My roommates and I went with a student tour group and visited Nice, Eze, Monaco, and Antibes!!

 

Nice:

I’ve heard Nice mentioned in movies, but I never really knew much about it.  It always sounded like a fancy place to me, but had quaintness to it that I liked.  It was the beginning of April, so It was nice but still a little chilly.  The main square of Nice is really cool.  There are these light up Buddha statues on tall poles throughout the square.  They looked really cool at night when they were all lit up and they changed colors too.  The square also has a cool fountain, The Fountain of Apollo.  Its cool because Apollo is surrounded by statues which represent each horoscope.  This was my favorite fountain I’ve seen in Europe, and there are a lot!  We also walked around the main park or Nice, which is where the lookouts are.  The view was incredible!  I really liked the vibe in Nice and the locals there were very nice, which was surprising because I thought French people didn’t like Americans.

 

 

 

 

Eze:

Eze is a small village about 40 minutes from Nice.  It is home to a few perfumeries, one being Fragonard.  We actually got a tour of the Fragonard headquarters and I got some Argan Oil and Lotion.  If you are ever in the French Riv and you are a perfume/cosmetics junkie, you should go! Especially because Fragonard does not export its products.  If you walk up to the look out of Eze, there is a really cool garden.  It had cacti, flowers, and a cool view of the coast!  We had some spare time, so we got Crepes!  It was my first and only authentic French crepe.  Of course, I had one with nutella.  It was delish.

 

Monaco:

Monaco definitely had the most distinct vibe of the French Riviera.  It is FULL of yachts, expensive looking French houses, and cars that cost more than some peoples houses.  We first went up to the Palace of Monaco.  It was definitely way more different than the other palaces I’ve seen in Europe.  It’s really pretty but kind of awkward looking because the architecture is old, but the materials and appearance of it are new.  Then, we walked through town and found a restaurant.  Finally, we made our way to the Monte Carlo Casino!!  It was crazy, there were Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, and Bentleys lined up in front.  We went inside, or course.  If you visit and want to go in, it costs 10 euro and there is a closed-toe shoe and no jeans policy.  It’s definitely worth going inside, even if you don’t want to gamble It’s crazy to see the amount of money these guys in fancy tuxes were betting!  My roommates and I tried the slots out.  I had no idea what I was doing, so I put my 5 euro in and basically just hit buttons and guessed on what to do.  Naturally, I didn’t come out a winner.  My one roommate won 50 euro on the slots, making a 45 euro profit.  Two of my friends tried craps, but lost.  Craps is a game where I feel like you have to bet a lot of money to win money. 

Antibes:

Antibes was beautiful!! It was another yacht town.  I even saw a helicopter with a helicopter pad!  There are some high rollers in Antibes too.  We walked around old Antibes for a little, and stopped by the Market.  It was actually one of my favorite markets thus far.  I bought some jewelry, as I always do.  I also tried a pistachio flavored macaroon.  It was phenomenal!  For the rest of the day, we chilled on the beach,  It was a perfect day.

Location: Nice, France