St. Jean Cap Ferrat: Where dreams come true

Peur du jour- 14 Avril 2012: Jumpin' on the back of a moped

So it was definitely on my unofficial bucket list to ride on a moped while in France. I guess it's kind of silly, but, like snails and frogs legs and accordion music and berets and baguettes, it's just something I associate with France. And I want to do everything French (even the things that are quasi-french).

So when Marc and Tammy found this out, they wanted to make sure I got to do it! It rained a lot of the week, so we kept putting it off for Saturday when the weather was supposed to be nice.

It rained all day Saturday.

I was trying to be cheerful, but I just knew I wasn't going to get to do my moped ride (I'm so silly, I know!). But finally, as the day was drawing to a close, I asked if it would still be possible despite the rain. And Marc was kind enough to humor me and take me for my ride. We rode around St.Jean Cap Ferrat looking at the beaches and all of the fancy houses (Paul Allen has a house there!).

And even though my face was being pelted with rain, it was still really fun to buzz around the winding mountain roads with an unobstructed view of the sea. And I looked pretty cute in the helmet.

Wandering in Cannes and Antibes

Peur du jour- 12 Avril 2012: Not planning ahead

Normally, I am the type of person who loves to have a map. And addresses to put on the map. And the best route between the addresses I'm going to put on the map. And approximate times that I would like to be at these addresses and taking these routes on the map. Basically, I like to plan.

So today, when I went to Cannes and Antibes with no plan (other than remembering the directions and sites that Tammy had told me at the breakfast table), you would imagine that I had a terrible time. Quite the contrary. In my quest for a free/clean bathroom in Cannes, I found this:

Musée de la castre - a tower I got to climb!

A view towards the West

A view towards the East- the port and downtown Cannes

After seeing this from afar in Antibes:

Something intriguing from the port of Antibes

I decided to pull a Julius Cesear and conquer it.

Fort Carré- Antibes, France

Mission accomplished.

And everything's a little more fun when you're not stressed about fitting in everything you planned.

Déjà-Vu in Eze

Peur du jour: 11 Avril 2012- Climbing from sea to sky a second time around

Starting from Eze-sur-mer

So last time when I was in Nice, my favorite thing I did was a trail called le chemin de Nitsche (Nitsche's Path) from Eze-Village to Eze-sur-mer. Elyse, Lauren, and I hiked for maybe 45 minutes down and an hour back up from the old medieval fortress city perched in the cliffs to the edge of the Mediterranean sea. We got so many great pictures of le paysage (the countryside/landscape) and of us enjoying the sea and the trail. Of course, I lost all of my pictures from this, my favorite day, of travel.

The very beginning of the path, starting from the sea side.

So I was determined to do it again! This time, Marc drove me to Eze-Sur-Mer and I just did the hike up. And it was kind of a trip, because how often do you get to relive your favorite day of vacation? The weather was about the same (it was unseasonably warm in February, and it has been unseasonably cool this week in Nice) and the trail was the same and the beautiful view was the same, but the similarities stopped there. This time I was much more prepared for the hike (I had a water bottle, short sleeved-shirt, and a hair tie), and I was voyaging toute seule (though I kept imagining Elyse's laughter as we talked about how incredible Lauren was for bolting to the top).

Flowers in bloom along the winding path

And maybe I'm just being overly sentimental, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much had changed since the last time I'd walked the trail. How much my French has improved, how much more I feel at home in Montpellier, how much more I feel attached and tethered to France, how many great friendships I've made and strengthened, how much I've grown as a person, how much happier I've become. It's amazing how much can change in two months.

The rocky cliffs that overlook the wonderfully blue sea

And I was just so darn happy to be walking that path again. I think I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole time. Like a big goofy golden retreiver, bounding up the mountain side.

What it looks like from the top!- My view from Eze Village