Wonderful Nice, Marvelous Nice

After Cinque Terre, I went to Nice in the south of France. I absolutely loved the city. One of my favorite attractions was the Matisse Museum. It's in the hills on the outskirts of the city, and is surrounded by beautiful gardens with fragrant olive, pine, cypress and cabob trees. Nearby are the remains of an old Roman town, Cimiez. Anyone can walk around the site. I saw two cats perched on the crumbled foundations.

After two days of exploring Nice, I went to Monte Carlo in Monaco. I still don't understand the concept of a principality. Monaco is exactly like France from what I can discern (and Sarkozy jointly rules over it with the Prince? Or something?). Monte Carlo is known for its casinos, yachts, and luxury cars, but I did find a few interesting things to do. I went to Le Musée Oceanographique, which houses a strange mix of art and seafaring instruments. It's in a stately 19th century building and there's an aquarium on the lowermost floor.

I also went to Le Jardin Exotique, a cactus garden. More interesting than the garden was the cave inside it. We climbed down hundreds of steps to get there. Inside the cave were stlagmites, stalactites, pillars and columns. It was cooler inside the cave than outdoors. The cave is always 18 degrees celsius regardless of season.

Back in Nice, I went to the Marché Aux Fleurs, which usually a produce/flower market, but transforms into an antique market on Mondays. I bought a framed illustration and three teacups, two of which I promptly broke.

Later that day, I was sitting under a tree, reading a short story by Kazuo Ishiguro, when a guy in his 30s approached me. He was skinny with long brown hair and a broad, tanned, expressive face. He asked for a light. We got into conversation, all conducted in my clumsy French. After I accompanied him on a few errands, we went to Le Chateau, a park with a panoramic view of Nice. The guy pointed out Elton John's house and told me about the medusas that bite tourists in the waters. He called me "ma princesse" and kissed my hand. Thanks to an invented boyfriend (largely based, it must be confessed, on a certain someone), things didn't go further. I really enjoyed Nice, but felt like I had seen the highlights after a few days. I would love to spend more time in France though, and hope to go to Paris for a weekend soon.

Italy--A Mixed Bag

After a two week introductory program in the Netherlands, I had a break to do whatever I pleased. My first stop was Pisa, Italy. Getting there was...interesting, and included sleeping on the linoleum floor of a tiny airport in Belgium.

I arrived in Pisa the next day, and spent the afternoon in sweaty delirium. Pisa was desolate and hot. The shutters on all the shops were closed.

Next, I went to Cinque Terre, five linked villages on Italy's western coast. The first day, I swam in the cove leaving to the Ligurian Sea. I walked around the narrow, hilly streets of the town. That night, I drank wine with some girls from the hostel. We stood on a cliff overlooking the sea and talked to an Italian boy who lived in the village. The girls giggled at everything he said. He brought us wine from his cellar. His friend had made it. It tasted like vinegar.

I ate some really delicious food in Italy, including: many cones of gelato (stracciatella is my favorite), gnocchi with tomato, fuscilli with pesto, caprese salad, focaccia with artichoke, focaccia with tomato, grapes, peaches, sciacchetra wine (a specialty of Cinque Terre, a very sweet wine made from raisins).

Highlights of Italy:

1)Swimming in the Mediterranean. The sparkling turquoise water and the many orange umbrellas crowded together on the narrow beach.

2)The Leaning Tower of Pisa and other monuments at the Piazza del Duomo. The whiteness of the large, ornate structures rising from the lush green grass.

3)How warm, juicy, sun-drenched the peaches tasted.