by Emilie S. A brief play on words, but I couldn’t resist the old saying that “Nice is nice”, because it is. Starting the day with a pain de chocolat and ending with a stroll on the promenade d’anglais creates a perfect transition to life in the south of France. 
The biggest thing that I have noticed since arriving in Nice, France, is that no one seems to rush here. Yes, the French walk fast, but everything from dinner, to shopping, to entertainment is at a casual, lovely pace. Our first night our group went to a restaurant called Gaglio, and ate dinner over 3 hours while watching the World Cup match of France vs Germany. We had apértifs (starters), a main meal of gnocchi, and a lovely desert of ice cream – I had an amazing bitter caramel. 
I have also noticed that shopping is not rushed either. Most shopping is done by going to individual stores, such as a boulangerie or boucherie; although supermarkets are quickly becoming very popular. For our student purposes, we went to Carrefour (French walmart) to buy breakfast foods. 
The last thing so far that has been a highlight to me is the chill attitude of the beach. It’s beautiful, it’s blue, and it’s perfectly acceptable to lounge on the rocky shore for 5 hours straight. I was only able to stay for an hour so far, but will definitely go back to soak up more sun. 