THANKSGIVING IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

It was the first time I could utilize the fact that I don't have class on Thursday to leave early as I was traveling by myself for the first time, to get back to one of my obsessions... FRANCE! I don't even have to explain how much I love France, the language, the food, the nice people, so it was so nice to be able to see a completely different part of it than Paris (though still would die to go to Paris again and again).

Start off my morning early to catch a train to Pisa, have a complete running after train just as its leaving moment, but I woke up early for this reason to be at least 2 hours early to Pisa Aeroporto, so didn't matter I was still really early. Made progress on reading The Last Lecture (stolen from a London hostel, very useful to killing time while traveling as my Soduko book is getting old). Ate a sandwich in the airport (that's major progress, still hate sandwiches). Then it's on a small jet ready to arrive in my layover at Charles de Gaule in Paris... oh but wait there's fog over Paris jk Pisa you're gonna now be delayed for a half hour, oh you only have 45 minutes to make it to your layover terminal that's so far away it requires a bus? So yeah it did not even matter that I was full blown Amazing Race style lunatic sprinting through the airport to get to my terminal, I wasn't going to make it. They apparently knew the delay screwed me over and automatically put me on the next flight to Nice...which was 3 and a half hours later WOO. So I got to spend my Thanksgiving dinner eating a vouchered sandwich and soda from Air France. Then after finally landing in Nice (I see palm trees WHAT?) I get there too late for a direct bus to Cannes so I have to take the city bus which takes twice as long, so my entire Thursday was shot by traveling for 12 hours, but I was happy because I was finally there and not worried because I knew I would get there eventually, hassles and bad travel karma or not, and I was in friggin' France! (Thanks in large part to my two sisters and two of my aunts for helping me out, no 21st birthday gifts or xmas gifts for me, but I'm perfectly okay with that, I'm in Europe)

It sucked missing Melissa's program's dinner, they all dressed up like Indians and pilgrims, but it was all good. We relaxed and then went out with a few of her friends in her program to their favorite place to go out, an Irish bar called Morrisons. Hey Strongbow, I missed you.

The next day she had class, I deal with the rude French people that work at her college that were psychhhhoooo, then we head to Nice for the day and night. I was pumped to be able to city another city in France, and it was very close to Cannes (wish I had another day there otherwise we would have gone the extra 20 minutes to see Monaco). 

The view from Melissa's dorm room

Random xmas festival being set up in Nice

Nice beach

Yes, this is real.

In Nice we explored a little, saw the city, climbed up a lot of stairs to see the panoramic view of the city and see this man made waterfall that overlooked the city.

Melissa and I + Nice

The waterfall, clearly.

Are you so filthy rich you don't know what to do with your money, oh well buy an enormous yacht and then park it in Nice

Chilling with some palm trees in the end of November

Dinner at a random French cafe, Espresso, a sugar crepe and then a FRESH LEMON CREPE!? yup I was in heaven. Oh and then there was bread too, om nom nom.

The streets of Nice at night

So the next day I went with Melissa and a bunch of people in her program to go olive picking, something she thought was only going to be in the morning followed with a free Provencial lunch, but then we found out the hard way that was false and worked for a few hours after gorging ourselves with the free food, but it was still a really nice day and who can say they went olive picking in the French hills? I can. Damn the amount of work that goes into getting olives for olive oil is insaneeee.

Can't eat these kind, not that I would either way

Me with this weird olive picking tool that vibrates and pokes at the tree to get the olives off to catch them on the nets below.

Sifting the olives, juice be all over your hands.

The family was most def rich and richie rich.

The sunset was the most beautiful

Yeah we got McDonalds, it was so damn worth it. Though not to self, find out French translation for Sweet + Sour Sauce cause that worker looked at me like I had a second head, but he understood Ketchup. Oh I need fast food back in my life STAT.

We explored Cannes a bit at night, I saw where they host the Cannes Film Festival and all the crazy celebrities and artsy film directors romp around.

Drinks that glow in the dark? CHECK.

Melissa was determined to get me to a gay club, seeing as Cannes is the gay capital of France, but alas yet again shit happens, don't feel like paying annoying cover charges, people bail, and Melissa nearly flips a shit but I was still having a damn fun night, it wasn't on my priority list anymore. I'm perfectly happy still figuring my own shit out, but damn did the place we stayed at have some weird ass music videos being played that did not correspond with the bomb music that was being played.

Wake up and see the Cannes beaches, or what's left of them after the storm that washed them out a month or two ago. Runners and bikers were everywhere, yet another reason I love France. I'd run while there constantly if I lived there, well run even more than usual.

I want a boulangerie put in the atrium next to Dunkin AS SOON AS POSSIBLE Stonehill please and thank you. Croissants and pain au chocolates all day errday

We climbed to the top of Cannes to see the views from there, still unreal.

Overall was an extremely successful and great last trip outside of the country. I have Rome this weekend, but to end my not real life travels abroad in France I am very happy with that. This sunset that I viewed on my flight home to Pisa was INSANE, best sunset I have ever viewed in my life. Oh yeah and I ran like a lunatic in Charles de Gaule to catch my layover flight back but luckily there wasn't any delays or other numerous things that were out of my control impeding my travels so I made it with a half hour to spare (made it to a complete other terminal, bused it, made it past security, shouted excuse-moi like 4 or 5 times, and all in a matter of twenty minutes. SUCK ON THAT AMAZING RACE. I have fully decided that I never ever ever ever ever want to be on the Amazing Race, love the show and I have always wanted to be on a classy CBS Reality Competition but damn do I hate traveling because so much of it is out of my control. Not to mention I don't think I could find a partner that is so impatience, competitive, and has the stamina to keep up with my running and stubborn tendencies. To each their own, next flight I get on is heading home to Boston with a layover in Switzerland. So weird.