Chloé et Moi
Fall break is already here and …. almost over???!!! Some of us traveled in groups and some of us went by ourselves but all of us went to discover and explore new or already visited European cities for the week of fall break. Barcelona, Paris, London, Egypt, Nice, Madrid, are just some of the places that us Temple students are visiting right now.
I left Rome on Friday morning, very excited to revisit the South of France and my friends that I met last summer as an au pair. I had been keeping in touch using Skype and Facebook but to be back again didn’t feel real! I was so anxious and excited to speak French again and visit Nice, Cannes, Grasse, and other towns. So back to Friday morning… I caught the metro to Termini, hopped on the train to Fiumicino Airport, and then got on my plane to Nice, France. Ahh yes, the south of France, where the stars drive around in their fancy cars, and the locals basically live a vacation lifestyle. What could be better? Touching down into Nice airport is the most fabulous thing ever. Arriving right on the edge of the mediterranean sea with crystal blue water and palm trees feels so great.
Ok, back to reality… I got off the plane and caught the Ligne d’Azur 500 bus towards Grasse and got off in a small town not far from Nice, called Roquefort les Pins. This is the town where I was an au pair for two weeks last summer. I sat at the bus stop and waited for my friends who soon arrived on vespas and greeted me with a big hug and a kiss on each cheek. Next thing I knew I was on the back of my friend’s vespa, baguette in hand, and french on the mind. For the first hour I was with my friends I kept using Italian words as a normal reflex and realized that it’s not that easy switching languages! The first night here in Roquefort was very relaxing and was just what I needed after all the constant craziness in Rome. Reminiscing with my friends about last summer kept us laughing for hours, and this time I can actually speak French and talk to them. Last summer was a bit difficult as it was my first time in France and the first time I was applying classroom French to real life people my age speaking it fluently, so it was a compliment when they told me my French was very good!
Saturday and Sunday it rained all day and hailed at night so it deterred me from going out to explore, which upset me but I had all week ahead of me! Right now in France there is a strike because the retirement age is trying to be pushed up to 65 or 67 instead of 60, so most of the buses, airplanes, and schools aren’t running or in session. It is a pretty serious deal and I’m experiencing it first hand. My friends can’t get to school because there are no buses, and if there are buses to take them, all the students in the school are outside protesting. Lucky for me, the buses have been running on the days that I’ve wanted to travel. Monday I went to Cagnes sur Mer with two of my friends who didn’t have school because of the strike. Tuesday I went to Cannes to explore and I found myself on the beach for a couple house soaking up the sun… wow the beach in October, what?! Yesterday I went to Nice to visit the contemporary museum and explore the fabulous streets. Today I will be going to Grasse to visit the perfume factories, and later I will visit the family that I was an au pair for.
Saturday will come too soon and I will have to say goodbye to my friends here in France. Hopefully they will visit me in Rome! I am sad to leave France, but hey, I’m going back to Rome!
J’aime la vie