Parasailing!

When we first arrived in Nice, there were rumors floating around that we may go parasailing.  Sure enough, the rumors were true! Most of us had never been parasailing before so it was an exciting first experience!

The feeling you get when you're lifted off the ground and carried into the sky is unbeatable.  I didn't sit down correctly at the beginning so I fell deep into my harness. Although it was a little less comfortable, it didn't take away from my experience in the least.  We must have been at least 30 feet above the water.  I loved being able to just hang up in the air and watch the water beneath me.  One of the many perks to parasailing is that you get a real birds eye view of the riviera.  While up in the air, I saw a large school of fish swimming through the water.  At times, the boat driver would slow the boat down just enough so that we would skim the surface of the water.  Then, after being fully drenched in the choppy waves, he would speed up again and we would lift out of the water.  The end of the ride was maybe the most thrilling part.  The boat driver sped towards the shore and made a sharp turn at the minute while slowing down.  As soon as he cut the engine, we fell into the water.  I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon activity.

St. Paul de Vence

Last weekend, we spent a day in St. Paul de Vence.  We spent the first hour in hour bus because it was pouring outside! Within minutes the street became a river.  Once it cleared up, we walked up to the town.  Like Eze, St. Paul is largely built into rock.  When I imagine a european village, I imagine St. Paul.  Unlike newer, more superficial towns, St. Paul has held onto its old charm.  While it does have many boutiques and galleries, it is less industrialized than other French towns, which gives it unique feel.  One of my favorite aspects of the town were the hidden boutiques.  One store in particular sold small water color prints of different parts of St. Paul.  I found a beautiful painting of a village street for 8 euros! 

When we were walking back to the bus, the rain picked up again.  At first it was a light mist, but within minutes it became a heavy down pour. We were soaked from head to foot.  On the bright side though, we were lucky to have had such great weather while touring the town.  The day just couldn't have ended any more similar to how it started!

Isola- French Alps

One of the most unique aspects of France is the variety of landscape.  In just two hours, one could see both the beach and snow.  For a weekend day trip, we traveled to Isola, a resort village located in the French Alps.  The drive up to Isola was nearly 2 1/2 hours, primarily through narrow mountain passes.  When we arrived in the village, we picnicked for lunch.  Because it's primarily a ski village, the area was very quiet, allowing me to truly appreciate the beauty of the Alps.

My afternoon in Isola only got better as the day went on.  After lunch, several of us signed up for Parkour, a zipline challenge through the forest.  The parkour course was set up at least 20 feet up in the trees.  It consited of various zipline, balance, and climbing challenges that stretched between two trees.  Before beginning the challenge, we all needed to pass a safety test to make sure that we were capable of handeling the course safely.  We were tested on whether or not we could remove ourself from a zipline safely without any risk of falling. Everyone passed!  Once beginning the challenge, I found the course to be more nervewrecking than challenging.  Although it was completely safe, the idea of falling in a secure harness was even scary.  My favorite challenge was the rope swing zip line.  It was very similar to a zipline, but rather than holding onto our caribeans, we held on to a rope attached to the zip line, giving the sensation of a freehanded rope swing.

The challenge lasted nearly a full hour.  Once finished, we made our way back to the bus.  While I would have loved to have spent the rest of the day in Isola, I couldn't have spent my afternoon any better than taking on the challenging Parkour course.

Snorkeling in Villefranche

One of my favorite excursions so far has been snorkeling.  During afternoon free time, a group of us traveled to Villefranche to snorkel.  We began by getting outfitted in full gear- wetsuits, goggles, and snorkels.  At first I was dreading having to wear a wetsuit, but I later realized that it was much needed! After getting fully outfitted, we took a 10 minute boat ride to a beautiful reef.  Once we all were in the water, we split into two groups (although we all ultimately ended up swimming together).  While snorkeling, I saw several sea urchins, a small octopus, and a variety of small fish.  The reef was just as beautiful as the sea life. It was narrow, hugging the cliffs that faced the water, and after no more than 15 feet from the shore, it disappeared and the water dropped infinitely.

Snorkeling has definitely made the highlights of my trip so far.  Coming from the mountains, I do not have the opportunity to snorkel very often, so I immediately jumped on this opportunity.  The water and reef was beautiful; all in all a perfect way to spend my afternoon.

Weekend Trip to Monaco and Eze

Palace of Monaco

Yesterday, I visited Monaco and Eze.   It was my third time to Monaco, as I had already been there for photography twice before.  To begin our day, we visited the Palace of Monaco.  Each room was its own master piece, decorated with intricate designs and painted with rich colors.  After the tour, we walked down to an aquarium.  The aquarium reflected sea life in the riviera, so I found it interesting to see all the sea creatures that exist in the area.

Aquarium in Monaco

My highlight of the day (if not trip) was Eze.  We visited a perfumery where they make perfumes, lotions and soaps.  The perfumery was split into two sections: a shop and a factory.  The factory is now used for touring purposes, but it clearly shows the process of how the perfumes are made.  After touring the factory, we were set free to roam the shop.  I was most interested in smelling different perfume samples and soaps.

The perfumery is located right below the town of Eze.  Eze itself is tucked into a mountain.  It was one of the most pretty towns I have ever seen because it truly maintained its old, european charm.  There were little boutiques hidden in nearly ever corner, and great cafes throughout the village.  I bought freshly squeezed orange juice and homemade sugared almonds.  My favorite part of the entire day was the garden that overlooked the riviera.  The view was amazing.   I could see all the way to the Nice Airport located far up the riviera.  The garden
reminded me of one I would see in a desert.  There were many cactuses and dry grasses, but also beautiful wild flowers.  Narrow steps and balconies wove through the garden.  Because it gets to be so hot, there were mist showers around the garden that sprayed a cool, refreshing mist into the air.  Eze will definitely remain one of my most favorite highlights of France!

Perfumery- Eze

View of Riviera from garden in Eze

Bastille Day!

Bastille day in France is one of their biggest celebrations of the year.  It's like our fourth of July- their independence day.  My Bastille day began at the riviera.  A group of us went down to the beach to relax, swim and soak up the sun.  The water was more beautiful than ever.  Now having visited other near by beaches, nothing beats the crisp, light blue water at the shores of Nice.

Later that day, several of us participated in a scavenger hunt all around the city.  We all got pretty into it.  Most every person was dressed in work out clothes so that they were ready to run. All the clues were written in French and often times a little vague.  The race to the finish was close; my team came in second place by no more than two seconds!  The winning team will soon be rewarded by a fancy dinner with some of the program representatives.

After the scavenger hunt, we all gathered at the beach to watch the fireworks.  I loved watching all the big yachts and sailboats come in close to shore to watch the show.  The fire works show was amazing.  The riviera is definitely one of the most beautiful settings for a fireworks show.  The fireworks were a great end to Bastille day.  I enjoyed being able to be a part of an important french celebration, and all the fun events made me appreciate the riviera even more!

Saint Jean

Every week, we visit Saint Jean to enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the beach.  The beach is  one of my favorite afternoon activities during the week. When we first visited the beach in Saint Jean's during our first week in Nice, we walked a rather scenic route from the train station to the beach.  It took us close to 45 minutes to get to the beach! Although the walk was beautiful, we all agreed that our sore feet outweighed the pretty scenery.  In order to avoid walking so much again, we decided to take the bus for our second visit.  While I enjoyed not having to walk so far, I realized that 30 students crammed into a bus on a hot day in Nice does not make for a comfortable ride. Of course, once we finally arrived at the beach, it was clearly worth it.  In the summer, Nice gets to be very hot, so nothing really beats spending an afternoon at the beach.

Depending on the weather, kayaks are available for all the Abbey Road students to use.  On my first visit to the beach, I used a kayak.  However, It was especially windy yesterday at the beach so the kayaks were not an option.  Instead, I took the day to relax, tan and cool off in the water!

View of the beach from the hotel

 A small hotel located just a couple minutes walk from the beach allowed us to use its kitchen to prepare dinner.  Yesterday, I learned how to make a french rice dish with vegetables in a creamy sauce.  Other students prepared our salad.  It was all delicious! To finish the night, we celebrated one of the student's 16th birthday.  After lots of music and delicious food, our chef surprised us with a chocolate birthday cake!

French Class Visits a Museum

This week, we visited a museum for french class.  The exhibit that we focussed on had to do with mainly with creation according to the bible.  My favorite painting was a large, abstract painting of Adam and Eve fleeing the Garden of Eden.  Each painting was very colorful, highlighting figures like Adam and Eve, and Jesus Christ.  Our french teacher asked us to describe why we liked one painting in particular in French.  At first, I found the paintings hard to understand because I do not frequently go to church, but after talking with my class, I could understand the artist's meaning behind each painting.

Photography Class in Monoco

Monoco Casino

I have enjoyed having the opportunity to explore surrounding areas to Nice with my tri-weekley photography class. The last two classes have been held in Monoco.  On my first visit to Monoco, we visited the castle.  It was quite a tourist-filled area, not too mention blistering hot.  However, the views from the castle were spectacular.  The grounds overlooked beautiful rolling hills as well as the ocean beneath the cliffs.  Here, we worked on close up shots of our surroundings.

My second visit to Monoco was just as enjoyable.  We visited the Casino's which again overlooked the ocean.  The Casino's were by far the most showy area of Monoco.  I have never seen so many fancy cars parked on one street! People seemed to flood the squares in every direction.  Prior to traveling to Monoco for the day, our photography teacher showed us a slideshow of photos that captured movement.  With a very slow shutter speed and a stable surface for the camera, you can actually blur a moving audience, while keeping the background is still focus.  We spent about half of the class in a park right above the Casino to practice shots with movement.  Unfortunately, I had to use my iPhone to take pictures because my camera is out of battery, so I didn't have very much luck capturing movement.  Instead, I worked some more on close up shots. I especially loved working with flowers.

                

Arriving in Nice

The Riviera- Nice, France

When I first arrived in Nice, everything seemed so foreign to me.  It was overwhelming knowing how far away I was from home in an country I had never been before.  Yet, I couldn't have been more excited to have finally made it.  Before our plane flight, all the students participating in both the Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var immersion programs met in the JFK airport.  I enjoyed being able to meet other students before arriving in Nice.  When we landed in France, I had slept a mere 2 hours.  Still adjusted to New York time, 10 o'clock in Nice felt like 4 in the morning.  However, my jet lag didn't stop me from immediatly taking in the beauty of the country.  When I walked out of the airport, the first difference I noted in comparison to America was the taxi cabs.  At first, I thought that the fancy, silver and black Mercedes-benzes were private town cars.  However, I soon realized that they were actually Taxis.  When we began driving to the residence, I was immediately struck by the beauty of the riviera. The water was separated into 2 distinct shades of blue.  Also, the beach seemed endless, lining the city with miles of sand.

After about 15 minutes of driving, we arrived at the residence.  I was so excited to learn that each student has his or her own room! Although roomates are always fun, I have enjoyed having my own space to sleep at night and especially the luxury of having my own bathroom! After I unpacked, I grabbed some lunch prepared by the program's Chef, and took a nap.  Later that day, we toured the town in small groups so that we could familiarize ourself with the city.  During the tour, we walked through the old town of Nice, a very european style village packed with small, charming boutiques, as well as delicious restaurants and cafes.  So far, the old town has been one of my favorite spots to walk around! Later that evening, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and I had an amazing meal.  From a general stand point, one of the highlights of the Abbey Road summer programs is definitely the meals.  I have dined in and out, and both have been delicious.  Dinners during the weekdays are typically cooked in the residence, and we normally go out for dinner on the weekends.

In all, I enjoyed having the time to settle into Nice the first day.  Although we arrived in the early morning, I appreciated that we were given an entire day just to adjust to a new rhythm.

Old Town- Nice, France

Garibaldi Square- Nice, France