Another week has come and gone, and we are another week closer to the end of February - not sure where the time has gone really! Carnaval is still very much alive here in Nice, and a few of us have ventured out to see what night life is all about. In other news, this past weekend I took a quick trip across the border to a local city in Italy, Genoa. This time, ridin' solo! I didn't have anything too crazy planned. Just a two night stay there with a day trip out to Cinque Terre, one of the most breathtaking day trips I have done to date. Pictured above: me sporting my new jacket that my parents were kind enough to mail me all the way from Canada. It even folds into a travel pillow! Corso Illuminé - le 20 février 2018 To start things off, last Tuesday night was one of the Carnaval's night parades, and it truly exceeded my expectations. It was around an hour and a half long and not at all like the parade I saw last Saturday afternoon. Although some of the themes were similar, most of the floats were filled with lights and colour displays instead of flowers, hence the title Corso Illuminé (Illuminated Parade). Things were also rather political at the parade, even though they made it clear in their info brochures that nothing political was allowed... you'll see what I mean as you flip through the pictures. Gênes (Genoa) - Le 23 février 2018 Friday morning, I hopped on a bus, drove two and a half hours, and landed in Genoa, Italy. I still find it astonishing that in a short amount of time, I can be in a whole new country. Perks of living in Europe! Some of the highlights in Genoa were the views from the top of the gardens I visited, Piazza di Ferrari, Palace Ducale, San Matteo Church, and Porta Soprana. The best part for me was the Genoa Cathedral, because apparently I have a thing for churches. What drew me to this church were the colours: pink/purple, green/blue and grey. I have never seen a church with that arrangement of colours, and I absolutely fell in love with it! I want it in my bedroom! Cinque Terre - Le 24 février 2018 On Saturday, I took the train from Genoa to Cinque Terre for a day out to these five exquisite, small villages. Cinque Terre is located in the province of La Spezia (region of Liguria) in Italy with a "string of five century old sea side villages". Each of the five towns has something different to offer but all are filled with colourful houses with terraces and harbours are filled with fishing boats. A bunch of my friends on the exchange had already made the trip here themselves and said it was well worth the journey. They were right, to say the least! I didn't know this until I returned back to Nice, but in 1997, Cinque Terre was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Their main sour of revenue is tourism but, as a testimony to the strength of centuries-old tradition, fishing, wine and olive oil production still continue. MonterossoFirst stop was Monterosso al Mare, a quaint, beachy village along the shore line. I took it upon myself to climb up one of the rocks to profiter (take advatage and make the most of) the views from all directions. There are two parts to Monterosso: old town, and the newer part called Fegina. It's the northernmost and westernmost town in Cinque Terre. Fun fact: Monterosso al Mare is the most visited of the five villages, largely because it has the only sizable sand beach and the biggest hotels. VernazzaThe next village (heading towards the east) was Vernazza. I hit up Vernazza around lunch time, so the noon sun made for some great photo opportunities. I even got to see a boat sailing by in the not so far distance. Also a great spot for a gelato break! Fun fact: Vernazza's name comes from the Latin adjective verna, meaning "native". Their fittingly-named indigenous wine, vernaccia ("local" or "ours"), helped give birth to the village's name. Corniglia The third village I saw was Corniglia. From the train station, we could actually see the next village, Manarola, in the distance. A beautiful view! My favourite part about Corniglia was the walk down to the Marina. It was so peaceful being close to the water, that I stopped and had my picnic lunch there! Fun fact: Corniglia is located in the middle of the five towns and is the only village which is not built directly on the sea but on a cliff 100 metres above sea level. It's probably the most genuine town of the five, because it has the least amount of tourists. ManarolaManarola definitely had to be my favourite of the five towns. I loved it so much, that I lost track of time and missed my train to Riomaggiore and had to wait an hour for the next one (LOL). Oh well, that gave me more time to walk along the edge of the village and appreciate the phenomenal colours and landscape. Fun fact: Manarola is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns, with Corniglia being the smallest. Riomaggiore The last village on my trip was Riomaggiore, which is considered to be one of the most peaceful and quite villages of the Cinque Terre. Riomaggiore is basically a cascade of multi-coloured houses in the typical Ligurian style, all tightly clustered around a tiny natural harbour carved out in between the rocks. Fun fact: Riomaggiore inspired paintings by Telemaco Signorini (1835–1901), one of the artists of the Macchiaioli group. So that's another adventure wrapped up and another week gone by. At first, I thought my second semester abroad was going to feel longer than my first, but it's beginning to feel shorter and shorter.
Going away to these two locations in Italy was a nice preview to what I'll be venturing out to come Thursday. That's when our reading week begins, and it's off to Rome, Pisa, Florence and Venice! À bientôt, Italie!
0 Comments
Things have been rather eventful here in France lately. Two local festivals started this weekend, one of which is here in our hometown. Nice is hosting their annual Carnaval, and Menton has their Lemon Festival running for the next two weeks, both of which we made an effort to go and explore... because pourquoi pas?! Carnaval de Nice - le 17 février 2018 Every winter, Nice hosts their annual Winter Carnival, so of course we added that to our list of things to do this weekend. It's hosted in Place Masséna and along the Promenade, which is right up the street from us. (No excuse not to go really!) It is running from February 17th until March 3rd, and the theme this year is Roi de l’Espace, Space King. Lots of stars, planets and extraterrestrial beings to be seen. It's definitely out of this world... pun intended ;) The highlights of the Carnaval's programs are the parades. They have a variety of different shows going on over these next couple of weeks. Night parades full of lumières (lights) and flower floats all tied into the space theme. We went to see the first parade of the Carvanval, Bataille des Fleurs. Unfortunately, the first day of the Carnaval was a little wet weather wise. Light showers occupied the majority of the day, except during the parade thankfully! The pictures do not do it justice! The floats were filled with flowers from nearly top to bottom, and they even threw out flowers to us. I snagged a bouquet of mimosas for myself, but unfortunately I didn't get any of the roses they were giving away. It was a thrilling atmosphere to be a part of, from the blasting music to the all-girl marching band, each group had something unique to showcase. My girlfriends and I were dancing along and making the best of the overcast weather! I later learned that if you dress up from head to toe in a costume (un déguisement), you get into the parades for free! And I thought the people at the café were kidding when they told me that... La 85e Fête du Citron à Menton - Le 18 février 2018 Next up on our weekend of celebrations was Menton's 85th annual Lemon Festival! This had to be the highlight of my weekend by far. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as we were heading to Menton today, but I was absolutely blown away! I had no idea you could get this creative with oranges and lemons. Their theme this year is Bollywood, and we bought tickets to go in and see their Jardins (gardens) full of sculptures. From monkeys to elephants and even Bollywood dancers, it was a step into India's own Hollywood. We even got to taste some Limoncello (lemon liqueur) for free! Making the most of our 12 euro entrance fee ;) It was definitely money worth spent nonetheless. This weekend was a nice little break from our usual day to day endeavors. February is quickly coming to a close... we are approaching the last couple weeks, and I cannot believe it! Academically speaking, I've been working on an upcoming presentation for next week along with two exams and a small assignment coming up just around the corner.
Bonne continuation until our reading week!! It was finally time that we hit the road for some time away from France. This weekend's adventure? Lisbon, Portugal! A destination that has been on my list for quite some time now. One of my friends and her boyfriend traveled there last September, and they only had positive things to say about it. So, I decided it was about time I went and checked it out myself! My uncle got me a First-Time Europe travel guide this past Christmas, and it was super helpful in navigating some of the main attractions to see in Lisbon, seeing as we only had a weekend there. Before we left, we were able to learn a few things about Lisbon and the Portuguese culture. Thanks for thinking of me this Christmas, TW! ;) Lisbonne, Portgual - le 8 février au 12 février 2018 Summing Lisbon up in one word is easy: tiles. We immediately noticed that the city was covered in tiles when we were busing to our hostel Thursday night. From the buildings, to stair cases, and even the showers in our hostel, every corner of the city was filled with beautiful tiles; it was truly artwork! I also ate more than my fair share of Pastel de Nata (Portuguese egg tart pastry), and may have even tried some Port Wine while I was at it, but that's all part of the cultural experience, right?! Vendredi/Friday - le 9 février 2018 Aside from the minor setback in weather we experienced Friday morning, we had a full day of exploring and sight seeing. We checked out some nearby bakeries, where of course we saw Pastel de Nata by the dozens! Hard to resist them when they look that good. We also stopped inside a Sardine store, a specialty in Lisbon, called The Fantastic World Of Portuguese Sardines, where they had cans of sardines for every year dating back to 1916. The store proposes to revisit the last century of history in Portugal and in the World, therefore promoting also a reflection on the last centenary of canned fish in Portugal. How neat! Other exciting sights were the Tile Museum (a must see in Lisbon), the Pantheon, and three different churches, one of which being Notre Dame - see if you can figure out which one that is ;). The views from the top of the Pantheon were breathtaking! The sun finally decided to come out, which made it that much more of a beautiful moment to take everything in. It would have been the perfect spot to have a picnic lunch! Samedi/Saturday - le 10 février 2018 We had the best weather on Saturday: warm sun and minimal clouds! We hardly needed our jackets. Since we had seen most of the city center already, we ventured out to Belem for the day. It's a local neighborhood about a 20 minute tram ride over. While in Belem we saw the Monastery, the Monument of the Discoveries and Belem Tower. My favourite by far was the Jerónimos Monastery. I truly have no words that describe it well enough. To sum it up, the monastery is one of the most prominent examples of the Portuguese Late Gothic Manueline style of architecture in Lisbon. It was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby Tower of Belém, in 1983. With its grand architecture and exquisite detailing, it is definitely a historical beauty. Later on, we headed back into the core of Lisbon to see the The Praça do Comércio (Commerical Square). Lots of bright and cheery yellow to be seen here! We were beginning to notice that blue and yellow are both very popular colours in Lisbon, particularly in their tiling. I may have to look into that some more to see if there is any historical significance. Beautiful colours nonetheless! Ended off the day with a quick visit to the Pink Street: quite small and located in their former "red light district". A short but sweet walk. Sintra - le dimanche 11 février 2018 We definitely had an interesting day in Sintra, to say the least. The weather was not cooperating with us... mild with lots of fog, even though the weather report stated otherwise. Regardless, we made the best of it, hopped on the train, and within 30 minutes we were in Sintra, a resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains. Due to the weather, we didn't stay long, but it was long enough to hike up one of the mountains to see the Moorish Castle. We didn't end up going inside (tickets were a little pricey), but the 30 minute walk up and down was a nice way to see catch some stunning views of Sintra and engage with nature. It was a good reminder that it isn't always necessary to do the classic "touristy things" when visiting new places. Later on, we learned that buses take you up to the castle for five euros round trip... and they drop you right off in front of the castle... a "fun" after the fact surprise for us all! The walk was still worth it in my opinion. I slept like a baby that night! Lundi/Monday - le 12 février 2018Of course Monday, the day we were leaving, was a sunshine filled beautiful day. Our flight back to Nice wasn't until the afternoon, so we took a walk to a close by location with street art to snag some artsy photos. I have to say, this was one of my favourite streets in Lisbon. I am always blown away at how stunning graffiti can actually be when it is treated like an art form. We also walked to the Arc de Triomphe, which we learned is a part of the Commercial Square - talk about déjà vu ;) As much as I love traveling, exploring, and seeing the many wonders of the world, I always love coming back home. There's nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed at night, or curling up on the couch with a warm cup of tea (kind of like what I'm doing while writing this blog post lol). In the next couple weeks, it will mostly be school and preparing for some midterms before our reading week. It is also Carnaval here in Nice starting Saturday, so stay tuned for some of those upcoming adventures!
Another week into the second semester already and now onto the next month. In lots of ways, it doesn't feel like that long ago I was back home in Canada (in reality it's been about 3 weeks), but it also feels like I've been here in Nice for much longer. Almost like I never left in a way. Regardless, I've been finding lots of ways to keep myself out of trouble! Academically speaking, school has been picking up a bit. A presentation in the next couple of weeks, a couple written compositions and a midterm are all to come. The first half of this semester is much lighter in content compared to our work load after our reading week. Luckily enough, all of our courses (aside from the two Canadian ones) are contrôle continu, which means there are no final exams during the exam period. Instead, it is "continual evaluation" meaning all of our marks come from the work we do in the semester. A really nice perk of being an exchange student! Tandem has been another highlight at the University! From time to time, some of our professors from our translation class offer an evening of conversing with French and English students to practice and improve our language skills. It's been a great way for us to meet some French students at the university and hear about what they do here in Nice to keep themselves occupied. We are always looking for new ways to stay busy. This week, a friend and I decided to go and try some Niçoise cuisine. I had tried some last semester at our professor's house during our welcome soirée, but I had never actually gone out into downtown Nice to discover it for myself. We went to Lou Pilha Leva where I had some socca with olive oil and salt, and she also had some socca with a Niçoise salad, which contains tuna, boiled eggs, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables of the sort. I've decided that, this semester, I want to get out into the heart of Nice more often and really experience what this city has to offer. I want to feel immersed into the culture 100% and get to know Nice as well as I can. Service Universitaire des Activités Physiques et Sportives (SUAPS) Another exciting addition to this semester has been attending some of the fitness classes on campus. At the beginning of the school year, a few of us paid to participate in sports at schools. So, we figured it was about time we actually went to check some of them out. Now, we routinely go to yoga, Zumba and fesse, abdo, cuisse classes. (The last one is a butt, abs and leg/thigh work out, and the instructor means business!). We also have been going to Karaoke nights at a local bar in Vieux Nice. The first week we went it was amazing! A group of four of us went and teared it up. The second time was less amazing... the server told us we either had to buy drinks or we had to leave. I guess that's what they were charging instead of a cover fee to participate in Karaoke. So, we decided just to do our own karaoke that night back at someone's apartment. Making the best of every situation! Grasse - Le 4 Février 2018 Saturday's adventure was to Grasse, a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department (more specifically a sub-prefecture), on the French Riviera. It is on the limestone hill of Puy that was built as a medieval village which remains the historical heart. In the late 18th century, Grasse experienced an extraordinary development of perfumerie which is still blooming today. The Provençal town perched on a hill is considered the world capital of perfume. (Special thanks to my free "Best of Côte D'Azur" travel guide I picked up today at the Grasse Tourism Office for providing me with this insightful information!) Although I had already been to a Fragonard Perfumerie in Èze, it was great to go on another guided tour of the facilities. This time round, I learned that there are 7 flowers of the region that they use in their perfumes: rose, jasmine, orange, mimosa, violet, tuberose and broom. Also, the perfumers who work in their labs need to be able to identify over 500 scents. Anyone's senses feeling up to the challenge?! Other notable sights included the Notre Dame Cathedral, which had that same Medieval feel that I read about earlier. The interior of the church was all exposed stone. Absolutely beautiful! There were also some great views to be seen. Mountains in one direction and the sea in another. Grasse was a great end to our week and definitely somewhere I would love to go back to. There are lots of new adventures around the corner for us. Our reading week is quickly approaching at the end of this month. Some of us are even heading to Morocco! A friend and I have opted to do a 10 day tour of Italy. It's been up at the top of my bucket list for a while now, and I can't wait to experience it!
|
Details
Archives
February 2018
Categories
|