(Gin shots in an expresso cup...)

(Thank you, Ron Burgandy.)

Sunday

Seven Regional trains to Nice, where we arrived 5 minutes after our train to Aix-en-Provence, so we got a sleeper train and headed to Paris. In total I spent exactly 24 hours on trains traveling from Florence to Paris. Quel horreur!

Roman Holiday Part 3: October 25th

Today was our last day in Rome and as of right now I am on the train heading to Florence.

First, we started with the park near our hostel that has remnants of an old palace plopped in the middle of the park. It is so random, but it makes for a nice dynamic in a traditional park.

Then it was off to Santa Maria Maggiore to see THE Sistine Chapel, but to our dismay our guidebook mislead us. Not only was the chapel under construction, but it was not the right one! I always thought that THE Sistine Chapel was in Vatican City and it turns out that it is! Thus, Erin and I took some quick photos of the church, found the baths and then hastily made our way back to the Vatican Museums, so that we could see one of the most prestigious works of art in Rome.

(This is my favorite room ever...mainly because I have never been anywhere that has smelt as good. I could live here with the statue of the virgin mary...maybe not, but I definitely need to find out where this church gets there inscents.)

(The famous baths of Rome. Can't really tell what is it, can ya?)

(The Sistine Chapel. Props Michaelangelo. I can't even imagine his neck cramp after painting this.)

Then we found Piazza de Popolo, which is known for its symmetry and its gardens.

Our last stop before getting on the train was Republiblica and it’s from there that I said my final farewell to Rome.

I now regret not throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain because doing so assures a person’s return to Rome and now who knows if I ever will?

Roman Holiday Day Two: October 24th

Good news I survived the second night from the hostel from hell and spent a wonderful day wondering Erin’s route of Rome. She has officially been named my tour guide Barbie for this trip. Today, Erin and I walked a massive loop of the southern part of the city and saw as many of the touristy spots that we could possibly find.

We first started with the pyramid?

(Some aristocrat had his grave made into a pyramid and I kind of still wish that this was a pyramid in Egypt, but this will have to do for now.)

Found a random market on the way to the Janiculum Hill.

After finally reaching the top of the hill, I had an amazing view of the city where I also found a beautiful fountain, a wedding, part of the Italian army and a couple of models and the Tempietto in the church of San Pietro in Montorio.

(Look left, army trouper. Look right, models on a photo shoot)

From there we wandered towards the other side of the river, where we found an island in the center of the river with a castle. Erin beat me to the punch and called dibs on the castle for her future home, but its no problem because I totally call Versailles.

And then because of the movie Roman Holiday we had to go to Santa Maria in Cosemdin just to take our photo with the Bocco della Verità (the mouth of truth). The legend is that any liar who puts his hand into the mouth will have it bitten off, so good news, I still have both of my hands!

For lunch Erin and I found a bench overlooking the Circus Maximus and the ancient imperial palaces. Needless to say our view of Rome overshadowed our traditional bread and cheese lunch that we are beginning to grow sick of.

And then it was just a quick walk to the Colesseum, where we spent the rest of the afternoon!

(I overheard this little boy in the Coliseum ask his father if there were any cats there. His father told him that there were no longer any animals in the building...he was WRONG! There were two kitties lounging in the Coliseum entrance. That little boy wasn't crazy. hah)

As we tired ourselves out, we needed to refuel at dinner at the Piazza Navone, where we tried bruschetta, pear juice and Italian pizza. It was delicious, but the best parts of dinner were watching the nuns next to us drink a bottle of wine and the muscians in the plaza serenading us with American rock.

After dinner it was a quick exploration of the area on the way to the metro, where we found the Spanish steps.

It was another perfect day in Rome and I hope that the last is just as great!