After a series of bizarre events, I finally made it to the airport to meet up with my ADA travel buddies and we boarded the plane to Nice, France.
We landed in Nice, a popular beach vacation spot in southern France, to find sun. So, the first thing we did was run onto the rocky beaches, play in the cold water, and search for sea glass. It was absolutely too cold for a beach day, but this was the closest we've come to spring in a long time.
First of all, I bought my first ever macaroon, which I have been impatiently waiting for. I got speculoos, which in real life is some cinnamon spread that's vaguely peanut buttery in texture, and everyone should try. The macaroon was perfect, as were all the other desserts.
We then went to the local market to buy excellent French cheese, baguettes, and produce, making a picnic on the beach. After stuffing my belly, I hiked up some interesting looking stairs to find a maze-like castle with the most beautiful view of Nice and Monaco. Finishing my walk, I saw some of the last weekend of Carnival with a flower parade (picture floats made of flowers with acrobats that were throwing even more flowers), rides and moonbounces. The day ended with a lovely home-cooked meal of bruschetta, sweet potato fries, and an assortment of sauteed vegetables in brie coated pasta. It was incredible to be able to cook again.
Since I woke up the next morning a solid 4 hours before anyone else even considered getting out of bed, I went exploring. The more I saw of Nice, the more I liked it. The first day I had been a little thrown off by how commercial everything felt. Upon first view, all I had seen were the blinking lights of stores, so it all felt a little fake, and as my friend said, "confectionary." When everything was closed, I realized the buildings themselves were lovely. The town is mostly painted in pastels with beautiful balconies. It certainly feels like a vacation town, which is not exactly my style, but it is a beautiful place to be.
Once everyone got out of bed we boarded a bus to Menton, searching for the Citrus Festival. First of all, the bus ride was possibly the best hour and a half I have ever spent in transit. We drove up and down the mountains of Nice, Monaco, and Menton, getting a view of the beaches and towns. Once in Menton, we saw a parade of floats made entirely of oranges and lemons. The parade also had dancers from different countries and more confetti than I've ever seen in my life. This was only one event of an entire week of citrus. Europe will find any reason to celebrate. And I like it.
We ended the evening with Carnival fireworks and the famous fishy meal necessary in a seaside town. Granted, I did not partake in the all you can eat moule e frite (mussels and fries) but I did have a real nicoise salad and the best creme brulee I've ever tasted. Talk about a successful meal.
For my last morning in Nice I ran to grab breakfast at the market to discover my fresh produce had been replaced with antiques. Talk about a nice discovery. The streets were suddenly lined with old cameras, hermes scarves, and some random useless crap. My kind of place, thought it did not satisfy my hunger. I ran to find the strongest smelling bakery around and purchased my new favorite meal, quiche. I couldn't resist the selection so I ended up with a tomato and tuna one in addition to a leek one. The crust was perfectly flaky and the flavors worked quite nicely. Yep, apparently I'm eating fish now. Europe's changing me.
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