Last Friday I rolled out of bed early and headed to Porta Nuova for a weekend trip to Nice and Monaco. Kelsey and I were going to meet up with Leigh from USC and her brother and friend. We took a train from Torino. I like riding trains because you get to view all different types of landscapes. The most drastic change was when we were leaving Italy it was very snowy and cold and as soon as we entered a tunnel we saw the rocky landscape of the French Riviera, so pretty!
When we got to Nice it was raining so we took a quick lunch break. The street by the train station had tons of Chinese food places so naturally we darted into one of those and devoured some orange chicken. Afterward we went to the hostel and got ready before Leigh came. Leigh, Kathleen, and Matt arrived soon after and they were so much fun. It was so much fun to see someone from home and we laughed the whole time. We went to a seafood restaurant away from the main street and got mussels and fries. For some reason European mayo is much better than American and we looove it. We enjoyed rose wine since we were in the south of France and then we went back to the lounge in the hostel to hang out.
The next morning the sun was out and the weather was warm. It was truly picturesque. We hiked down from the hostel and took the tram to the main stretch of beach. We took some pictures by the water but it was really windy. Then we went to the market and bought cheese and baguettes. We hiked all these steps and from the top it had the greatest views of the city. You could see the Alps from one side, the pretty roof tops, and the rocky coast all from this one spot. And from there we sat, laid on the pavement and ate bread and cheese. I've missed the sun!
Later we got gelato and Leigh, Kathleen and I decided to be daring and go on our first ferris wheel ride. We didn't realize how terrifying it would be until it was too late. We were up there laughing so hard because we were scared. The views were once again incredible. Nice has to be one of the prettiest places I've been. Once again we had mussels and fries but this time I had mine with a marinara sauce. Walking around at night was a little chilly but I had the greatest time there. We were just goofy and giggled and ate. Everything that trip revolved around food and wine.
Sunday after breakfast we took a train to Monaco. The weather wasn't nice but we still had to go and see all the yachts and the Montecarlo casino. There were tons of palm tree and Bentley's. I don't think I've seen so many nice cars in one place before.
Sunday night we came home to lots of snow. Monday was Festa della Donna aka International Women's day! Kelsey, Katie and I went to dinner at the pizza place on our block and ordered pizza by the meter. It was amazing. 2 liters of wine and 1 complimentary bottle of limoncello later we headed home. I love going out with friends. It makes me feel a little more connected to here, and makes it a little more homey.
I miss all of my USC friends who are on Spring Break this week. I'm jealous they get to go home or to Florida to bask in the sun. Oh well this weekend I'm off to Paris and then Wednesday Athens and Mykonos for Spring break. I'll take lots of pictures and update as soon as I get back xox
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment