At least my reason for being absent from the blogging world is because I've been wandering about seeing the real world. I just hope that I can find a way to blog about it that isn't just summing it up, but not writing a book either. Let's see...
So, Nice! I went there with my friend Evan for my inter-session break of about 10 days, a week of it being spent there, 2 days of travel, and the first I re-explored Tours with Evan. I thought it was an incredible trip. We arrived late at night our first day, but the first thing we did the next day was to hit up the beach, who wouldn't when they're on the Mediterranean Sea! However, instead of going directly downtown to the beaches of Nice that were very crowded and touristy (nevertheless quite beautiful) the youth hostel had great resources for places to go and things to do, one of which was taking a bus about 30 minutes to Cap d'Ail (The "Garlic Coast") so we opted for that since they made it sound pretty great. The bus ride got me so excited because we drove along the coast, and all you saw we beautiful old French homes built into the walls of the hills, huge old ports with hundreds of boats, and all shades of blue sea as far as your eye can see! As soon as we got off the bus there was a huge mountain to the left and a steep, long walk down to Beach Mala to our right. The closer we got, the more little glimpses of gorgeous blue water we saw, and as soon as you started to wonder if you were ever going to find the place, you walk through an outdoor restaurant and all of a sudden you're surrounded by beautiful steep cliffs on either side of you, an incredibly private, breathtakingly beautiful beach right in front of you, and hardly a dozen people in the water.
I was just so happy. Evan and I found a place to sit, had some lunch that we had just bought from the store, and then we hit the water. It was pretty cold, but once you got used to it it was so refreshing. I was feeling adventurous so after having been in the water a bit I went to climb the rocks to the right of the beach. It was a lot of fun, even though one wave could throw you off balance or a rock would be more slippery than you thought and boop- back into the water. I laid out on a rock and couldn't believe I was there, a tiny little paradise that you could walk right past and never knew it existed. I was glad we had such a helpful and friendly staff at our first hostel.
After a little while, we discovered a trail that went around to the left that overlooked the water the whole time and did that for a while, but realized how far it went and decided to come back before too long. Once we made our way back up the long path we took down, we just walked. It was such a beautiful day, we had no other specific plans for it, so we just stayed along the road that went along the coast, and wouldn't you know it, we walked all the way to Monaco.
Everything was a picture. Every port, every house, every rock that the waves were crashing against. It was incredible. And all that walking gives you a lot of time to think too. I thought about everyone in my life whom I care about and wished they could see what I was seeing, and still trying to grasp that I was actually there.
We stopped just as we got to Monte Carlo, and ate some pasta at the Monte Carlo restaurant. The parmesan lid fell off and a huge ball of cheese ended up in my spaghetti, but I didn't mind too much and I'll always remember eating that huge ball of cheese. Mmmmmm.
That night I ventured down to the Old Town Nice and walked along the Promenade des Anglais where locals and tourists alike were out rollerblading, strolling with their buddies, or heading down to the beach for a late night swim. I just sat on a ledge and watched life happen, until a creepy Italian guy came over and bothered me, which was when I called it a night.
The next day we went scuba diving! We met with some other people and our guide at the Old Port, grabbed some suits, and jumped on an incredibly colorful boat. I was giddy again as we started to sail out to sea, and watched the port get smaller and smaller until we rounded a corner and went a little ways to the place where we'd dive. The mountains in the distant were just barely visible, and it never got old to see the extraordinary homes and hotels built into the sides of the hills overlooking the water. It looked a little something like this:
Since Evan and I had never gone diving before, we had to wait until the experienced people went out with the instructor and came back, since we were to each go individual with him. That was fine by me, since laying out in the sun on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea with music playing was more than amazing enough for me. And when I got too hot, I just jumped in the water to cool down.
When I finally got to go though, it was worth it. I suited up, clumsily made my way to get in the water with my flippers on, and proceeded to be instructed about some basic safety measures in very broken English by the instructor. I got the gist of it though. Give this signal if something bad happens. Ok ok ok let's go!
As soon as we went under, I was immediately grateful the instructor was there to guide me. It was more difficult to move than I thought, and the breathing was a little scary and uncomfortable to me at first. I got used to it fairly quickly though, and deeper and deeper down we went until I started to see little fish everywhere among other aquatic life. It was a totally different world. I was a little afraid to move my head too much to the left or right, but there was a lot to look at straight ahead of me. We went to the very bottom (I think the deepest we did was 60 feet) and there was a starfish on a big rock. He lifted it off and let me hold and touch it, and once again I thought, I cannot believe I am here doing this. I was so happy that I smiled and immediately got a mouthful of salty water. I learned my lesson.
On the way back up we came to a huge open spot where you couldn't see anything but the crystal clear blue water, and the sunlight was shining into it giving you the strangest feeling that you're in some kind of underwater heaven. It's hard to describe and I obviously don't have a picture, but it's seared into my memory and probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced.
That night was one of my favorites. After dinner (where I basically ate a whole pizza) we walked down to the pebbly beach of Nice and just sat for a while, before we both decided we really wanted to go swimming, despite having showered up after diving. It was all nice and swell for Evan since we had on the shorts he swims in anyway, but I had on my favorite green dress and had done my hair and everything. Night was falling, the lights on the coast were starting to show, and everything felt so right and happy with the world that I just decided to be a little spontaneous, so into the water I went, dress and all, but not before Evan reminded me to take off my watch.
After that though, I was the happiest girl in the world. It was the most refreshing feeling I think I've ever felt, to be floating on my back looking up at the night sky in the sea. Dresses dry after all. It summed it up perfectly when Evan said, "This was a good idea."
I felt so peaceful when I got out, and just sat on the rocks soaking wet in my dress. I was just thinking about things in general and enjoying the night when fireworks started going off, just a little ways down the beach. I don't think the night could have been more perfect, especially when I got to top it off with a strawberry milkshake on the walk back.
The next day we decided to explore the town a bit and go to the beach. I had bought a mask and snorkel, so I busied myself with that as soon as we got to the beach. It was fun to float along and look at all the little fish, and my favorite ones were the big fish that you could hardly see until the light hit them in the right way, and then they were so bright you blinked and then they were invisible again. After that, I just slathered myself with sunscreen and got toasty warm on the beach.
My favorite part though was when we started exploring. There is a little remnant from an old castle that required a lot of steps to be walked, but as soon as you got to the top you were presented with an overwhelmingly gorgeous view of the city and sea.
Don't be mad, I wasn't about to fall off or anything.
And even after that point, where that picture was taken, it still climbed even higher. We passed man-made waterfalls and walked through little medieval archways until the very top, which was worth the hike.
We spent a while exploring the top, where there was actually the site of an old demolished church, a wedding that had just taken place in a garden/park area, and a restaurant at the very top. It was quite an interesting place.
Next day, CANYONING! One of the most fun things I have ever done. We went with a group through one of the youth hostels we stayed at (6 of us total) and were picked up and driven to the southern alps by a man who couldn't speak English. We all just assumed he was only the chauffeur and not the instructor, but a little ways into the drive I asked him and he said that he was. We all laughed a little nervously, since when you're jumping from cliffs into water and sliding down waterfalls, you really don't want to mess up. Everything worked out though, between him pantomiming to everyone and knowing a few words like "shallow" and "jump" and me translating from time to time, we all figured it out. And so followed one of the best times of my life. After the crazy curvy driving deep into the alps, and the initial awe we all experienced once we saw where we were, we all put on some really tight wet-suits and bright red helmets and made our way down steep, rocky path. We were immediately greeted by clear pools of water of all shades of blue with huge rocks everywhere, where we proceeded to have lunch. I chatted in my shaky-yet-improving French with our guide while we ate, who turned out to be quite the funny guy.
Basically the first thing we did was slide down a mini-waterfall to get on our way. It was ice cold, but as soon as you went under and your suit was wet, from that point on it was very comfortable and cool feeling. Every mini-waterfall we slid down was a rush of adrenaline and incredibly fun. We jumped off our first cliff and I was full of giddiness, until they started getting bigger and I was getting a little bit scared...but they turned out to be the most fun.
In between either sliding or jumping was walking, climbing and hiking over huge boulders. I enjoyed every minute of it, even the steep hike back up to the road where we were parked. Everything about the place was beautiful.
Our group
Waterfall
Hiking
Making our way back
And it was only 3:30pm when we got back! So after a shower and nap I spent hours looking at all the different stores they had in the Old Town, content to just look and buy a few souvenirs for my family. It was quite an amazing day.
The next day we rented some bikes and decided to head back to Cap d'Ail since we both really liked it and also wanted to bike. The view along the way was incredible, and I loved being able to enjoy it and not whizz by on a bus. We stopped here and there to take pictures, or from sheer exhaustion since it was incredibly hilly and hot out.
We even went the wrong way somehow and ended up at a beach in Villefranche where we decided to cool down and go for a swim there. Onward (and up and downward) we went afterwards, and I have to mention the lunch we had just before we got there because it was probably the best sandwich I've ever had, in addition to the best dessert. It was just lettuce, tomato and I think some kind of basil-flavored cheese...no idea what it was...plus olive oil on the baguette instead of butter. I'd probably go back just to have the same exact thing one day. Plus, I had a little tiny shot-glass sized dessert of strawberries on top of strawberry mousse/shortcake goodness that I will also never forget. Mmmmm.
The last day was a nice, good old fashioned lazy one. I slept in, gave in to breakfast at McDonald's, and then head down to the beach to snorkel. This time was way more interesting though, and not just because I saw a ton more fish. I nearly swam head on into a huge pink jellyfish! It was awesome, I just floated there in awe of the thing, watching it, and decided to swim on by it after a bit, but as soon as I started to go left I realized there were 4 feet of long stringy tentacles stretched out that way and decided it was probably better off to go the other way. I do remember the diving instructor telling me they aren't dangerous around here though, which is why I didn't freak out from the beginning, but those tentacles are intimidating.
I had the best time. Near the end though, I was actually homesick for Tours, and when we finally got back, I was homesick for real home. Strange how things like that work.
So we came back Tuesday, Evan left Wednesday (when I also had orientation to this months classes) and then we had just two days of class before I was off again on Friday to go to Paris for the weekend. I felt like such a traveler, I hadn't even totally unpacked yet before I was re-packing my bags. But a friend of mine was in Paris for the weekend and 2 girls on my trip were going out there to actually meet up with the other person that my friend was with, and so I invited another girl from my trip and away we went. First thing we did when we got there in the evening was meet up with our friends and have dinner, and afterwards it was dark, so we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night! I had seen it during the day, but I really wanted to see what it was like all lit up. We took the metro, got off, and as soon as we rounded a few corners, there it was! It was blue and sparkling like a firework. We all squealed and I got the biggest happy bubble in my tummy. It was so pretty.
We hung out on the grass (the area in front of the Eiffel Tower in the first picture) where there were a ton of people. It was so much fun. We even met a bunch of crazy French people who spoke English and wanted to know what the best sport was...I got high fives for saying rugby.
The next day we visited a cemetery where some famous people are buried. We saw Jim Morrison's and Chopin's grave, and it rained too, which sort of added to the experience.
Jim Morrison's grave
More of the graveyard
Afterwards, we split into two groups since one wanted to do the more touristy thing, and the other (mine) didn't as much since I (and Dayna) had already "seen the main sights." It was a really fun day, we did a ton of shopping and walking, visited the Luxembourg garden, walked along the Seine River and saw the Notre Dame.
Palace of Luxembourg
Notre Dame
Then, Sunday, it was just Dayna and I. We decided to see the Catacombs, something I hadn't even really heard of until Dayna told me about them. A little summary of why there are passages upon passages of bones buried under Paris: It was created at the end of the 18th century due to the closure in 1780 of the largest cemetery in Paris, which the local inhabitants believed was a danger to public health. The Council of State issued a decree on November 9th 1785 authorizing the transfer of the bones. And then, bones from every cemetery in Paris were transferred to the site until 1860.
After walking what seemed like endless plain passages, it just started to look like that in one room and went on and on. It was quite haunting at the same time that it was interesting/sad and unusual to see. I just couldn't believe how many bones there were.
After I came back from Paris it was back to school. While the level I was placed in for my classes this month feels like it's the right level material-wise, it can drive me a little crazy since we seem to move at a snails pace, mostly because of a few students in the class who probably could have gone down one level. But I deal and am still learning a lot.
Almost forgot- got to see another castle. Chenonceau was a little different though because it's partly built over a bridge over the water, and we got to row boats underneath it.
And since I had one last free weekend and I had talked to Dad about Normandy, away I went. Two friends and I took the train Saturday morning, and had most of the day in Bayeux to explore the town and visit the Battle of Normandy museum. It was really interesting to learn about what took place at the beaches, and even more interesting when we took the bus the next day to Omaha beach and got to see where the American's landed.
Everything about the day and beaches couldn't have been more contrasting to how it actually was when the war was taking place. It was the most incredibly beautiful day I think I've experienced here so far, and it was so peaceful walking along the beach. It was difficult to imagine all of the things that I had just learned about taking place in the exact same spot that I was walking along. Not so difficult when we visited the American cemetery just above it though.
It's hard to describe the way you feel when you walk through a place with so much meaning like that. I can say though that it really makes you think. I'm really glad I decided to go.
And most recently we just celebrated Bastille Day yesterday. I didn't have class all day, so I spent it catching up on a lot of odds and ends, including starting this. It was a good recharge day. I watched the parade in Paris on TV with my host mom while drinking my morning coffee, organized some details for school in the fall, went for a good long run, read, and then went out to watch the fireworks near the Loire with Dayna.
This entire trip it's been "I can't believe how long it feels like I've been here and yet there is so much time left." And all of a sudden, I leave in two weeks. The way I feel when I think about that is so many things at once- sad to leave when I've learned so much here, happy to see my friends and family again soon, sad to leave my "family" here, happy because there are so many things I'm looking forward to in the fall (living in a house with my friends, classes, RUGBY!), but overall incredibly glad I've gotten to experience everything I have so far, and I still have two weeks left. I never would have guessed how much this trip would open my eyes to new things and teach me about myself, how much I'd grow and learn about life. Being separated from the only life and people you know for any amount of time has such a huge impact on you. I definitely became more independent, and I always thought I was before. It's made me so much more curious about other parts of the world and other people at the same time that it's made me realize how much I love my life back home, how important my family and friends are, how grateful I am to have the life I do. It's beautiful what this trip has helped me learn.
Je vous aime =)
