When in Rome, Fall 2008: Holy Crepe... Nice is Nice!

Today is Sunday, and I have been in Rome for almost 3 full weeks now (and have completed 2 full weeks of school). Last weekend I took my first big trip outside of the Rome area (Lazio region) and went to the French Riviera. I went with 3 girls in my CEA group. We left Thursday after class (since we don't have school on Fridays but often have mandatory events) from Termini station (the main train and metro station in Rome). It took most of the day for our train to get to Nice, so we arrived sometime after midnight and checked into our hostel where we stayed for 3 nights. The next morning we started our day off with a French breakfast (omelet, baguette, coffee, orange juice and some extra bread on the side as is typical for French meals) at a nearby cafe. I love the cafe culture of France. Cafes are highly present in Italy and most other European countries that I've been to, but it's nothing compared to France where cafes completely flood the streets as I've seen in Paris and Nice. I also love the ubiquitous white and grey colors that the French use for the exteriors of their buildings. After breakfast we headed to the beach, which is really the highlight of the French Riviera and Nice. I have never in my life seen such blue water! It was so picture-perfect (like you see in movies) that I started to feel like James Bond so the girls and I posed and took pictures. The water was also pretty warm and salty so it was easy to lay back and float. To make the view even more amazing there were cruise ships sailing a short distance off the coast and on one of the far ends of a peninsula there was a small waterfall! The beach was composed of stones/pebbles instead of sand which was a nice abnormality for me, and the freedom of women to go topless was as well, although I've grown used to it so it isn't a big deal for me anymore. We went to the beach everyday (it is defnitely the thing to do in the French Riviera), but some of the other highlights of my time in Nice were having my first carafe (pitcher) of house wine at a restaurant, eating a gelato (Italian ice cream) filled crepe at a gelateria called Pinocchio (haha), and meeting and talking in French with some locals on the beach. I talked French so much that I found myself saying "merci" instead of "grazie" when we came back to Italy. It's funny how being in a place for only a few days can subtly change you so much. Our train back on Sunday offered amazing views along the coastlines of the French and Italian Riveria, and we arrived in Rome that evening. I loved my time in the French Riviera, although I was definitely happy to be back in Rome as well since I was beginning to crave the ubiquitous pressence of amazing pizza and fountains waiting for me whenever I become hungry or thirsty =). Au Revoir / Ciao!