So I just got back from my French Rivera trip last night. It was a world-wind of a weekend!
To start off for those who don't or do know I have strep =( I started to feel my throat becoming a little weird on Thursday before I left but I thought it was just something that would go away the next day. However, after each day went on my throat kept getting worse and worse, 'til Sunday was the last day that I could take anymore. I went to the doctors today (after fighting with my mom Sunday night about going to the hospital right when I got home from my trip which was about 12 in the morning) and the doctor gave me Augmentin. He didn't even have to do a strep test he could tell by just looking at my throat. I was in so much pain on Sunday night that I could barely eat, drink, or swallow in general. I did not go to class today (Monday) and was able to sleep in, go to the doctors, and today I am feeling A LOT better then yesterday. My throat doesn't hurt to swallow anymore and my neck is not as swollen. So I am on the track to getting better thankfully.
SO on to the good stuff =)
I left on Thursday in the afternoon to catch the bus with my tour group to leave for the French Riv. We got into Nice, where our hotel was around 1 and Alyssa and I were roomed together. Originally, Alyssa had e-mailed the company and had asked for Nicole, Alyssa, and me to be in the same room because the rooms were supposed to be doubles and triples (much better then the 11 girls to a room hostel) but they had separated us and Nicole was with a girl that she didn't know. She was a little upset in the beginning which I totally understand and I was very happy that I was not separated from the two of them. Alyssa and I assured her that the girl was on the same tour as us and that she was here with friends also and probably felt the same way that she did of having to share a room with a stranger and not being with her friends. The girl ended up being so nice, she was from Penn State and there were no problems. So we went to bed and woke up on Saturday to go to Cannes.
The tour that we went on is called Florence for Fun and the co-owner of the company is a man called Fabio. We met Fabio the first night out here because he is a club/bar promoter (hes a good guy to know here in Florence because he literally owns/manages/promotes anything and everything, he is constantly getting us into places for free and getting us free drinks also). So why I am telling you this is that Fabio went on this trip. The French Rivera trip is only done twice in the Summer by his company and he loves it, so it was very exciting to have him be one of our tour guides since he knows everything so well and previously knew of the 3 of us (and many other girls on the trip). Also this trip was all girls, the only boys were Fabio who is around 36 but thinks that hes still 21 and his "friend" Andrew who is 21. Why I put friend is because I think its funny that a 36 year old is hanging out with college kids. Anyway, so Fabio was on our trip and Nicole, Alyssa, and I knew that we were going to be following what he did the whole weekend and that we were going to have a great time.
So in Cannes we went to a private beach and rented out lounge chairs or what they call "beds" for the day. There actually were beds on this beach that were on piers over the water it was amazing but I can only imagine how expensive they were. So we soaked up some sun, had some lunch that was pretty good, and laid out for most of the day. In Cannes for people who don't know that's where the film festival is held so we walked past that and took a pic as a group on the "red carpet." The water was really nice, not too cold but not too hot, it was very refreshing because of how hot it was out that day. Also I have to say before I get into anymore talk about food, Italian food is DELICIOUS I didn't even want to get pasta or pizza when I was in France because I figured why waste calories on pasta and pizza in France when I "live" in Italy. However! France's bread is sooo much better then Italy's for the fact that Italy's bread is typically hard (which to me means that its old), and the bread in France was so soft. Also while in the French Riv I was like why am I not going to get seafood the ocean is 50 ft away from me it has to be so fresh!
So after the beach we got back around 8, took showers got ready and headed over to a restaurant for a group dinner. After dinner people Fabio took some of us to a bar that had special prices and after the bar we went to the "only good club" in Cannes to see a famous DJ, DJ Alex Gaudino. The club was not too big but it was really cool because they did this thing with fog where for like 3 seconds you cant see anything because the fog is over you and then it goes just as quick as it comes, its amazing. Us 3 girls went to the upper level with the boys and there were like these drag queens dressed up it was the funniest thing and so we were like lets take a picture with them! And so we had the one boy on the trip take a picture of us with the man/woman and as soon as the picture was done the he/she was like now i want a picture with him! Us girls didn't stay up there for that much longer but then we saw the guys like 20 minutes later and they told us that it was a gay lounge up there, that's why there are people dressed up like that hahaha. They were like they probably thought the 2 of us were a couple hanging out together up there it was hysterical. Anyway all of the foreign men in the club were LOVING Alyssa, shes a very pretty girl and we think that they especially were flocking to her because the French men are not used to girls being blonde hair and green eyes so they thought she was GORGEOUS!
So we had a great first night out in France and went to bed to wake up the next morning to go to St. Tropez. We stopped in the middle of town first to get some lunch and Alyssa and I stopped in this adorable little restaurant to get some salads and the lady who owned the place was so nice, she had another customer translate for her and they were both so nice. The lady who could speak English asked me whether it was my first time there, how long I was staying, where I was going next, and whether I would be coming back. From all the things that I heard about the French I expected them to all be so rude, in fact they were the total opposite in my opinion. Its tough to say how Europeans act because they even admit that there are big differences between men and women, and I find it the same for American's too. From what I have heard and gathered from my experiences is that Italian women DO NOT like American women, they are very cold to everyone in general. Italian men on the other hand are a little too warm and friendly. An Italian student here told my roommate that the difference between an Italian and American man is that when having to choose between a girl/women and a beer that the Italian man will always choose the girl over the beer and that the American will always choose the beer over the girl. All Italians and even the French man who worked at the hotel said that American women/girls are so sweet, nice, friendly, and outgoing. So my point here is that Italian women are cold, Italian men are aggressive, French men- hmm I really didnt get a vibe from them they are just like Italian men in the fact that they do not care about having "good bodies" like working out/lifting weights, and American men only care about their bodies, lifting weights, beer, etc. and American women are just the best =) haha
Anyway so after lunch we went to the beach where we again had the choice between public or private, or even more private like a country club- Nikki Beach. They told us that it was 26 for a bed and this time it was an actual bed but it had a canopy so we declined because we wanted to get our tan on. So we just went onto the public beach and the 2 guys got a private bed. We were able to go over there and sit and eat and drink with them so it was "worth" not paying and almost getting the same thing =). Then we went back onto the bus to go back to the hotel and do the same thing over again. By this time in the weekend my throat was in full throttle and I didn't know how much worse it was going to get over the rest of the weekend. We showered, got ready, and headed over to the same bar place from the night before to get some dinner and drinks. There were a lot of people there that night because they were having a special Latin night or something so after hanging out there for awhile, we decided to leave. Originally we were supposed to go back to the club but some people decided to go to the casino. Nicole had sunburn on her legs, and with my throat starting to really become an issue I didn't try to sway people into going to the club and I had no desire to go to the casino so Alyssa, Nicole and I went back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep.
We woke up the next morning and had to have our things packed and ready to go at breakfast. I woke up with what I think was a fever but I couldn't tell if it was just from being in the sun the past 2 days. We first stopped in Monaco and did a little train cart tour, we got to see the Palace and Montecarlo and all of the special things in the little country. After the train ride we got some lunch and I had some delicious scallop risotto. It was also something really good to eat with my throat since it was becoming harder and harder to swallow. Within the whole weekend I had 2 teas and gargled twice on Saturday and then had 3 teas and gargled twice on Sunday. Anyway, after lunch we went to the Montecarlo Casino, it was really cool to be inside thinking of how many billionaires and famous people never mind 007 had been in there but I was actually surprised to see how small it was and how non Las Vegas it was too. It was not really glitzy or flashy, don't get me wrong it was very nice inside (I couldn't take any pictures to show you) but it just wasn't very "hopping" but then again we went at like 2 in the afternoon, so that could be why too. Monaco is one of the most wealthy countries in the world so there were some amazing cars and yachts. After Monaco we went back into France to go to Eze to the perfume-making factory. It was pretty cool to see all that they make and the smells were crazy coming from that place. After our short stop there we started our trek back to Florence.
Overall, it was a very relaxing weekend other than the fact of my throat. I never really imagined myself going to France, like I have always wanted to go to Italy and I really want to go to Greece, but France was not a country that I said I need to go there at least once in my life. I would of loved to see Paris, I sometimes think of Paris as not being France, but now I can say that I have been to not only France but Monaco too.
So far on my Italian journey I have been to Germany (my layover), Italy, France, and Monaco. Before I leave I will be able to say that I have also been to Spain and the Vatican (because like Monaco it is considered a sovereign state, the Vatican being the smallest and Monaco the second).
My plans so far for this upcoming week is to go to class obviously (mom and dad I know your glad to hear that one), then on Saturday I am planning on going to Milan and Sunday to Cinque Terra. I plan on taking my medicine and getting better for the weekend and the rest of my stay here in Italy. I was looking at my calendar that I brought from home earlier and it is bitter sweet to look at the time that I have left here. I have this week and weekend, then next week and next weekend I plan on going to Spain, and then that's my last week of class and my family will be here that Thursday. I can't wait to see my parents and Anthony and I have so many things that I want to show them here. I miss home and my favorite line in one of my favorite songs is "home, let me come home. home is whenever I am with you"so I know that when my family gets here my real vacation is going to set in, I will no longer have class, and I will be "home."
xox miss you all
Michele
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