I quickly learned after traveling to just a couple of cities that no city is completely how you expected it to be. France was no exception to this rule. Before I went to Paris all that came to mind about the city of love was high fashion, romance, and rude people. While Paris was a very romantic city it has a lot more depth than just being a romantic getaway. Paris boasts w
orld famous museums all through out the city. I had the opportunity to visit both the Pompidou and the Louvre. And the best part: both of my visits were free! (You can get in for free by showing a student ID card and an ID card that shows you live in the EU). The Lourve is massive. I think you could spend weeks in there and still not see everything. If you are able to go give yourself a few hours to walk around (and of course time to see the Mona Lisa even though she was named the second most disappointing tourist attraction in the world because of her size).
The architecture in Paris is absolutely breathtaking from the Notre Dame Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower to the Galeries Lafayette (which is a mall!). I would recommend definitely experiencing all the three of the places I just mentioned. While the last is not well known, it has an amazing rooftop view of the city and is the most gorgeous department store you will ever see in your life.
During our tri
p we stopped at the Love Lock bridge to put up our own locks. We accidentally put our locks on the wrong bridge (oops!) but turns out that was not such a bad idea since the original bridge had begun falling apart and all of those love locks have been taken down. It is easy to find locks in the tourist shops around Paris especially by the bridge.
Paris is known for its food and after visiting I can see why! The street food especially was amazing. Make sure to get a crepe or two during your visit! There are also many restaurants in Paris but just because Paris may resemble the hustle of New York City during the day it does not at night. Be aware that a lot of things close early in this city. I ate at Le Refuge De Fondues one night in Paris and the food was amazing! They serve steak that you cook yourself on the table and bread with cheese fondue. They also are known for serving wine in baby bottles. It was a great restaurant to go with a group but make sure you have a reservation!
After Paris, we flew to Nice using Easy Jet. You can also take a train to Nice, however, flying 
there worked better with our schedule. Nice is absolutely gorgeous. It boasts a large market in town with delicious fruit and beautiful crafts and paintings. If you like soap you will find lots of handmade soap here especially lavender. Climb up castle hill for a great view of Nice and of its rock beach.
We specifically went to Nice for Carnival in March. The parade was amazing and everyone watching was dressed up. It was a mix of Halloween and Mardis Gra. The parade was much more interactive than any parade I had been to before. People dressed up would enter the crowd. Everyone watching would throw silly string and confetti on friends a
nd on the people in the parade. And everyone on the floats was doing the same. The floats were very elaborate and there were a lot of performers walking through the parade too.
oad have one thing in common. They all 
involve you guys. The people I met while studying abroad and the friends I became even closer to by getting to travel and try new things with. All of you made a huge footprint in my study abroad experience. You made me laugh when we got lost in giant cities, you never gave up on finding that specific gelato place we just had to try in Rome, you watched and laughed while we rode camels, you took pictures to capture all of the amazing memories we have. I want to thank you constantly keeping me moving a
nd always reminding me that we will never all be here again together. All of you truly made me appreciate all of the experiences we were having that much more. If one of us was tired there was always somewhere there to keep of the group going so we could enjoy everything that every city had to offer. Without all of you I would not have gotten to sing and d
ance in pubs at all hours of the day. I never would have had the courage to climb to the tops of castles in Portugal or mountains in Scotland. I never would have tried exotic food like haggis and fish with their eyes still staring at you. I never would have even thought to b
athe in beer in Prague. Without all of you I would have laughed a lot