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Côte d’Azur

by Andrew B. This weekend was full of travel and awesome excursions. We experienced the full Côte d’Azur by traveling to both Cannes and Sanremo, a beautiful town in Liguria. Andrew B. alley We woke up late Saturday and got ready for our long voyage to Sanremo, Italy. Arriving in Sanremo around noon, we decided to go straight to an Italian pizza restaurant called L’Airone. While I was able to practice my Italian political discussion skills with the waiters, the other students practiced the Italian phrases I taught them before we departed. It was great and quite relaxing to visit one of my favorite countries in the world and interact with some really awesome people in a beautiful language I was already accustomed to. Of course, I ate tons of gelato, pizza, and other classic Italian dishes as well as buying a new Italian flag and some Italian soccer T-shirts to complement my Italian heritage. We spent the day lounging at the beach, hanging out at cafés and shopping. Dinner was at a quaint restaurant owned by a very nice family who were happy to discuss my favorite Italian music with me. Naturally, I had Panna Cotta to finish off and encouraged others to try the classic and delicious Italian pudding-like dessert. All in all, it was an awesome day and I was absolutely ecstatic to spend time in such a familiar yet beautifully exotic country. Needless to say, the train ride back was filled with even more awesome Italian and French practice experiences. Andrew B. Italian flag Sunday morning wake-up call was even later, a great relief for all of us after our long and tiresome week. We woke up and prepared our food for a picnic in Cannes where we would spend the day. Upon arriving in Cannes we separated into two groups. One group spent the day in Old Town Cannes and the other explored the nearby island. Deciding on a more relaxing day, I decided to head to the island and found myself hanging out with friends at the beach reading the Italian book I bought the day before in Sanremo. Upon finishing my book, we headed back to Cannes and reunited with the others. We ate dinner at a delicious Chinese buffet where I was able to practice my Mandarin skills. I had a very nice time discussing Chinese cuisine in Mandarin with my newfound Chinese friends. After dinner, we returned to Nice and all headed to bed as we were exhausted. Andrew B. nook Monday and Tuesday were fun school days. We spent Monday and Tuesday morning in advanced class and Monday afternoon in St. Jean Cap Ferrat, a beautiful peninsula near Nice. While the weather was not great, we still managed to have a great time, discussing all the fun we had over the weekend amongst ourselves. Tuesday afternoon was spent in our respective electives, for me conversation class, where we discussed the different cultural influences on Nice in the Russian quarter. It was truly eye-opening to see how all these cultures had united in Nice and created such a beautifully multicultural city. Tuesday evening was spent on either a night run or a salsa dance class/practice. Naturally choosing the former, I had a lot of fun with friends exploring la Promenade des Anglais and talking about all of our experiences thus far. I can not wait for what this week has to offer.