This week, we started fall break and like so many other students, we knew we had to choose a destination spot for the weekend. We chose Nice. Nice, like you would probably assume, is nice. It’s absolutely gorgeous and in my opinion, the epitome of the Côte d’Azur lifestyle. It’s right on the Mediterranean and the city itself is gorgeous. The weather was also amazing. If I were in Cincinnati right now, I’d probably be freezing my butt and wearing layers. It’s the end of October and I’m still wearing shorts and shirtless at the beach. We took a bus there which was totally inexpensive. I’m starting to see why the French love to travel. It’s so easy when you have lots of cheap means of travel. The bus ride for starters was a great way to kick off the vacation. It was such a nice drive through the south and we passed through many coast cities along the way, including Cannes.

We booked rooms at a hostel called Villa Saint-Exupéry in the north end of the city. The hostel, contrary to what you might expect, was great! Totally worth the money we paid, which wasn’t that much. There were other travelers from around the world. It costed $22 a night and it included free breakfast, wifi, and they had this huge dining hall/bar where everyone gathered. It was the hub of the entire hostel. They have happy hours and serve food throughout the night too. I will definitely be going back again soon. We wasted no time upon getting into Nice. We took the tram into the old district (Vielle Ville) where the hostess at the hostel recommended we explore and had lunch at a café (cliché, I know). It all was just too beautiful and too surreal that there’s all just too much to describe. Olivia and I snuck off for a photo-shoot in the park. We eventually ended up on the beach overlooking Baie des Anges and I met up with the girls from my friend Josh’s program, who I stayed with in Paris my first week in France. Josh and his program mates were in Nice at the same time so obviously it made for a much more interesting night life. For dinner, we went to this great pizza restaurant just off the Masséna square. Being so close to Italy, there are many great pizzerias in Nice, contrary to Aix in which they suck.

The next day, we woke up early and slowly but eventually made our way to the open market one the Cours Saleya. We had a great idea of doing a picnic at the chateau overlooking Nice and the bay. It was an amazing view and of course no picnic is complete without lunchtime mimosas! Colin, Jessica, Olivia, and I had a great lunch and we headed back to the beach to wrap up the day.

The others went to Monaco the next day, while I unfortunately had to cut the trip short and return to Aix. I’m totally content knowing I will one day I will go back. It was too cheap to not return. Now, we’re back in Aix and I believe we’re planning a hiking trip to Sainte Victoire this weekend. I’m also trying to play with my schedule so I can go visit my friends in Nantes next week. Agnès has been telling me all about the fun that awaits me there!

xoxo