Wednesday, September 18, 2013Y
Vieux Nice, Le Marché aux Fleurs, and Antibes!!!
Hi everybody!
Sorry I didn't write so much last time, I was seriously exhausted after all of that traveling. A 6 hour train ride is hard work. My train to Geneva will be 7 hours, though! Aghhhh..
So after pretty much collapsing at Emily's, the next day we had a few errands to run. We went to the hardware store and bought her a new trash can. We also went to a supermarket so she could get ingredients for dinner. We stopped at a boulangerie on the way back to her apartment. We both got chausson aux pommes. It was flaky and buttery and delicious and I probably ate it in like 2 seconds.
Also, Emily has a sweet balcony!
I realized I really needed to buy my train ticket for my next destination, so I decided to make my way solo to Gare Thiers and buy a ticket. I've had trouble every time I try to buy tickets online, and the automated machines in the stations won't accept my foreign debit cards -_-. Anyway I took the bus to the main shopping street in Nice, whose name I forgot. I took some pictures while I was walking to the train station.
PALM TREES! It's seriously so weird being in France and having there be palm trees. It's not what I first think of when I think of France.
So I got to the station and got my ticket no problem, I maybe waited 20 minutes. The real challenge I had was getting back to Emily's apartment. I had no idea what her bus stop was, just that the 22 bus went there. So I got on the 22 going the wrong direction, and at the end of the route I awkwardly stayed on the bus and the driver called out to me. I explained to him that I didn't know my stop and that I was new to Nice. I couldn't get a hold of Emily right away, so the bus driver talked to me while I was waiting. He was so friendly and helpful and asked me all about the places in Europe I'd gone and if I was enjoying France. I got off the bus and he waved and smiled at me. Thank you friendly bus driver!!
So I got back to Emily's and we decided to go to the Musée des Beaux-Arts. We walked there only to find that they are closed on Mondays. Museums here are closed on really random days, so check the website before you go! We sat on a bench in front of it, and it must have been bring your dog to the park day because, there were like 5 DOGS there all playing. We got to pet and play with the dogs a little, and some of them came right up and snuggled underneath my legs. AND THERE WAS A PUG I ALMOST DIED.
This cool thing was in front of the Museum. It's so sunny here!
I'm still so dumbfounded by all of these palm trees!!
PUGGY.
This is seriously the cutest thing ever.
I made a buddy!
Here's the museum...we're gonna come back here later in the week when it's actually open!
That night, Emily cooked dinner for us! She made chicken and gnocchi with vegetables and a salad. We also got a 2 euro bottle of wine from a nearby store. It tasted like 2 euros...but her dinner was fantastic I was so happy she made it!
I washed the dishes, and then two of her friends came over. One guy was from England, the other from Ireland. They were really nice, and brought pizza!
The next day we went to Vieux Nice and walked around. This area is so so so beautiful. It's full of winding streets meant only for pedestrians, and its crammed with little restaurants and shops. By the time we got there we were both really hungry and instead of sitting down and eating we opted to buy sandwiches from a boulangerie. I had a Pan Bagnat, which is a sandwich with salade niçoise inside. It was so good!
This was the display in the window of the boulangerie...I just...
There's a really famous market here called the Marché aux Fleurs. We walked through here. So many fruits, flowers, vegetables, meats and cheeses..sensory overload!!
There were a lot of cool little shops in Vieux Nice, I bought a new sundress for only 18 euro. I can always layer a sweater over it for colder weather (thinking ahead!)
We also walked up to the top of these steep stairs near The Château. The view was fantastic!
Also, I got something that EVERYONE who comes to Nice should get. There's no excuse not to because there's one of these places on almost every street, but there's a gelato chain called Fennochio here. They have some insane flavors, (like cactus!) I kept it safe with lemon and mango. Emily got strawberry I think. It was so delicious I was honestly in gelato heaven.
I'm definitey going back for more before I leave.
So after that I went to Emily's, collected my things, and made my way to my hostel!!
I actually bought a new, more maneuverable duffel bag and ditched my old suitcase, but it still made going on a crowded bus extremely difficult. Once I got to the pickup place, I got on the shuttle and arrived at my hostel sweaty and discombobulated. The staff were really helpful and friendly, and the guy gave me a tour. They have free breakfast which is good, and wifi in all of the buildings. Right now I'm rooming with three women. One of them is French speaking and really nice. Another is from England and we're getting along really well! The other woman is older and seriously unfriendly. I'm not sure if she speaks English or French, to be quite honest with you...
That night I went back out for dinner and ended up back in Vieux Nice. I stopped at a random place and had some seafood and linguini. It was really tasty, but I couldn't eat it all.
This is Place Massena, which is a really big square near Vieux Nice. Most of it is under construction right now.
Just a half a lemon chillin' in there..
Also I bought more candy, but moving on...
So that brings me to today.
Today I woke up at 7:30 and took an ice-cold shower. I really hope this isn't normal, my whole body was shivering.
I ate breakfast at the hostel and then took the tram to the train station and bought a regional train pass for only 5 euros. With this pass you can go all the way to Cannes. I didn't go that far. I went to a small town called Antibes, which is about 20 minutes away from Nice by train. There's remains of a medieval city here, and an old district. I walked along the harbor, which was beautiful! The water was so blue.
Around the harbor there are these huge stone walls you can walk across, which are remnants of the medieval city. Also there was this giant sculpture just chilling on the top of the wall. I had to take a picture inside it/next to it.
Just awkwardly holding my towel...
Then I walked through the old part of the village where there's a covered market. I didn't take a lot of pictures there because to be honest I don't like pictures full of random strangers but LOOK AT ALL THESE OLIVES.
Thought this was cute.
I stopped at a place for lunch. I ordered a banana, pineapple, coconut smoothie and a salmon bruschetta. The whole lunch was like 16 euro but I don't even care because it was so delicious and the waiter was really good looking.
Looking at it again I just...I want to eat it a second time.
After that I went to the public beach and laid out in the sun for an hour or two. I waded into the water for a little while. It was really cold but super refreshing!
Yes, I took a selfie. Also I saw naked women! I'm definitely in Europe!!!
Also there's a small Picasso Museum there! You're not allowed to take photos inside, and they have other cubist artists besides Picasso, but I guess he spent some time in Antibes and produced a lot of works while there! They were really cool! It cost 6 euro to get in. I did take some pictures from the outside.
Not a Picasso, but still cool!
I stopped at a boulangerie and got an apple tart. There were little cows on the bag!
So now, I'm back at my hostel and writing this blog. Apparently there's a cat here....
I'm so tired, so I'm eating hostel food for dinner. It's overpriced but I really don't feel like going out. Okay I wrote a lot, hope it wasn't too overwhelming!
<3
Olivia
11:19 AM
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