So - you can probably imagine how I felt when the plane touched down in Paris. Horrible. It felt so incredibly wrong to go back to France. I felt like I was abandoning my sweetheart (which of course, I wasn't) - but if I had a choice, I would still be in Utah. It looks like I'll be headed back there mid September, though... And that really isn't too far away now. It's funny how being in one place for just 6 weeks can feel so much like home. I suppose home really is where the heart is. And I love everyone there so much!
The rest of the week was spent on Pinterest, looking at ideas for the wedding, sulking and trying to overcome jet lag.
Sophie arrived early on Sunday morning and I went up to the airport in Paris to pick her up. It was so nice to finally see my little sister after what's nearly been a year. We were excited, but she was exhausted from her trip. I'd been hoping to drag her around Lyon, but on arrival it was absolutely pouring with rain and the lightning and thunder didn't allow for many exploration adventures - in fact, we decided to spend the day indoors.
Early Monday we departed for Nice. We travelled first class and besides almost freezing from the air conditioning (who could have known), it was very pleasant. Nice was quite a change from Lyon. There was only sun, sun, sun! The beginning of our stay began by hopping into a taxi at the station, where an incredibly rude man drove us up to our hostel. After leaving our bags and feeling overwhelmed by the number of Australian people there, we walked down the hill to the town centre (which we were told would take 20 minutes. It took 2 hours). Once there we checked out the stoney beaches and felt swept up with all of the hype going on around us...
The hostel didn't exactly turn out the way we thought it would. I'd booked a 5 bedroom, girl's dorm, thinking it would be tucked away and full of quiet Asian girls (but I was so wrong). It was located next to an old chapel that had been converted into a night club - so the music was pumping all night. The atmosphere was complimented by a door that we couldn't lock and did not have a key to and the smell of marijuana wafting through the open window (that the British girls insisted we leave open) and the constant chatter of passers by. Needless to say, I marched on up to reception, told the person there that our plans had changed - and booked us a private room in another hostel downtown. We were relieved to find an air conditioned room here that even has an ensuite! We were in luck.
Yesterday we explored nearby Antibes and took a dip in the Mediterranean in the village of Biot where there were fewer people and enjoyed the novelty of lying on pebbles and not sand. The pebbles were actually smooth. Deb, you would have loved this beach! No sand!
Today we were able to get up early again and down to the train station. We headed slightly North up to the cute provençal town of Grasse. Now, Grasse is the world's perfume capital. Apparently when you're driving in, there are fields and fields of lavender and jasmine (though unfortunately we missed this, as we arrived by train). We made our way up to the old part of the town, poked around shops which were situated on ancient cobble stoned streets that weaved their way around and up and down. Sophie bought a cute scarf and I found some earrings. We ate lunch at a crêperie (sort of - from a street vendor) and thought it was pretty cool that every few minutes, the entire street would be sprayed with perfume from above (they had perfume sprinklers somehow attached to the power lines).
We went to the Fragonard perfumerie, where we were able to enjoy a free visit to the perfume museum and also learn about the process of perfume making during a free guided tour. Apparently people who compose perfumes are called 'Noses' and they are able to recognise the scents up to 3,000 different extracts! That's amazing. No wonder there are only 1,000 Noses worldwide.
A brief train ride to Cannes, where we ate an ice-cream by the beach and then made some summer sale purchases (which were of course non negotiable), then back to Nice.
So - tomorrow it's back to Lyon (where it will be raining again - but we'll go out anyway)! And then on to Paris this Friday.
Over and out!
- Alice
The rest of the week was spent on Pinterest, looking at ideas for the wedding, sulking and trying to overcome jet lag.
Sophie arrived early on Sunday morning and I went up to the airport in Paris to pick her up. It was so nice to finally see my little sister after what's nearly been a year. We were excited, but she was exhausted from her trip. I'd been hoping to drag her around Lyon, but on arrival it was absolutely pouring with rain and the lightning and thunder didn't allow for many exploration adventures - in fact, we decided to spend the day indoors.
Early Monday we departed for Nice. We travelled first class and besides almost freezing from the air conditioning (who could have known), it was very pleasant. Nice was quite a change from Lyon. There was only sun, sun, sun! The beginning of our stay began by hopping into a taxi at the station, where an incredibly rude man drove us up to our hostel. After leaving our bags and feeling overwhelmed by the number of Australian people there, we walked down the hill to the town centre (which we were told would take 20 minutes. It took 2 hours). Once there we checked out the stoney beaches and felt swept up with all of the hype going on around us...
The hostel didn't exactly turn out the way we thought it would. I'd booked a 5 bedroom, girl's dorm, thinking it would be tucked away and full of quiet Asian girls (but I was so wrong). It was located next to an old chapel that had been converted into a night club - so the music was pumping all night. The atmosphere was complimented by a door that we couldn't lock and did not have a key to and the smell of marijuana wafting through the open window (that the British girls insisted we leave open) and the constant chatter of passers by. Needless to say, I marched on up to reception, told the person there that our plans had changed - and booked us a private room in another hostel downtown. We were relieved to find an air conditioned room here that even has an ensuite! We were in luck.
Yesterday we explored nearby Antibes and took a dip in the Mediterranean in the village of Biot where there were fewer people and enjoyed the novelty of lying on pebbles and not sand. The pebbles were actually smooth. Deb, you would have loved this beach! No sand!
Today we were able to get up early again and down to the train station. We headed slightly North up to the cute provençal town of Grasse. Now, Grasse is the world's perfume capital. Apparently when you're driving in, there are fields and fields of lavender and jasmine (though unfortunately we missed this, as we arrived by train). We made our way up to the old part of the town, poked around shops which were situated on ancient cobble stoned streets that weaved their way around and up and down. Sophie bought a cute scarf and I found some earrings. We ate lunch at a crêperie (sort of - from a street vendor) and thought it was pretty cool that every few minutes, the entire street would be sprayed with perfume from above (they had perfume sprinklers somehow attached to the power lines).
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| Dried flowers for sale |
A brief train ride to Cannes, where we ate an ice-cream by the beach and then made some summer sale purchases (which were of course non negotiable), then back to Nice.
So - tomorrow it's back to Lyon (where it will be raining again - but we'll go out anyway)! And then on to Paris this Friday.
Over and out!
- Alice
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