Melissa Goes to Italy.: French Riviera

The first weekend in March brought me to the French Riviera for my friend Audrey's birthday. I really didn't know what to expect from this trip, mostly because the French Riviera isn't in my Rick Steves' Italy guidebook, but I think this was easily the best weekend I've had here so far.

Thursday evening I ducked out of class early to catch our 6 hour EuroAdventures bus into Nice. We moved into our "hotel" (there were 6 of us in a room with bunk beds) at around 1am and immediately crashed. Going to breakfast Friday morning at a nearby creperie and realizing I actually had a working knowledge of French was an excellent kick start to an amazing weekend (I took 3 years of French in high school and 2 semesters at TCU but I never really felt like I 'knew' the language, so this was really exciting for me). Later that day we took a short train to nearby Monte Carlo, where we mostly just wandered around admiring the big boats, fancy cars, and beautiful ocean views. After visiting the famous Monte Carlo casino and the Hotel de Paris we headed back to Nice, where Sarah, Natalie, and I had lunch at a really incredible Lebanese restaurant (I have never seen so many different kinds of restaurants in such a small area).

Saturday we took a day trip to Cannes and just enjoyed the sun, the beach, the food, and the shopping. That night was Audrey's birthday and all 15 of us went out to dinner at a nearby Hibachi restaurant. This was really an interesting experience and we all soon realized that even hibachi food isn't the same as it is in America. Afterwards we headed downtown to catch the tail end of some of the Carnivale festivities. Carnivale in Nice is very, very different from its Venetian counterpart. It's a little (a lot?) edgier, which I realized after being greeted by a group of 15 year old French boys shouting really obscene things at us in English and getting sprayed directly in the face with silly string by some stranger. While a little off-putting at first, we all ended up having a pretty great evening.

The next day we headed to the ancient town of Eze on our way back to Florence. Eze was recently named one of the world's 10 most picturesque villages and I definitely think it's a must-go for anyone visiting the area. It's high up in the mountains so there's tons of clean air and gorgeous ocean views, as well as quaint little old shops and gardens. Eze is also home to the Fragonard perfume factory, which I was able to tour and pick up a few fancy perfumes.

All in all I had an absolutely incredible weekend. I really enjoyed getting to spend time with friends, but most of all I think the beautiful scenery, friendly locals (it definitely helps being able to speak their language), and incredible food really stole my heart. I did not want to get back on the bus to Florence. I felt like I could have stayed there forever, so I really hope I'll get the chance to go back some day.