Au revoir cote d'azur

So we are back at home in Melun after a lovely trip to the French Riviera, or Cote d'Azur as I learned, and I am already missing the warm weather because, since I only brought pajamas that come just below my knees, my ankles are fffreezinng! I had such a wonderful time in the South of France, it truely was beautiful in every way; with the brightly colored buildings, vibrant flowers and lush forrests, iridescent bays of the Mediterranean, and even the two goats that lived next to the pool, it was paradise. Every morning we all had breakfast on the huge terrace outside the flat in Antibbes and then spent the rest of the days exploring the many cities along the coast; first to Saint Tropez, then Cannes, Saint-Juan, Nice, Marseille, and a few other little lovely towns with things like Medieval castles and old perfume factories. It rained one morning and we nearly all went crazy being trapped in the tiny apartment, but in the late afternoon it cleared up and became the most beautiful sky so Anne-Laure and I walked to the harbor and snuck into the docks and walked around looking at all the fabulous yachts; we sat at the very end with our feet hanging over the edge for probably an hour, just looking out at boats bobbing in the water and the pretty view of an old 18th century fort in the distance. Later we walked through all the shops in the village and tried on hats and shoes, I bought a cute floral dress and then we finally headed back up the hill for dinner. A really peaceful day. The next day we went to Cannes and took pictures on the red carpet and then tanned for hours and I got severely sunburnt, as usual (Haha), so the next day was spent mostly inside and in the shade by the pool, where I discovered the two goats that lived in a tree-filled pen next door. Later that night, Cyrille and Marie-Line suprised us all with tickets to a famous Jazz festival in Saint-Juan; it was a really fun concert with what I like to call " The Temptations kind of music," after which we got the singer of the headliner to sign our souvenirs. The next day was Friday, and more importantly, Nicci's Birthday! I thought of her all day long as we travelled up the coast to vist a castle near Marseille. It was very pretty and interesting because every room where someone might have lived so many years ago have now been turned into dozens of little shops and galleries. We browsed for hours and went into the garden that had beautiful landscaping and statues and an awe inspiring view of the seashore below. " They're breakdance fighting." Later, we went into Nice for dinner and watched many street performers do some crazy breakdansing flips and spins and another group doing the salsa; but of course I have to make one tiny comment about how I used to take spanish dance lessons and Cyrille is already over to one of the dansers telling him I am a professional Salsa danser. He pulls me into the middle of the circle and I procede to make a complete fool of myself as we trip over each other, or rather I trip over him, until finally I get the hang of it and we finish with a few spins. One of the more embarrassing moments of my trips, but definetly memorable. Finally, on Saturday, the final day of our trip, we took a nice trip to a perfume museum made out of a perfume factory established in 1890. We took a tour and learned all about how they used to make the perfume and the highly regarded position of The Nose, or Le Nez, who studies scents for years and years until they can differeciate between nearly 5,000 scents! Anne-Laure's parents were so kind and bought me and the other girls what I might say was quite expensive perfume. Later we had a nice lunch and then hopped a plane back to Paris; back to the cold. Overall it was quite an amazing time and I would love to go back someday, but as for now I am going to enjoy the rest of my stay in Northern France. Tomorrow Anne-Laure and I are going into the city to roam around and see sights like the Arc de Triomphe, since I would to actually climb the stairs to the top, Moulin Rouge, and maybe where Jim Morrison is buried. A bientot! Kisses!