I went to class this morning and it seemed like an instant. We did a lot of drawing and I got to design my own dream vacation. I love how the class can feel so personal even though we are all learning the same thing. After the class, we went to lunch. The program gave us stipends today so myself and a friend showed one of the new kids a cool place to eat. We had an extra-long free time in between lunch and our elective so I decided to go to the shopping district. It was my first time in the Nice shopping district and I was pleasantly surprised. The variety of stores was impressive and I really enjoyed looking around.
For our elective today, the professors took us around a modern art museum. All of the pieces were cool and the architecture of the museum was mesmerizing. We had some free time after elective but I just got ready for dinner. We ate dinner at the residence and then headed for the bowling alley. Since I had already bowled once, a group of friends and I got to play pool instead. I discovered that I am not that great at the pool but it was a fun experience nonetheless. When we got back to the residence it was past curfew so I headed straight to bed for the night.
We started early in the morning and went to Antibes. We had stipends for lunch and then went to a Picasso museum. It was a great experience to see artwork from such a famous artist. After the museum, I walked around the city for a couple of hours. We explored some small shops and stopped for ice cream in the old part of the city. After ice cream, everyone met up and we walked to the train station.
I thought we were going home but they were taking us to a city called Cagnes. I originally thought it was a bit boring but once it got dark the whole city came alive. The promenade was blocked off and there were parties everywhere. I went to one that seemed to have a lot of French kids our age and I had a blast with them. Our curfew came all too fast and I was sad to leave the party. We had to take vans back to Nice because the train was coming really late, so I didn’t get back until 1:30 am. Tonight was a lot of fun and I am glad I got to experience a real French party.
…because of our late arrival the previous night. The group had brunch around noon and free time until 1:30. During my free time, I went on a quick hike up one of the hills in Nice. It was really pretty and I liked exploring some of the places I haven’t been to yet. My friend and I lost track of time and had to hustle home. We ended up making it just in time for the departure for Saint-Paul-de-Vence. I absolutely loved the city, it looked like a castle that came straight out of a movie. The city rested on top of a hill and was fortified with walls all over. Inside there were shops and gourmet foods. I tried some expensive, yet delicious nougat that they make fresh every day. We left the castle pretty early but it was really beautiful. Once we got home everyone got ready for taco night. We all ate fast so we could get out into the city for the night. I went to the beach with a pretty large group, and we stayed there until curfew. I got back and hung out in a friends room for a while, but ended up going to bed early for class tomorrow morning.
It was a long but fun-filled weekend. We had class bright and early this morning at a restaurant down the street. It was a pretty normal study period and it went by pretty quick as usual. We got to send postcards to our families, which was really nice. After class, we had lunch catered for us and my sandwich was splendid. When lunch was over, I relaxed in my friends’ room with a few others until it was time for elective.
Today we visited another art museum. It is cool to compare the different art styles now that we have been visiting galleries often. We had a quick worksheet to practice our French in the gallery and then the period was over. The professors left and gave us free time until dinner. I took a shower and went to a cafe for some much-needed caffeine. Dinner was great today and once again we had a lot of free time. I walked around Old Nice and ended up at the beach as per usual. It was time to go back to the residence so we all planned to stay up playing cards. This weekend was one to remember and I hope the coming week is just as fun!
Learn more about our summer programs in France