Frère Le Bras said today's wind was so strange for Nice, but I've adored it. It's so strong, I almost get blown away standing in it! It does beautiful things to the ocean, though! I may not be a beach person, but I love watching the sea. Today it is so, so blue. Absolutely gorgeous blue. The brightest azure you can imagine. And the waves are huge! Walking on the street, you can feel the sea spray, even if you're not close to the railing. They closed the beach off because the waves were so rough. But white caps on such a blue sea are just so pretty…
After class I hit rue Jean Médicin for some of the best shopping in Nice! I loved walking down the street and seeing all the fancy stores and all the little shops with hand-crafted shoes and jewelry and scarves, freshly made cookies (with free samples!) and smooth, sweet gelato. Despite the cool ocean breeze, the sun was pleasantly warm and beautifully bright. The perfect setting for the perfect day. :)
And it was today I decided that I do like Nice and I am enjoying myself. I loved the history of Paris and all the beauty, but as far as people and atmosphere go, Paris is just a little too high class for me sometimes. I switch back and forth. Lol. This week, Nice is the place for me! People aren't as rushed in Nice. It's just more relaxing. :)
First I went to Nice Etoile, the mall on Jean Médicin. I think it's the only one in Nice, actually. I went to Jennyfer and bought pants I made fun of a couple days ago. Lol. Aladdin pants. Because they looked so comfortable on one of the girls in our group. Mine were shorts, though. They're one of the latest fashion statements in France, so I guess I should feel cool. Lol. I just bought them for around-the-house, lazy day pants. (They were pretty cheap, so I don't feel bad about that.) I was very happy about that purchase.
Then I left the mall and went to H&M, which is so European. Lol. They have those stories EVERYWHERE! But I like them. I've got some cute things there already. ;) I found a button-up shirt there that fits me PERFECTLY!!!! *sigh* That is one of the best feelings ever, finding a shirt like that. And they had tons of different patterns of that shirt, so I bought three of them. Lol. I justified it because I need some nicer shirts for when I intern with BYU Athletic Comms. I also found a cute pink shirt with ruffly sleeves and flowers on it.
Following my big purchase, I headed back out to Jean Médicin and turned on a side street that led to the Boulevard des Anglais. I saw a little shop that sold products from Provence (the region Nice is in). I stepped in for a quick look and saw some of the cutest little girls' dresses ever. Oh my gosh. I almost bought one. They were adorable. When I have daughters, I'll have to find somebody going to Nice to get a couple for me. They were so beautiful. But I refrained. I bought a little bottle of Provence perfume instead. There are a couple of things that you can't leave France without buying, and I decided that perfume was one of them.
Then I walked all the way back down Boulevard des Anglais to our residence. That was a long walk. Lol. But kinda cool, because I had to battle the wind the whole way, and I had a great view of the ocean!
On the way back, I stopped by a boulangerie called La Princesse and bought a baguette and two mini pastries. The baguette was a little piece of heaven! It was straight out of the oven, so it was so crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and warm all the way through. It was definitely one of the happiest moments of my life in France. Although, I was a little disappointed when I got home and found that opera pastries have coffee in them. :P Oh well. I ate my religieux, and that was happy.
And I decided I'm going to be daring this summer! (Or maybe over Christmas break…) I'm going to attempt to make macarons! Not because they're my favorite French dessert, but because I think they look cute and because they're supposed to be really hard to make. I think I could consider myself somewhat accomplished if I figured out how to make macarons. That will be fun. Lol. Yay for experimental cooking!
We went out to dinner as a group tonight. It was the last big group activity. :( Sad! This group has been so much fun! The people are awesome! And the professors have been excellent too! I'm definitely going to miss my time here, even if I am excited to go home. I just realized that today. I will miss it here, sooner than I expected. I love the feel of being in Europe, especially in France.
After dinner, we walked to this little gelato shop and everybody got gelato. I was so full, but I ate three scoops anyway. They were peach, melon, and banana. I decided that I needed a little more tartness, though. The peach was a little tart, but the banana and melon were so sweet! And I finished the peach first, so by the end I was all sweet-ed out.
I walked home with Paris, which was really fun. We walked on the sidewalk by the beach. The water had calmed by then, and there was a little breeze, so it was really nice. This was my second long walk on Boulevard des Anglais today… Oh well. Maybe it will make up for not running. Lol. It was fun talking to Paris. I decided I'd miss our long chats. Lol. Even though most of them were on the same subject and almost always had to do with the men in our lives. :) These will be good times I'll always remember and treasure.
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