French Riviera

Hey guys! I am back from the French Riviera.  Friday, we piled in the bus for Nice and made two stops on the near six-hour drive down south.  At one stop, we used these self-cleaning toilets, and Alli was in one when it started cleaning itself.  She was screaming and she couldn't get out and she was getting sprayed with toilet water.  We could all hear her but we couldn't help her.  We were hysterical for a good ten minutes afterwards.  When we finally got to Nice, we had gross dinner at some random restaurant the University picked (fried chicken and fries), then they sent us to the hotel without a confirmation code or anything.  When we got there, we were told that our group had already arrived and there were no more rooms left.  That was confusing.  It ended up that the concierge double booked the rooms, so we had to change hotels.  By the time we got settled it was around 1 a.m., but we decided to go out anyway.  Let's just say it was a rough night.  Rough, but fun.  Even rougher was the next morning.  We all got up at 8 a.m. and went exploring in Nice.  It's right on the Mediterranean and it's beautiful.  Also, in the "vielle ville" or "old town" there were marches en plein air... which I don't really know how to explain.  Kind of like flea markets.  The buildings were all gorgeous.  Andrea, Jennifer, Matt, Raffi and I had lunch at an outdoor restaurant.  It was sooo good.  I don't think I've ever had bad food here, come to think of it.  Anyway, lunch was really nice because we sat there for a good two hours discussing everything from politics to relationships to adoption and the future.  We all kind of fell in love with Matt a little more because he plans on doing the peace corps after school and adopting a kid from wherever he goes. At around 2:30, we met up with the rest of the program to go to Monaco.  On the way, we stopped at this parfumerie and learned out people make perfume.  I bought my mom this flower-shaped candle that smells amazing.  It's really pretty too.  When we finally got to Monaco, it was incredible.  We visited an aquarium, the cathedral where Princess Grace was married and later buried, Prince Albert's palace (anyone remember that episode of Girls Next Door?), and explored the principality.  On the way back we stopped at Monte Carlo and saw the famous casino.  We got back to Nice around 11, got ready, and all of us went to dinner at a really yummy restaurant.  Afterwards, we went to a salsa bar.  They started playing American songs and we got a little too into it.  The next day, everyone wanted to go to the beach, but I knew we would go when we went to Cannes, so I explored by myself.  I had breakfast at this little place and was sitting across from this cute guy and we kept making awkward eye contact.  When I got my croissant he even said "Bon Appetite."  I was just catching up on celebrity gossip on my phone when he asked me if I wanted this feminine magazine that was sitting on his table.  We got to talking and he ended up pulling his chair up to my table.  We talked for a good hour! Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye and head back to the hotel because we were leaving for Cannes.  Cannes was INCREDIBLE.  We only had two hours there so we just explored the city and then swam in the sea...which was, again, INCREDIBLE.  The water was great, it was a beautiful day, etc.  Matt, Michelle, Adrienne and I swam out to this floating dock way far out and joined a bunch of little kids who were amusing themselves by jumping off and climbing back up.  I guess we're still little at heart because we stayed out there for awhile and did the same thing.  Afterward we swam back in, dried in the sun, and got back on the bus.  All in all, it was an amazing trip and it was so great to bond with everyone during one of our last weekends.  It is remarkable that there is no drama within our group and that we all genuinely get along and love each other's company!  Pictures  soon! Love you guys =)