J’ai déjà commencé ma valise

Its kind of sad when that I don’t leave for another 5 days, and I’ve already started packing my stuff up.  Okay, maybe not completely sad, but I think sometimes I try to be too organized.

Jon’s mom did a little bit of research after our UPS shipping price scare, and found that it shouldn’t be much more than $100-150 to ship our big suitcase back to the states so we don’t have to carry it and a whole bunch of stuff we don’t need with us.  I really hope it’s somewhere close to that price range, because though it’s a little expensive, its well worth the convenience of not having all that extra stuff with us.  We’re hoping to go to the post office sometime today, so lets hope what she found is true!

Other than that, it’s about time I write and send out my postcards too.  I bought a handful for a few people a couple of weeks ago, and kind of forgot about them.  I also should start thinking of little things I want to bring home to my family and a couple of friends, which brought me to the unsettling realization that there isn’t a very cool French Riviera souvenir.  So, to my few friends and family who get something from me and look at it and wonder “Well how is this French?”… it probably isn’t, I probably just saw it and thought of you.  The only real souvenir of this region of France is this silly little sachet things filled with dried flowers and such that smell pretty.  I think it’s a little lame.

That is about it really.  I powered through the rest of my online courses for USF, so I’m done with all that (thank goodness!).  Just dinner plans tonight with Ilona, and trying to come up with something worth while for the weekend.  We shall see.

Until then, I’ve uploaded a new picture for the top of my blog, if you didn’t already notice.  Jon took a bunch of pictures from Breil-sur-Roya and put this panorama together from the top of the mountain we hiked.  If you look very closely, you can find me laying in the picture, enjoying the beautiful French sunshine. :)

J’ai dansé toute la nuit à Monaco

So yesterday was absolutely incredible, start to finish.  It was the first sunny Saturday that was warm enough to go to the beach, so after we got up and showered, we headed toward the beach, and stopped at the grocery store for something to eat for lunch while we were there.  We picked up our old fall-back: salami, cheese, a baguette, and something to drink.  This time we learned that we’re not huge fans of Camembert cheese.

The air was a little chilly, especially with the sea breeze, but it felt so got to lay out on the beach and soak up some rays.  Only I didn’t actually soak any up.  I laid out there for probably close to 2 hours, without sunscreen (a time frame that would leave me lobster-like in Florida right now), and didn’t get so much as a single new freckle.  I was a little bummed, but I can’t even try to say it ruined my afternoon, because I loved every bit of it.  I brought my Kindle with me to do some reading, but didn’t get a chance to because Jon was reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential to me.  I guess that’s just like reading it myself, only his voice sounds nicer than my head voice.  That being said though, any time I read something by Anthony Bourdain, I hear his voice in my head.  Either way, the afternoon was wonderful.  My only wish is that the grey clouds from the north waited another hour or so before descending upon Nice.  We had to leave when they covered the sun because it instantly got way too cold, even when I put my clothes back on.

On our way home we stopped at the store again to get a wine-sized bottle of beer for Jon, and a bottle of wine for me to enjoy at Fabby & Niko’s.  We also brought the rest of the brandy from when we made sangria, and bought Fabby a bottle of Limoncello for her birthday, since its her favorite.  We spent a few hours slowly getting ready, and at 8PM we were buzzing their apartment, dreading the four-story climb to dinner.  I was introduced to brandy a coke, easily a new favorite, and a mint liquor called Get 27 that smells and kind of tastes like mouthwash.  It’s a good thing to either start or end a night with, but I can’t exactly see myself drinking it all night.  Two more friends of Fabby and Niko’s showed up, and we enjoyed a birthday dessert that resembled a brownie, covered in Nutella.  That automatically means it was awesome.  After a few more drinks, we were ready to head to Monaco.

Of course, as soon as we get into the car, its starts to rain, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.  About half an hour later, we arrived in beautiful Monaco and ran to the doors of Zest, a club in the port.  I had to pay 2€ to check my coat, which was mildly irritating and welcomed all at the same time.  No one likes having a heavy wool coat to worry about while dancing.  We already had a table and a bunch of their friends were already there.  Now, this club, and probably most clubs in Monaco, was pretty expensive, and the only way you can really get and keep a table is if you buy bottles of liquor for the table.  They bought a few, but Jon and I opted out of partaking, mainly because it was 20-30€ a person for vodka, which we don’t care too much for.  We bought our own drinks, but not many, because they were expensive and small.  For instance, I ordered a 12€ margarita, and got one in a glass usually used for martinis.  Margarita are supposed to be huge, right?  All that aside, I had an absolute blast.  Some of their friends are a lot of fun, and after feeling like the awkward turtle for about 10 minutes, we found something to break the ice and spent the rest of the night talking, dancing (on the dance floor and the furniture) and singing the night away.  Jon and I repeatedly told each other “Hey, we’re clubbing in Monaco… IN MONACO!”  Probably an experience we’ll never be able to afford to do again, but it was unbelievable.  And yes, for my readers who know Jon, he danced.  And I mean it when I say “the night away.”  Last call, like we’re familiar with in the states, doesn’t really exist here.  Some clubs don’t even open until past midnight.  So at 2AM, when we would normally be forced to go home, the party was just hitting its peak, and continued on until well past 3AM when we decided to it was time to go home.

That being said, there’s nothing left but the pictures.  Obviously not the best of quality, given our physical state most of the evening, but alas, totally necessary.

Bonne Fête de St. Patrick!

Sorry for my absence, yet again.  I promise you its only because the nights have been nice enough to go out and enjoy with our friends.  So the recap:

Wednesday, Jon and I went out shopping with Fabiola and Ilona, and I actually had some luck.  I finally found a pair of boots, which unfortunately already have two mystery stains that I thought were water but they haven’t disappeared like the other water spots did.  Guess I get to buy shoe polish for the first time.  Also, found a new shirt and skirt from H&M, some tights to wear since its still a little nippy.  Ilona introduced us to a really neat and cheap jewelry shop close to Vieux Nice, and I got a charm bracelet that has an OWL ON IT!  I love owls, so I was happy.  After some shopping and some gelato (mango for me) we went to Khalid’s for dinner, and as always, had a wonderful time.

Yesterday was of course, St. Patrick’s Day.  Bummed that my first legal St. Patty’s would be in a country that won’t have a place to celebrate it, I was very excited to hear that there is an Irish pub in Vieux Nice that is a blast on March 17th.  So we went with Fabiola, Ilona, Niko and a few of their friends, got their just in time to snatch the last table, and got to relax and have a little bit of fun.  Not being a beer fan, I thought I would just be watching Jon enjoy his all night, but I was mistaken.  They had a full liquor bar and I was happy.  Until I realized that I had been drinking just as many drinks as Jon and he was feeling it and I could hardly keep a buzz.  I know, its not that important to feel drunk, but if I had just as many drinks, all of which had tequila or whiskey in them, and I wasn’t feeling it at all, then they definitely water down their liquor.  I was bummed, but definitely still had a good time.  Also, the bartenders and waiters their spoke English.  It felt really good to relax and not have to concentrate on every little thing I say.

Today, Jon and I went a little farther past Vieux Nice to he could get a Laguiole pocket knife.  They’re particularly pretty, very handy, and made in France.  He’s been keeping his eyes open for one since we got here and finally found one he liked.  After that, we went to the beach.  I wore my swimsuit hoping it would be warm enough to try and bronze a little, but it wasn’t.  I didn’t mind though, I still got to lay on the beach and catch up with Julia Child.  Jon enjoyed skipping rocks, as always.  A skill I have yet to master.  I’m hoping the sun will be out tomorrow.  We’re planning on going for a run tomorrow, then laying on the beach a good portion of the afternoon.  Tomorrow evening we’re going out with Fabiola and Niko to some clubs in Monaco.  I’m excited, I knew I brought my party dress for a reason!

Bonne week-end! (Yes, that is French! Haha)

J’adore sangria

Sorry for my absence, but its been a rather dull few days.  That is, with the exception of last night.

We had another one of our classmate dinners!  This time, it was hosted by Fabiola, so naturally, it featured a few of her Mexican favorites!  Mexican rice, salsa, guacamole (which Jon normally hates, but he actually liked hers!), quesadillas, and picadillo!  Everything was delicious, and since Jon, Fabiola and I had been missing our favorite wine beverage, sangria, the day before the dinner I got everything together for my mom’s recipe and made some, so it would be perfect for last night.  And boy it was.  I had to buy a little pitcher thing to make it in, and it was only big enough to put the wine, brandy, simple syrup and fruit, but that didn’t stop us.  Instead of putting the bottle of lemon soda in the pitcher of wine and fruit, we fill up each glass half way with the wine and fruit mixture, and then topped it off with the soda.  Super easy.  We also learned one of the benefits of sangria: when you run out of wine in the fruit, just add another bottle of wine.  We didn’t have the brandy there with us, so we didn’t add any more, but you could add some back into the mixture if you wanted.  And naturally, the fruit was delicious.

Fabiola’s tiny apartment was quite alive last night, and like always, we enjoyed nice conversation.  This time, Lloica (I’m sure I spelled her name wrong, but you pronounce it “Joy-Kuh”), Hameeda, Doha, Kahlid, joined us, and eventually Niko joined us after work.  What a wonderful evening.

Today has proven to be a little frustrating.  Despite the fact that I wasn’t up that late last night, Jon and I were exhausted, and our brains just weren’t functioning in class today.  At one point, towards the end, Martine said something to us so quickly that when I turned to Jon and asked “did you get all that?” he just replied with “do you know any French?”  Probably a bad move on his part, since I proceeded to burst into tears (quiet ones, but still) out of fear that I’m just drowning in the language and wasting all my time and money here.  Of course, he had no idea that’s what it was about, and when Martine noticed, he replied with “Elle est trop fatiguée” (She is too tired) and she completely understood.  Thank goodness, I was too cold to step out into the hallway (where its at least 10 degrees colder) to get a hold of myself.

After class Jon and I had our favorite club poulet and even added a sablé (cookie) of our choice: confiture for Jon, and figue for me.  Delish.  We were going to indulge in a little of what Nice does best- SHOPPING, but we opted for a nap instead so that we could enjoy the closing ceremony of Carnival tonight.  It was supposed to be on Tuesday, but the winds were too high.  Since they burn the float of the Carnival King, it was too big of a risk to proceed with the weather that day, and they postponed it.  That just means I get to go shopping tomorrow. :)

Bonne journée!

La Bataille de Fleurs a été super!

The sun was warm today, the air was crisp, and there was a slight breeze in the air.  Today was simply beautiful.  I could not have asked for a better day for the Battle of the Flowers parade.

The morning started well, with a nice hot cup of tea.  I prefer to start my mornings like this, but during the week, I never allow myself the time, sleep is far more important.  I actually got in the shower at a reasonable hour so I could straighten my hair for the first time in weeks (when it rains, there’s no point in trying).  I took my time getting ready, and didn’t feel the slightest bit rushed.  I like mornings like these.  Then we were off to buy our tickets to the parade!

We met Khalid, bought our tickets, and then decided that we needed to get something to eat.  Unfortunately, we forgot to share this with him, and he wasn’t really hungry, but we enjoyed some nice conversation at a bistro across the street from Nice’s city hall, where we got to see a few weddings.  In France, you first get married at city hall, where its made legally official.  Then, should you desire a religious wedding ceremony, you proceed to the church afterward.  Made for some interesting people watching.  Jon ordered raviolis aux artichauts, and I ordered salade de chef, keeping my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t have a whole bunch of crazy things in it.  It definitely didn’t, and it was delicious.  It had little pieces of pan fried chicken in it, fresh sweet corn, tomatoes and feta, all on top of mixed greens and drizzled with a balsamic dressing.  I was in salad heaven.

After our lunch, we proceeded right to the parade location, where we met up with Fabiola and Niko.  Now, the Bataille de Fleurs is best described as a more family appropriate version of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras (meaning, everyone is sober and keeps their clothes on) only instead of throwing beads they throw flowers.  Beautiful flowers.  And, they run the parade circuit twice.  The first time, they throw the most prevalent flower, the yellow mimosa.  Niko told me that these flowers are usually the first to bloom after the winter, and traditionally announce the coming of spring.  I thought they were adorable and fun- but thank goodness I don’t have flower allergies! I had little yellow pollen dust all over me!  The second time around the circuit, they throw the… more beautiful flowers, for lack of a better way of describing it.  These included roses, orchids, lilies, daisies of all sorts, tulips, and a number of other flowers I can’t describe or name.  It was great competitive fun, and with a little help in catching them from Jon, I came home with a huge bouquet of flowers for our host family’s table.  I am incredibly thankful that the sun decided to stick around today.  I don’t think it would have been as enjoyable in the rain!

So, here you are! Some pictures!

ALSO- If you’ll take a moment and look at the top menu bar on my blog, you’ll notice that I added two new tabs.  Travel Tips- where you can find all my tips on packing and my favorite resources, and Contact Me- where you can send me an email and find links to my Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Flickr photostream.  The Travel Tips menu will continue to change as I add more and discover more, so check back regularly.  I’ll do my best to announce when I add things!  Enjoy!

Je ne comprends pas l’art abstrait.

First, let me say, still no sun.  I saw the sun for maybe an hour today, and it was while I was stuck in class.  On top of that, there has to be some sort of storm out in the Mediterranean, because there has been a really strong wind coming off the coast that I can only compare to the wind gusts I feel at home in Cocoa Beach before a storm.  Nevermind the fact that the air has a relentless bite to it that has left my cheeks and legs quite chapped.  I did come to Nice, right?

Okay, I feel awful for sending out so much text about the weather into cyber space- especially since I’m sure I only have a handful of readers, and I can imagine you’re tired of hearing about it.  But its all you have to post about when there’s nothing to do!  C’est la vie.

I will say though, that last night, Fabiola, her boyfriend Niko, Jon and I went and had a magnificent dinner at Khalid’s house.  Last night was also the first time we got to meet Niko, and we all got along quite nicely.  Khalid prepared a wonderful meal, as usual, and we sat for over four hours talking, eating, and sharing a few bottles of wine.  Well, Fabiola and I did most of the wine drinking- Jon prefers dessert wines, which we were saving for later in the evening, Khalid doesn’t drink, and Niko arrived an hour or so after we opened the first bottle, and then went out for a second.  All and all, four bottles of wine later, we were a little pink in the face, full of laughter, and not exactly looking forward to our early alarms this morning.

As for today, the cold, harsh, relentless wind made it the perfect day for a museum visit.  Fabiola met us at the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporian. Now, I love museums… of a certain type.  Particularly history museums, natural history museums, science and industry museums, even interactive children’s museums.  But the past several contemporary/modern art museums I’ve been to have proven to be… a little unimpressive.

I consider myself an art lover, but I find some things about abstract art to be a little… pretentious.  I also consider myself an artist of certain types, but I am no good with a paint brush or clay.  However, a lot of the things I saw today I could have easily done.  The only reason it makes it into a museum is because of who created it, probably because they’ve done something crazy, or they’re the daughter of someone famous.  One exhibit in particular just looked like someone didn’t clean up their garage work bench one day, thought it “looked cool” and expanded on it.  Sure, that probably took a lot of time, but since when does the amount of time put into its creation automatic grant it the title “art?”  What happened to the days when art was simply beautiful, and that was easily seen, before artists had to defend and argue why they believe its art, before television shows turned something that is supposed to come with time, patience, dedication, vision and hard work into something that can be forced through competition?   I guess, in a nutshell, you should say I just don’t get abstract art.  At least not in a sense that museum exhibits should devote their space too it.

However, despite my inability to “get it,” we still enjoyed ourselves, and the view of Nice from the roof of the museum (which is of course open to the public, we aren’t lawbreakers!) was worth the entire visit.  The museum itself seemed to be pretty close to the center of Nice, so the view was 360°.  Well, with the exception of the fact that the Theatre National de Nice was blocking what would have been a beautiful view of the Mediterranean.  But alas, it was still nice.

After the museum, we went for a stroll through Vieux Nice (Old Nice) where Jon indulged himself in some rather delicious cookies, and we had some socca from a corner shop that, according to Niko, has the best in Nice.  It was delicious, and super fresh.

I will leave you with this picture: wouldn’t this be a lovely terrace to have dinner on in the evening, or tan on?  That is, whenever the sun finally decides to show itself?

 

Until next time, bonne journée!

Un récapitulatif fin d’un déjeuner mal documentées

So I learned something very important the night before our big Greek lunch: its very easy to forget that you promised to take pictures when you’re wrapped up in converting your cups of yogurt to grams.  So, unfortunately, the only picture I managed to remember was a picture of the table full of food before everyone dug in.

The Spread

Looks pretty delicious, right?  From the bottom to the top we have: Macedonian salad, lemon and dill chicken and rice (Jon and I pretty much made that one up, and it turned out great!), our beautiful tzatziki sauce which is next to Neelima’s dish, a traditional Indian chickpea dish, and finally, enough bread and pita to feed an arm.  I unfortunately failed to remember to put our dessert in this picture, but we had a fruit and nut tart of some sort that was delicious, and a chocolate hazelnut tart of some sort that was simply divine.

Well, thankfully, everyone loved it.  The lunch went off without a hitch.  Everyone had a great time, and even stuck around for nearly four hours just talking about all sorts of stuff.  When your table has two people from the United States, two people from Saudi Arabia, one person from Mexico, one person from India, and one person from Russia, the subjects vary greatly from alcohol, politics, movies, and food.  When everyone parted, Jon and I took a very well deserved nap, and the remainder of the evening consisted of taxes (I’m getting nine whole dollars back!) and filling out my FAFSA, which went off a lot better this year than last.  Thank goodness.

Today after class, since the weather was beautiful, Jon and I walked back down to the marina so he could jump around on all the rocks and the break water.  Needless to say, he had way to much fun reliving a little bit of his childhood.  It was fun and scary to watch him.  I guess I’m just not the dare devil I used to be.  So here are some pictures from that.

Jon and I before he started jumping around

Climbing

And jumping

And giving me funny looks

And resting

And strechting-ish.

As for the evening, it was fairly relaxed, considering we spent about 5 hours of our afternoon just walking around.  Tomorrow I’m hoping to brave the slight chill in the air for some tanning time on the beach.  I’m in desperate need of some color.  Carnival parades continue tomorrow as well, so hopefully the weather holds up for us to finally go see one.

Until next time, bonne nuit!

Nous prévoyons un repas grec

In my previous post, I mentioned a lunch that Jon and I had with a few classmates of ours, and that this week we’d be hosting one of our own.  After pondering on a cuisine type for a day or so, we landed on Greek.  Obviously, Jon and I are not Greek, but we’re firm believers in the fact that there is very little that one could call “American Food”, with the exception of soul food, which would involve frying chicken, and I don’t want to try that for the first time for a bunch of new friends.  So therefore opted for one of our favorites.  Our choice may have been swayed slightly by the fact that we’ve been craving tzatziki sauce basically since we got here, but that is neither here nor there.

However, planning a meal for people of many different cultural and religious backgrounds could be a little difficult.  For instance, Khalid and Doha are both from Saudi Arabia, and Muslim, so pork is not an option.  Fine by me, its neither my favorite nor Jon’s.  But Neelima is from India, so Hindu, and cannot eat beef.  So that leaves us with chicken, lamb, and fish.  Lamb would be classically Greek, so definitely an option.  Fish isn’t possible because I’m weary of serving fish that isn’t purchased that day, which would make having a quick lunch after class a little more difficult.  And of course, the comfort zone, chicken.  Somehow we landed on Greek meatballs, made with lamb, onion, feta and Kalamata olives, despite the fact that neither of us have cooked lamb before.  Hopefully this goes well, otherwise all we’ll have is a rockin’ Macedonian salad and tzatziki with pita.  I am remaining optimistic though; Jon and I surprise ourselves in the kitchen sometimes, so I’m confident in our ability to follow a recipe.  Converting US standard measurements to metric may prove to be a little annoying and time consuming, but alas, we always did well in math.

I will be photo documenting everything, and we’ll start preparing everything tomorrow night.  I’m a little more excited than I should be, but I love to cook, and I haven’t been able to in over a month.  Wish me luck! :)

Nice commence à se sentir comme Londres

Today I learned an important traveling tip: When spending an extended amount of time in one place, its okay to have flexible plans.

Today, Jon and I were supposed to venture to the small medieval town of Saint Paul de Vence with one of our classmates, Fabiola, and her boyfriend Niko.  I saw some of her pictures on Facebook from the place, said it looked gorgeous, and she insisted she take us there to see it.  Sounds great?

Well its cold and rainy.  We had two days full of beautiful sunshine after nearly a week of rain, and today it came back again.  I’m starting to feel more like I’m in London rather than on the Mediterranean.

Had this been a week long trip, and we saved Saint Paul de Vence for our last day, sure, we would have probably still bundled up and gone to see the town, umbrellas in tow.  Our memories would probably be the only pictures we’d have, and nothing would appear as beautifully vibrant as expected.  But we’re staying for 3 months, there is always next weekend.

This week ahead does look promising though, even if it rains.  Our host family is leaving town, so Jon and I will have the apartment to ourselves.  Our family has been wonderful, but sleeping in on the weekend is a little difficult with a three year old outside our bedroom.  Also, this past Friday, one of our classmates, Khalid, had Jon, Fabiola and I over for lunch, and we had such a great time that we decided we should each host at least once.  It would be very difficult to do this with our family here, so this week is our week!  We just have to figure out what to make.  Fabiola also informed us that the museums are free, and we plan on visiting them together this week!  So even if it does rain, so long as I don’t get sick [*knock on wood*] it will be a great week.