This weekend was one of the most incredible of my life. Stella and I traveled to the French Riviera, aka Côte d’Azur. We flew into Nice on Saturday morning after a rough 2 a.m. wake-up. Immediately after stepping off the plane, I felt the sun beaming down on me and the incredible warm weather. We took the bus to Antibes, where we stayed, and immediately hit the beach. We were exhausted, but who could complain?
The next day, we went to Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. We took the train and a bus there; I attribute my transportation-taking skills to navigating Dublin’s Luas and bus system. While in Grasse, we took a perfume-making class, where we customized our own perfumes. Stella was more earthy, and mine was floral. Afterward, we went to Cannes, where we walked around for the evening and stopped for Crepes. Then we had dinner back in Antibes, where I tried Escargot for the first time (thank you, Stella).
On Monday, we visited three different countries in one day. We spent the morning walking around Monte Carlo and saw the Casino de Monte-Carlo, beautiful views of the ocean, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco (no prince, though), and even a part of the Circuit de Monaco. After that, we took the train to Ventimiglia, Italy, where we spent the afternoon tanning on the beach. We ended our night in Nice, where we dined for dinner. Stella got langoustine risotto and I had cod ravioli.
Tuesday, it was already time to leave; we took the train to Eze, where we spent some time enjoying the beach and stopped at a Boulangerie in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, where we ordered croissants (of course). After that, we had smoothies at a local cafe and bought strawberries at the local farmers market. We then took the bus to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, which was the former home of Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild. After that, we spent the rest of our time in Nice, where we went to the beach before our flight.
The entire trip was jam-packed and so incredibly worth it. The stunning ocean views of the French Riviera were beautiful, and the quaint towns with buildings painted in vibrant colors were incredible. Overall, the experience was incredible. I got to swim in the Mediterranean Sea, eat incredible seafood, see beautiful architecture, and even practice some of my French. It was definitely a summer highlight.
Is so happy to be back in Dublin, and I am so grateful for the Bucknell in Dublin program, especially Dean Kepner and Professor Wilck. Thank you for an incredible 8 weeks!