Bonjour!
These past few days have been amazing! July 13th we took the train to Nice early in the morning. We visited the Matisse museum of art. At first, we had to wait a while to enter the museum as the electricity had gone away. The museum had many works of Matisse along with those of other artists. It was very interesting and fun. After having our daily picnic just outside the Museum, we took a bus to go to the old village of Nice and have some free time to shop, eat ice cream, sight see, etc. Then, for French Conversation and Culture elective class, we joined along with the Nice Abbey Road group and watched Amelie in French. It was a very expressive yet interesting movie. Finally we took the train back to St. Laurent to get ready for the first part of the National Holiday festivities!
That night the group met at the St. Laurent port and walked to Cagnes-sur-Mer to celebrate the coming of the national holiday. There were so many people ready to have fun, dance, and enjoy the fireworks. There were many little shows going on along the streets but it was so much fun. My favourite was the dj as we danced with many young people and had a good time.
July 14th, La fête national, finally arrived!! The group returned to Cagnes-sur-Mer to enjoy a bike ride along the beach. Unfortunately, my group’s bike broke midway so we could not completely finish our ride so then we went to the beach. Afterwards we each went home to get ready for the fun! We went down to Nice and enjoyed bigger and greater fireworks. We experienced what was called “Prom Party” which has a great variety of music playing to enjoy along la promenade des anglaises. The night was very interesting to say the least.
July 15th marks the end of an era as it was cinema night Nice and many of us chose to go watch the last Harry Potter movie. It was AMAZING!!!! I was sad to see it end but was very happy it happened. Long live Harry Potter!! Oh and I also lost my camera memory card that day
Saturday July 16th we spent the day in Antibes! I love Antibes! We visited the Picasso museum which has a lot of history and art. The building used to be a castle and Picasso lived there for a short while of time and then donated works of art when it became a museum. Like the Matisse museum, it was a wide range of pieces also from different artists. Following the museum visit we got to go to the sandy beach! The sand between my toes felt so good and the water was amazing and refreshing! We then had a picnic in the town of Antibes followed by some delicious ice cream. Yummy!
Today, July 17th, we went to Monaco!!! I must say I will one day purchase a home close to Monaco. It was very beautiful and amazing! The sights along the way were absolutely splendid and one of a kind. We first visited the palace where the Prince lives. The palace is full of history, elegance, and grandeur. We got to see the huge court where Prince Albert II and Charlène married two weeks ago, the room where Grace Kelly was crowned Princess, and other elaborately decorated chambers. All were absolutely stunning! After visiting the palace I went over to the other part of the palace museum that holds not only artifacts of the principality of Monaco, but other interesting objects such as swords and hats of Napoleon Bonaparte, letter from Cardinal Mazarin, Josephine, Napoleon, and King George. Afterwards I got to experience the fight of the changing of the guards outside of the palace. It was like a little ceremony. We then made our way to the museum of Oceanography. The building is very grand. Since the Prince barely married two weeks ago, Monaco is filled with news about the wedding and the museum held an exhibit dedicated to the royal Monaco wedding. The dress that Charlène wore and the suit that Prince Albert II wore were on display, along with wedding invitations, silverware, favors, and many wedding pictures. The tiara was also on display and it was absolutely stunning and fit for a princess! The museum itself has an aquarium with a variety of species of fish and sea creatures from all over the world. The museum also has many objects having to do with sailing such as tools used, objects found at sea, and sea creatures! I must say it was very interesting. We also got to see the Monaco port where the many yachts and boats are parked. It is beautiful!! After Monaco, we headed to Eze to visit the Fragonard parfum factory. We learned the many complicated details about the art of parfum making and saw other objects that the factory makes such as lotions, soaps, creams, and oils. It was very interesting and the factory smelled so good! The parfums were expensive but definitely worth it. We then got free time and I decided to visit the small town of Eze. As there was a lot of fog today, the little medieval town looked like a mystically enchanting place. Once again I saw a variety of cars which included Ferraris and Rolls Royce. The view was magical and mystical. We then returned to St. Laurent to our host families. My host mom mad some awesome lasagna.
I can’t believe two weeks have already gone by. I hope these other two weeks go by very slow because I do not want to leave
