Day 13- May 31

 (awkward angle, but these are my feet soaking up the sun on the French Riviera!)

 (Keli and I)

 (Hillary and I. NO, I have not embraced the culture of going topless, its just a strapless top!)

        We had our first company visit in Nice this morning.  I woke up early to get ready for the day, ate breakfast in the hotel dining room, then our whole group met for student presentations and Nice orientation.  After our meeting, we loaded the coaches and drove about a mile down the road from our hotel to EDHEC (Ecole de Hautes Etudes Commercials) Business School.  EDHEC is one of the leading business schools in Europe, with several locations in France, London, and Singapore.  While visiting the school we got to hear a lecture on the marketing of luxury goods and fragrances, which was quite interesting since I usually study more take more “numbers” classes than marketing classes.

            After our visit and lecture at the school, the group returned to our hotel and we had the rest of the afternoon free.  I went with a few girls to a nearby grocery store to buy some fruit (very scarce at restaurants so I’ve been craving it) and a few snacks for my hotel room.  After eating a quick lunch, pretty much every single person from our group made a beeline for the beach.

            The beach was wonderful.  Even though rain was forecasted, the temperature was in the 70s and it was partly cloudy, which made for a great afternoon to lounge around.  Getting used to laying on a bunch of rocks was a bit difficult, even with the straw mat I bought for 2 Euros, but if I ignored the rocks digging into my spine, it was great!  The water of the Mediterranean Sea is freezing, but it felt nice to put my feet in after I had been baking in the sun all afternoon.  It was so nice to spend time relaxing and having fun with everyone, and getting to know some people that I had not spent much time with yet.  (Side note: today also proved once and for all that Europeans have no problem with nakedness- in fact, they embrace it.  From statues at the Louvre, to advertisements hanging in the metro stations and department stores, to the things we saw on the beach today…just take my word for it.)

            After spending way too many hours on the beach, I went up to the hotel to change for dinner.  We ended up going to another Mexican food place (we’re all craving it) that turned out to be relatively decent.  There were probably thirty people from our study abroad trip inside that small restaurant- it seems that everyone’s tolerance for French food is wearing a little thin.

            After dinner we stopped to get ice cream from a man who has been a friend of the marketing study abroad trip for many years now.  One thing that all the former students of this trip all mentioned is that we had to get ice cream from him and ask about his kids.  So I got some delicious chocolate ice cream, and found out that his kids-both in their thirties now- are doing great.

            Then we went to sit out on the beach again, but the rain that continues to be in the forecast finally started falling, so our night was cut short as we all went inside.

Day 12- May 30

           Today we left Avignon to travel to Nice, a beach town in the south of France.  We didn’t leave until 11 am, so I got to sleep in for the first time on the whole trip, which was wonderful.  On the way to Nice we stopped for a company visit at L’Occitane.  L’Occitane is a company that makes all-natural products such as lotions, soaps, shampoos, and perfumes, and our group was able to tour the factory and learn about what goes into making these organic products.  After our visit we had time to shop in the on-site store, which was really fun to do after learning about the products, and I bought a few little things.

            After our visit, we all loaded back on the coaches to finish the three hours we had left of the drive to Nice.  Thankfully, I was able to sleep for a majority of that time, so when I woke up we were approaching beautiful Nice.  We pulled up to a swanky, pink beach-side hotel, only to find out that we would be staying there for the next four days!  We were so excited.  Our rooms are huge and really nice- we will be living in luxury for the next few days.

            The weather is warm and beautiful here, so we went to our rooms to change clothes before dinner.  For dinner Jessica, Hillary, and I went with our professors to a seafood place right down the street from our hotel.  I had salmon fettuccine, which was delicious, as expected.  It was fun to be able to interact with our professors in a smaller setting instead of in a group of 80 students like usual.

            After dinner, a group of us ended up down on the beach.  The beach here is not sandy, but is made up of millions of small-ish rocks.  We watched the end of the sunset and admired the lights of the city as it got darker.  It was so nice to just sit on the beach and listen to the waves, instead of rushing around a city and trying to see everything.  After mostly everyone left to go back to their rooms, I stayed down on the beach with two of the girls.  After another hour or so of talking, we decided to turn in for the night since we have an early orientation meeting tomorrow morning.

Day 11- May 29

 (view from a ways up on a walking path near the Palace of the Popes)

 (the Bridge to Nowhere- I don't know the story on this because I think I was sleeping on the coach when it was explained- but cool nonetheless. :) )

 (Palace of the Popes)

 (cute town of Avignon)

Today was spent mostly on a bus ride from Paris to Avignon, France. We left our hotel in Paris this morning at 7:30 am.  I wish we could have stayed there longer because I know there is so much I did not get to do.  Paris is a place that I would love to visit again someday.

We drove all day- from 7:30 am to about 6 pm, but thankfully I was able to sleep for much of that time.  According to European laws, our coaches have to stop every two hours to give the bus driver a thirty minute break.  As one could imagine, this makes for an even longer day of driving.  On the plus side, though, whenever I have to go o the bathroom, I know our next stop is only a short time away.

We had lunch at a fast food restaurant inside a truck stop, where we discovered that they do not appreciate American customers who want to have their burger "their way."

We arrived in Avignon to find a beautiful, quaint French town.  We're only here for one night but it is the perfect place to relax after going nonstop in two huge, metropolitan cities.

After checking in to our hotel, Jessica and I went to find a place for dinner.  We walked all around the town's square reading menus that were posted outside restaurants and trying to find one that was reasonably priced with recognizable menu items.  We finally settled on a restaurant, only to find out that they would not begin serving dinner until 7 pm.  So while waiting until then, we walked around Avignon- up to the Palace of Popes, and down in the square amongst the various shops.   The view in Avignon is absolutely beautiful, and the town itself is so quiet and peaceful.  Like Paris, this is another city that I would love to visit again in the future.

Finally, our restaurant seated us.  We spent quite while trying to decipher the completely French gourmet menu, not receiving much help from the waiter who spoke English about as well as I speak French.  We finally did order- I asked for a dish solely because I recognized the French word for salmon and I knew I liked salmon.  It turned out to be DELICIOUS- one of the best meals I've had in France so far.  My meal turned out to be what I think was supposed to be an appetizer- four chunks of salmon with salad and a mystery dressing.  It was so good, and actually really cheap.

After diner we just had to try one of the many ice cream places that we had seen earlier in the night.  I ended up ordering a scoop of the flavor called Cookies and it was very rich and yummy.

The, we called it an (extremely early) night and went back to our hotel room to catch up on some much needed rest.

Day 10- May 28

 (picnic by the Versailles' Grand Canal)

 (feeding the ducks [that were sometimes scary and growled at me])

 (part of the gold gate entrance to the extravagant Palace of Versailles)

 (sunset from the river cruise)

         (Eiffel Tower from the river cruise)

           Today was our free day for “Paris Arts and Culture”.  I decided to go to Versailles on a bike tour with the same company we have been using all along.  We kept hearing how great this particular tour was, so I was really excited for our day.

            We met at the bike tour’s offices, then took our bikes to the closest train station.  I didn’t know you could take a bike on a train, but apparently you can.  We rode the train for about twenty minutes, then arrived in the small town surrounding the palace of Versailles.  We bought baguettes, cheese, and ham at an outdoor market for a picnic lunch, then continued on to the grounds of the Versailles palace and gardens.

            The morning was spent riding around the vast gardens of Versailles, stopping along the way for our tour guide to teach us about the history of Versailles as well as the people that lived there over the years.  The scenery was beautiful, and we had a wonderful, relaxing picnic lunch next to the Grand Canal behind the palace.  After eating and lounging in the sun for about an hour, we got back on our bikes to ride back around to the front entrance of the palace.

            Then we went inside the palace for an audio-guided tour.  The architecture and decorations were beautiful, but the palace was so crowded with people that it was difficult to see well or more around freely. 

            We then rode our bikes back to the train station to catch a train back to the bike tour office.  By this time, we were hungry for dinner so after we made our way back to the hotel we ate a quick meal at a nearby restaurant.  Then we headed up to our hotel rooms to change for our last activity in Paris- a nighttime river cruise.  

            The whole group was together for this scenic cruise along the Seine River, and it was a blast.  We pulled out of the dock just as the sun was setting, so we were able to see all the sights of Paris in a beautiful light.  We were on the boat for about an hour, so as we were heading back to the dock it was dark and we were able to see the Eiffel Tower light up and then begin to sparkle.  It was a great way to end our short time in Paris.

            After the cruise, Jessica and I went back up to our room to get packed and organized for tomorrow.  We leave at 7:30 am for the city of Avignon, France!

Day 9- May 27

 (giant hotdog that I had for lunch when we stopped at an outdoor cafe during our bike tour)

 (I love the Eiffel Tower!)

 (back of Notre Dame)

 (Sacre Coeur, highest point in Paris)

 (really sleepy at this point, but feeling obligated to take this picture of all of Paris behind me)

 (reeealy excited to see Mona Lisa)

            I am so exhausted today. 

This morning we got up early for our bike tour of Paris.  We used the same company we used in London- owned by a former Aggie.  We spent about four hours riding around Paris, seeing many of the famous sights and buildings.  This bike tour was a bit more scary than our London tour- imagine 30 unskilled bikers trying to hold their own against the traffic of one of the most popular cities in the world, all while trying not to run over each other.  Despite all this, everyone in our group made it back safely in one piece.

After our bike tour, a group of us went to visit Sainte Chapelle again.  We made it all the way over to the church, this time in time to be allowed inside, only to find out that Sainte Chapelle is apparently on strike.  I didn’t know that a church could go on strike, and we have no idea what they’re striking against (I’m pretty sure some key details were lost in translation), but regardless, we were not allowed to visit Sainte Chapelle.  I’m disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing such a beautiful church, but I guess this gives me an excuse to come back to Paris again someday!

We went from Sainte Chapelle to Norte Dame again, because some people with us had not seen it yet.  This time I did not go inside but I went around the back and sides and saw other pretty parts of the building that people probably usually overlook.  I even got to see a bride and groom taking their wedding pictures at the back of the cathedral, which made me happy.

Then we took the metro all the way to Sacre Coeur, a church on a hill that is the highest point in Paris.  We went through the church, and then spent awhile looking out over the entire city.

Our last event of the day was visiting the Louvre.  We rode the metro back to the center of town, then grabbed a bite to eat while waiting for 6 pm- on Fridays the Louvre is open late (6 pm to 10 pm) and is free for people under the age of 26.  The Louvre is a HUGE museum and extremely popular, so there were people everywhere.  My favorite things were seeing the famous Mona Lisa painting, and looking through the Egyptian wing of the museum. 

Now I’m back at the hotel, organizing my pictures and catching up on class assignments.  It’s 9:30 pm and lots of people are going out tonight, but my body is just getting more and more exhausted each day so hopefully I’ll get a full night of sleep tonight.