A Chance Encounter with... an old friend!

Feb 17, 2018

4 min read

When I decided to study abroad, I joked with a friend I knew would also be in Europe that we should meet up somewhere. Within a few minutes that joke became serious. Once we were all settled in for the semester, we compared our upcoming weekends to decide when would be best for us to meet up. That weekend was February 2-4, so it came upon us quickly. In fact, we booked our tickets for the trip less than a week before we would be leaving.

This trip is really teaching me to be spontaneous.

So, last Friday, Katie and I woke up and hopped on a plane to Nice, France to meet Blake Mastalerz. I grew up with Blake, but it was pretty cool to think that we would just be meeting up in Europe for a quick weekend. (Casual, right?)

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He had landed a few hours earlier, so we met him at our AirBnB before going out to explore. I was a little nervous to be going to a country where I knew only two words of their language. (Bonjour and Au Revoir!) Customs was a breeze, and we were able to find our way from the airport to the city easily.

Nice is a breathtaking city. After living in cold and rainy London for about a month, having sunshine and a little more warmth was just what we needed. It got dark rather quickly once we got there, but we were still able to see the different types of architecture and charm that the area had.

Blake happened to have friends who were taking a trip to Nice that weekend as well, so we were able to meet them for dinner! Such fun! We went to La Plassa where I had "Gratin de gnocchis au gorgonzola." It was delicious. Everything on the table was great. It seemed like an encouraging way to start the trip with such wonderful food.

While exploring, we saw a bright and fun carnival being set up for their carnival festival in later February. The bright colors and ferris wheel had so much character. We were certainly excited for the day to come.

There were fun fountains lit up with the colors of France. I decided to run through them, and as I was drying off my feet a sweet french man came up to me offering tissues so that I wouldn't catch a cold. To say I was charmed by France is an understatement.

We woke up the next morning and walked towards the beach. Feeling brave, Katie and I decided to roll up our jeans and stick our feet into the Mediterranean Sea. It was chilly, but it felt so nice to have the water on your feet. Their beaches are pebble beaches, which I had never been to. I personally don't care for sand, so they were my type of beach for sure.

After taking in the ocean, we walked up to the market. We explored a bit, took in all the sights and smells, and then bought some french pastries. I got a croissant and some small french donut twists. I've never had better tasting pastries. Pretty quickly, we decided we would be back here for breakfast tomorrow.

We left the market, walked around, and saw a Patisserie (Bakery.) I spotted the Macarons right away and knew I had to get some. In all honesty, I'm surprised it took me so long to purchase my first official french set of them. I got 6, and it took all my self control to not devour them right away.

Next, we hopped on a bus to Monaco. This bus ride was insanely beautiful. I probably could have just ridden the route back and forth for days and been completely content. We got off the bus near the water and saw dozens of sailboats and yachts. It would have been impossible to not be charmed instantly.

We then began our hike to the top of the city. The views just got better and better. There were fantastic gardens and even more beautiful architecture. I honestly think I could have stared out at the coastline and oceans for days.

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We wandered further into the city to see the palace of Monoco and eat a late lunch. I had a pizza baguette and honey crepe. I honestly believe I would like savory crepes a bit better than this one, but the baguette was just as wonderful as I'd hoped it would be.

After dinner, we walked back down towards where we'd gotten off the bus. We made the journey back to Nice and stopped for gelato. The sun had gone down, so it was a bit chilly but it was delicious. My flavors even happened to be in the order of the French flag! How perfect!

The next day was devoted to truly taking in the sights of Nice. We once again went to the market to get pastries, but we took them to the beach to eat. There was a saxaphone player on the boardwalk, so combined with the sounds of waves, it was just the most perfect setting. We ended up laying down and relaxing there just taking it all in for a good half hour.

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After that, we went to a viewing park where we could get the best views of the city. Nice is truly beautiful from every angle. There was also a gorgeous waterfall there as well.

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We then took a journey through the city to see the Russian Cathedral. This is such an odd site to see in the middle of France, but I loved it. This was sadly our last stop before heading back to the airport.