We stayed just outside of Nice at a really cool hostel that used to be a monastery. It was a really fun hostel because it had a bar and restaurant in the bottom and it was run by people my age - mostly Australian. I went with seven other girls from GIF with a student travel group called Bus2Alps.
On the first day we went to the medieval city of Eze and toured the gardens at the top of the city. Eze is basically a small medieval town on top of a hill that is now filled with shops and cafes and then the gardens sit at the top, with amazing views. I guess Eze is known for its perfume factories because we toured one and then I even bought my own French perfume! The factory produces perfumes that are in the same fragrance category as Chanel and Dior perfume, but cost a fraction of the price. After Eze we ventured on to Monaco - so beautiful! We were only there a few hours and just walked around, had lunch, and went to see the famous Monte Carlo casino. It was actually really small! But very beautiful inside. We didn't enter the game room (it had a cover charge of 10 euros) but we did try some slots! My first time ever gambling, actually. I lost 5 euros and stopped after that. But, my friend Lauren won 10 and Leslie won 40! That night we headed back to the hostel and had dinner and drinks and then went dancing at a really fun bar called Wayne's Bar. It had a live band and was Australian run. We had such a good time dancing and singing along to the songs! We tried to find a bar we heard of called the Bulldog but couldn't! Leslie and I found it the next night, though, but we failed to get a picture to show our GU friends at home.
Saturday was a really fun beach day - we spent a few hours swimming and beaching it in Antibes - a really cute beach town. The water is SO blue, it's so amazing. We got some sun and took some really cute beach pictures. We then headed to Cannes and saw the sight of the film festival and walked around Old Town to a really cool church at the top of a hill and got a really pretty view of the town. Cannes was really cool but really ritzy - like mostly all of the cities we visited. I think I saw more yachts this weekend than I ever have in my life. They were crazy nice and super huge! It was really cool seeing all these wonderful coast towns in the South of France but I like the charm of Italy much more. I am staying in Florence for the next few weeks and couldn't be happier about it. The next trips I have planned are Rome and Interlaken, and those aren't until November. I am also going on some day trips in the weeks coming up, like Cinque Terre and Siena. I can't wait to explore more of Italy. And only a few weeks until my parents come visit! This semester is going by so incredibly fast, I can't even believe it. I am starting to miss Spokane and my family in Arizona a little bit, but I am having such an amazing time that I think I will manage. I'm trying to send as many post cards as I can but it's more expensive than I realized!
I'm off to nap and finish some homework.. this weekend exhausted me and caused me to get a tiny bit behind in my literature homework. Later I'm taking a jog up to the Piazzale Michelangelo with Helen, my friend Brittany showed us a really pretty and fun running loop. It's great because it starts up by the Acadamia (where the David is kept) at the Piazza Michelangelo, a square known for it's charm and view of the entire city. From there we run through some neighborhoods with huge, super nice homes that have views of all of Florence and are situated near the Boboli Gardens - a famous 16th century park in Florence. I have found that taking long walks and running is a really great way to see the city and learn my way around.
Just testing this posting stuff.
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