Bonjour!
Note: If you click the pictures, they will enlarge! They will be much clearer too.
Tuesday - our first full day in Nice.
Woke up decently early to prepare for a long day. We planned to eat crepes, walk around the old town, head to the chateau (a mountain with gorgeous views), hit the beach, and eat (obviously). The good thing about the eating here is that after every meal we get up and walk for at least an hour. The times to eat are also very interesting. The French generally do not eat a big breakfast, if any, lunch is anywhere between noon and 2pm and dinner begins at 7pm at the earliest!! However, because Nice is a tourist town, you can eat at anytime of the day. Which is good for us because we never know what we are going to do or where exactly we will be.
We journeyed out of our hostel around 11am (after we wrote some blog posts for y'all) and headed to a crepe shop we spotted Monday night. I had ham, two cheeses, and mushrooms while Julie had cheese, ham, and potatoes. For dessert, we had crepes with Nutella (J) and chocolate (Lo). Julie is obsessed with Nutella and they have HUUUGEEE jars here... bigger than the biggest peanut butter jar in the States. Julie is planning to buy a jar for our trek to Paris and possibly to take home.
After our delicious breakfast, we began to wander through the old town. The old town has a friendly vibe that makes for a quaint atmosphere. We happened upon some steps and began to climb. To our surprise, we were climbing the chateau! Have some great pics posted below - be sure to check them out. We were a little winded by the time we reached the top, but we persevered!! It was completely worth it - (there were some wimpy tourists who took a small tram up...) - the views were the most amazing I have seen in my life. Ties with my experience last year star gazing in the Jordan desert. We are attempting to upload a video now via facebook (we will post the link to here).
We asked to have some pictures taken of us - which proved to be a bit difficult as one older woman was not sure what we were asking. She thought we wanted her to look at the beautiful view. Luckily, we were able to work out the language barrier issues. Then we found a French guy from a near-by town to take another, this proved easier as he spoke English, but did ask us if we were Italian! We have also been asked a number of times if we are sisters!! (We said no) Another older woman we asked for "un photo" flat out told us no!! How ruuude. Lucily, a replacement photographer was close-by.
Three hours later, we wandered down the mountain-side, not before we had a bite to eat (it was healthy - tomatoes and mozarella salad), and exploring the local park that was on the opposite side of the look-out points. It seemed like a very nice place to relax, many locals spend time there. A view of the harbour was also in sight, military ships, yauchts, and sailing lessons galore.
Our next stop was the beach, after we purchased some towels (no room in our bags on the way here!) The beach is a pebble one but proved to be comfortable nonetheless. We only layed in the sun for twenty minutes before we became bored, dipped into the Sea, and walked down the beach. (When we first layed down, I think we blinded people with our white-ness. Laura even asked Aunt Gijske why we were so white when we were at dinner one night -- a sure sign that we need to get out more often... and proof of Erie's unfavorable weather.)
As we were strolling down the beach, I was looking for beach glass. I found only a few small pieces but then Julie discovered a large one and I convinced her to keep looking! Even found a red and a yellow piece! Verrry rare in Erie! As we walked back to the hostel, I realized there were no beach glass shops, so I had a brilliant thought, why don't we stay and open our own store!! It was be a huge success, an untapped resource. THIS IDEA IS COPYRIGHTED SO DON'T STEAL IT! International Business and Nursing are out the window. Who needs to "work" when we can actually enjoy life?!
After freshening up a bit, we wandered looking for a suitable place top eat. We settled on Bar des Fleurs - an incredible establishment that we dined at for almost 4 hours. Seriously. We thought and were even told that in France the portions were small and the bills were large but this was not there case at Fleurs. Everything was delicious and they even had a heat lamp I could sit under (I am notoriously cold). The owner came over to talk to us at the end of the evening, he said he was from Corsica and that this restaurant was his dream. We may head back but not sure yet.
We had a nice stroll on the way home - trying to burn off some of the calories we just consumed. As soon as we were at the hostel, we hit the sheets, exhausted from a long but rewarding day.
So glad we decided to stop in Nice for a few days... great little town to wander around in - (company isn't as good as in Holland though... miss you guys!!) Sometimes it's funny because I'm not sure if we are in France or Italy with some of the people and the bakeries. Wednesday we are planning to go to San Remo (Italy) and Monaco/Monte Carlo. For all of you that do not know, Monaco is its own country, very small, but very wealthy. More on that from Julie in the next post.
The advantages of wandering are many. While traveling, it makes for a fun adventure as you never know what you will stumble upon - we have often stumbled upon many sights we intended to see anyway! Wandering around a town gives you the real feel of it. Usually when you are going somewhere with a purpose, you tend to miss the journey. The things that make wandering adventageous on a vacation are also what makes wandering adventageous in life... life is a journey, not a destination. We could all use some time to wander, we may accomplish things without even trying! And it gives you time to get to know yourself and the world a little better.
Take care, love love love everyone!
Lauren and Julie
Note: If you click the pictures, they will enlarge! They will be much clearer too.
Tuesday - our first full day in Nice.
Woke up decently early to prepare for a long day. We planned to eat crepes, walk around the old town, head to the chateau (a mountain with gorgeous views), hit the beach, and eat (obviously). The good thing about the eating here is that after every meal we get up and walk for at least an hour. The times to eat are also very interesting. The French generally do not eat a big breakfast, if any, lunch is anywhere between noon and 2pm and dinner begins at 7pm at the earliest!! However, because Nice is a tourist town, you can eat at anytime of the day. Which is good for us because we never know what we are going to do or where exactly we will be.
We journeyed out of our hostel around 11am (after we wrote some blog posts for y'all) and headed to a crepe shop we spotted Monday night. I had ham, two cheeses, and mushrooms while Julie had cheese, ham, and potatoes. For dessert, we had crepes with Nutella (J) and chocolate (Lo). Julie is obsessed with Nutella and they have HUUUGEEE jars here... bigger than the biggest peanut butter jar in the States. Julie is planning to buy a jar for our trek to Paris and possibly to take home.
After our delicious breakfast, we began to wander through the old town. The old town has a friendly vibe that makes for a quaint atmosphere. We happened upon some steps and began to climb. To our surprise, we were climbing the chateau! Have some great pics posted below - be sure to check them out. We were a little winded by the time we reached the top, but we persevered!! It was completely worth it - (there were some wimpy tourists who took a small tram up...) - the views were the most amazing I have seen in my life. Ties with my experience last year star gazing in the Jordan desert. We are attempting to upload a video now via facebook (we will post the link to here).
We asked to have some pictures taken of us - which proved to be a bit difficult as one older woman was not sure what we were asking. She thought we wanted her to look at the beautiful view. Luckily, we were able to work out the language barrier issues. Then we found a French guy from a near-by town to take another, this proved easier as he spoke English, but did ask us if we were Italian! We have also been asked a number of times if we are sisters!! (We said no) Another older woman we asked for "un photo" flat out told us no!! How ruuude. Lucily, a replacement photographer was close-by.
Three hours later, we wandered down the mountain-side, not before we had a bite to eat (it was healthy - tomatoes and mozarella salad), and exploring the local park that was on the opposite side of the look-out points. It seemed like a very nice place to relax, many locals spend time there. A view of the harbour was also in sight, military ships, yauchts, and sailing lessons galore.
Our next stop was the beach, after we purchased some towels (no room in our bags on the way here!) The beach is a pebble one but proved to be comfortable nonetheless. We only layed in the sun for twenty minutes before we became bored, dipped into the Sea, and walked down the beach. (When we first layed down, I think we blinded people with our white-ness. Laura even asked Aunt Gijske why we were so white when we were at dinner one night -- a sure sign that we need to get out more often... and proof of Erie's unfavorable weather.)
As we were strolling down the beach, I was looking for beach glass. I found only a few small pieces but then Julie discovered a large one and I convinced her to keep looking! Even found a red and a yellow piece! Verrry rare in Erie! As we walked back to the hostel, I realized there were no beach glass shops, so I had a brilliant thought, why don't we stay and open our own store!! It was be a huge success, an untapped resource. THIS IDEA IS COPYRIGHTED SO DON'T STEAL IT! International Business and Nursing are out the window. Who needs to "work" when we can actually enjoy life?!
After freshening up a bit, we wandered looking for a suitable place top eat. We settled on Bar des Fleurs - an incredible establishment that we dined at for almost 4 hours. Seriously. We thought and were even told that in France the portions were small and the bills were large but this was not there case at Fleurs. Everything was delicious and they even had a heat lamp I could sit under (I am notoriously cold). The owner came over to talk to us at the end of the evening, he said he was from Corsica and that this restaurant was his dream. We may head back but not sure yet.
We had a nice stroll on the way home - trying to burn off some of the calories we just consumed. As soon as we were at the hostel, we hit the sheets, exhausted from a long but rewarding day.
So glad we decided to stop in Nice for a few days... great little town to wander around in - (company isn't as good as in Holland though... miss you guys!!) Sometimes it's funny because I'm not sure if we are in France or Italy with some of the people and the bakeries. Wednesday we are planning to go to San Remo (Italy) and Monaco/Monte Carlo. For all of you that do not know, Monaco is its own country, very small, but very wealthy. More on that from Julie in the next post.
The advantages of wandering are many. While traveling, it makes for a fun adventure as you never know what you will stumble upon - we have often stumbled upon many sights we intended to see anyway! Wandering around a town gives you the real feel of it. Usually when you are going somewhere with a purpose, you tend to miss the journey. The things that make wandering adventageous on a vacation are also what makes wandering adventageous in life... life is a journey, not a destination. We could all use some time to wander, we may accomplish things without even trying! And it gives you time to get to know yourself and the world a little better.
Take care, love love love everyone!
Lauren and Julie
Wow, you weren't kidding, the views are absolutely stunning. You ladies look so stylish over there. Love the sea glass idea! You can make jewelry from it and sell it in your shop over there lol. Oh and Julie there is this shop by me that has all imported food from Italy. It's very small, but I think he may have the big jars of nutella. If not there's a pizza place in Montclair that imports it and uses it on their choc. Pizza. Made a little different than QM though. They say the imported kind is different from the kind sold here. Obviously better as I'm sure you tasted! The weather here has been dreadful and I look forward to seeing more gorgeous photos. :)
ReplyDeleteBe safe and have fun,
XO, aunt Natalie
OMG !!!!!!! You are giving me Great ideas of where to go when it is time for me to get my passport stamped !! Beautiful & clicking on the pics Does make them bigger & you both look so healthy even if you are very white... except why were you athletes both winded climbing the chateau ?? Enjoy your wandering, Avoir :)Love Mom EB
ReplyDeleteFabulous views. Monaco & then San Remo! So excited you will visit Italy. Buon divertire. Love D mom
ReplyDelete