Spring Break, Part I

So had an unexpected bump in the road en route to writing this blog entry. In other words, I contracted some sort of illness that made it nearly impossible to leave my bed for three days straight, but now I finally feel good enough to go to class (woohoo), and to write a bit about my two week vacation in southern France and Italy. I've decided that, since this was a long trip, I'm going to write this entry in two segments, the first being southern France, and the second Italy.

I figured the way I would do this is by including excerpts from the journal I kept while adding some side notes before each section. I'll separate it by city, and if you want to see more pictures (believe me, I have them), just ask me and I'll gladly show you my collection.

So, here we go..

Marseille

I've been on quite a few trips in my life. Israel seven times, Poland twice, Ecuador/Galapagos, Hawaii, Alaska, and I won't even count the places I've been while studying abroad. So, forgive me if going to Marseille, a somewhat urban city in southern France, didn't interest me much at first. I knew we were going to the "Calanques" — a word I didn't understand — but it wasn't quite enough to get me so excited for the second biggest city in France.

Luckily, Marseille proved me wrong...


While these pictures are beautiful, they don't do the site justice one bit. After being in relatively cold weather in Paris for, well, a long time, the 75 degree heat and a dip in the Mediterranean was just what I was hoping for. That, coupled with the breathtaking views and a near tourist-free environment made me so happy to be out of Paris and seemingly in a different country.

But then again, southern France basically is a different country. The people look different, the food is very different, and they have a more relaxed feel. Hey, if the weather were this nice in Paris, who knows what that place would be like. (as a side note, it's currently 52 degrees in the French capital). Here's my journal entry from Marseille:

4/19/2010
I sometimes forget that I'm in France right now. I can't believe I was at the Louvre yesterday and that I'm now basking in sunny, 70 degree heat. If it weren't for the French written all over the place, I would assume I'd be in, well, somewhere else. Southern France is completely different from Paris in too many ways to explain. Right now, I'm completely wiped. Going to Aix-en-Provence tomorrow, then Nice.

Aix en Provence
Our limited time in Aix was some of my favorite during spring break. It's a very, very small Provencal town (hence the name), but it offers beauty that doesn't exist in Paris and in the rest of France. The food was fantastic, the people were super laid back, and when you think of a French town, this is probably the idea you get.

We had a great lunch that consisted of a baguette tradition — the best I've had in France — a sandwich, cookie, and of course, Orangina. We sat down for a beer on one of the squares, where we saw an accordion player and a hippie dancer. Très français.

Nice/Èze/Cap d'Ail
I'm combining these three because not only are they all within a 20 minute drive of Nice, but we really didn't stay in any of these cities except for Nice, which was our plan. Nice is a pretty big town that sits on the French Riviera, and is also, unfortunately, a top destination to many English-speaking tourists. It wasn't so terrible, but it would have been nice to get some more French in before going to Italy, where we would be full-on American tourists.

Lavander at the Flower Market

Nice itself was, in my opinion, nothing special. It was pretty and had a nice flower market, but the beaches were all big rocks and when your most popular dish is Salade Niçoise, the cuisine can't be THAT great. I mean, it was good, but we live in Paris, so it wasn't that special. Our day trips were what made this stay special.

Èze Village is a medieval fortress located on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, so we took a bus up there to tour the city for a bit, and then we hiked down to the water, where we thought we would lie on the sand and go for a swim. Didn't turn out that way, but the sights were still pretty awesome. It was tough to get a picture of the fortress itself, so here's one of the view of the Mediterranean from the top.

View from Èze

As for Cap d'Ail, it was finally a beach worth staying at. The water was a bit too cold to go swimming in, but we were still able to soak in some sun before going on a nice walk along the water and catching a bus back to Nice. Unlike some (most) other places in Europe, it seemed like the only thing to do in the French Riviera was to relax.

Cap d'Ail

Believe it or not, that's not even half of my spring break. An Italy post will come as soon as I can. Or whenever I feel like it.

Also, aside from it being my birthday tomorrow, we're going to Giverny and Monet's gardens on our last Abroadco day trip. I'll be sure to post pictures and write about that if time permits. Can you believe I'm coming home in three weeks? Wow.