Post departure reflection

The first thing I saw when I got to Nice was a sign. The sign had my name written on it and an Abbey Road logo on the bottom. I'd never had a sign held up for me and i felt like a VIP. I knew at that moment that my summer was going to be awesome, and of course, it was.  After meeting with the group I just took a seat started talking to people. I don't know if it was luck or what because those very people ended up being my best friends on the trip. The French classes and electives were great and I feel I learned a lot. The exursions every weekend were amazing! In no other situation would I have been able to visit so many places along the french riveria. There was a perfect balance of studying and fun. However, the opportunity to meet people from all over the country as well as the world was the best part of the trip for me. I made friends that i know I will stay in touch with forever. Going on Abbey Road's Nice program was one of the best decisions I've ever made as well as one of the best experiences of my life.

last memories :(

It has officially been two weeks since the program's end and I just wanted to upload a few more videos.

Here is a short video where you can sort of see what vieux Nice looked like. We were located right next to the old town and spent a lot of time there.

I also wanted to share a short video (sorry it's really dark) of one of our counselors, Cyril, performing for the group. He is a professional singer and we all had a lot of fun singing along with him.

Nightlife

During our time in Nice we had amazing opportunities to see live music. Here are some short unfortunately not very good quality videos of the nightlife in Nice. 

In Paris...

Me and my friends Marissa and Danielle taking a picture in a fancy mirror at the Louvre museum

So the program is officially over :( On Monday morning we all went to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was a very tearful morning. Everyone was crying and no one wanted to leave. If I could have stayed in Nice another month, I really would have. Afterwards we split up into people continuing on to Paris and people going to JFK or elsewhere. I went on the group flight to Paris, but I'm staying with my family in Paris until I go back home to San Francisco on Tuesday. I have however, been able to see the group here! I met up with them yesterday for a trip to the Louvre and then hung around until 5 o'clock when we all went back to their hotel for an hour before leaving to go to dinner in the 6th arrondisment. After dinner at a really cute cafe I went home. I will hopefully be able to meet up with them later today or some ice cream and shopping.

San Remo

For our final excursion we took a trip to Italy! It was only about a 45 minute bus ride and we were in a different country. We arrived at a beautiful beach and a lot of people started sunbathing right away. Me and a couple others decided to explore the town. We had lunch at an authentic Italian cafe and then looked around at all the shops. I took part in some Italian expresso which was a great and very hyper experience. We had a dinner of pasta and pizza at the beach club before heading home. Everyone got home and started to pack. We were allowed to be in our friends rooms until late at night so we could spend as much time with each other as possible. I can't believe today is the last day!!!

Last Friday :(

watching the opening ceremony!

crepes 

Yesterday we had our last day of classes. We ended our month of French classes with a little quiz followed by a trip to the beach. In our last conversation class we watched a video and then went to a really cute tea room near our residence. Afterwards, he had a little bit of free time to do some last minute shopping before our final atelier crepes (crepe-making workshop). We've done it three times over the course of the program and i've loved it every time. It was really good and a super fun dinner bonding experience. As soon as we finished putting our things away after dinner, we went to a local restaurant with a tv to watch the olympic opening ceremony! It was soo cool! We stayed there until almost one in the morning watching all the countries make their appearances. I had an awesome time and am really excited to see the rest of the olympics. Too bad I don't get to watch it with all my new friends in Nice.

Parasailing

Today I had sooo much fun parasailing! We had our second to last french class in the morning followed by lunch and an hour of free time. We then left to go parasailing on the beautiful Nice beach. We were in groups of three, but even with friends it was still kind of scary. We were put in harnesses connected to a parachute that was attached to a speed boat. We had to run down a runway type thing and then get lifted into the air while holding onto a bar. It was such a cool feeling of flying and there was a beautiful view. They dipped you into the water a couple times and then dropped you into the water at the end. It was a really thrilling experience! After parasailing, we had a little time to soak up the sun on the beach before we had the climb up to the ancient chateau. Once we got to the top we had a beautiful picnic and took pictures overlooking nice. I am really sad that tomorrow is our last week day in Nice :(

Antibesland!

My friend Jess, Emily and I in front of a ride in Antibesland

On our last Wednesday of our time in Nice we had normal classes, followed by electives. As a celebration of all that we have achieved in French conversation class, we did a very touristy activity: a segway tour! After our tour we went to the beach and then enjoyed some ice cream or frozen yogurt. I never want to leave :( As an evening activity we took the 20 minute train ride to Antibes, where Antibes land, a summer carnival, can be found. We went on tons of rides and had a lot of fun. Tomorrow the thrills continue when we will all have a change to go parasailing. I can't wait for that but I also can't believe that tomorrow is thursday and my wonderful experience in Nice is coming to a close...

Best piece of art in France??

There was one more very important event I forgot to mention from our trip to St Paul to Vence: The sighting of quite possible the BEST piece of art in France.  We saw it while visiting the Fondation Marguerite et aime maegt Museum. Many members of the AbbeyRoad student body were convinced that it was the best piece of art in all of France and took way to many pictures! They also bought postcards that they wanted to frame and look at forever. Attached to this post is a picture and video of this wonderful sculpture. I thought it was really cool. What do you think?

St Jean Cap Ferrat

My friend Jess and I being weird on the beach in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

Today we made our final trip to St Jean Cap Ferrat :( Yesterday we had classes in the morning and then a relaxing afternoon before our seriously hectic last week. We did our last little bit of souvenir shopping and then went to our very last zumba class. I really enjoyed the three zumba classes on the beach we attended on this program. It was really fun and i'm going to miss that experience a lot when I get home. Today we woke up and had french classes like usual, and then had a free lunch to go find new food in Nice. We then took the public bus to the port of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat where we soaked up the sun on the beautiful beach for a couple of hours. At the Fregate Hotel, we helped our wonderful cook, Perla, make a delicious Samon dinner, followed by a tiramisu dessert. I have loved the time we've been able to spend just hanging (and tanning) on the beach. I am going to miss St Jean Cap Ferrat which was a routine exursion that I really looked forward to.

St Paul de Vence

Hi!! Our last week in Nice has officially begun and i'm so sad :( Also  I am very sorry to my readers, but my computer is broken and i'm having a very hard time uploading pictures. Yesterday we went to Saint Paul de Vence which is a beautiful little artist colony in the hills. When we first got there it was raining SO hard. We had to wait in the bus for almost an hour, waiting for it to stop pouring. Attached is a video. After escaping the rain, we started the afternoon by visiting a famous art museum where there were a lot of really interesting sculptures and paintings. We then went into the old little village and did a little jewelry and art shopping. While we were there a thunder storm started and and it started POURING. I had never seen it rain that hard in my life. We all sprinted to the bus bus were still so soaking wet. Tomorrow we are going back to St Jean Cap Ferrat for the last time to go to the beach, kayak and cook. I am so sad our trip is coming to an end and i'm so thankful for the experience I've had so far.

Isola

A beautiful view of the Isola mountains

So here's an update: Today we visited the Alpes. We went to a ski resort in the cute and truly breathtaking small village, Isola. It was a bit of a journey; it was two and a half hours of windy, bumpy roads. When we finally arrived we saw and took pictures in front of one of the most magnificent mountain views i've ever seen. We had a lunch of delicious baguette sandwiches overlooking the mountains.  We then split into groups: the pool people, the parkourers, the hikers and the tennis players.      We all had a lot of fun! We had an awesome afternoon just chilling in our beautiful surroundings. We're going to St Paul de Vence tomorrow and i'm super excited. good bye readers!

Monaco

On Sunday we left France to go to a whole new country, Monaco! I had always dreamed of going to Monaco and I was so excited that I finally got to. It was everything I amagined and more; everything was so fancy and beautiful. We took a tour of the Palais and it was incredible and possibly the most magnificent place I have every seen. It was too bad that we couldn't take any pictures :( We were then given the choice to either go to the aquarium or take the 45 minute treck to Monte Carlo. Everyone except for me and my two friends went to the aquarium. Monte Carlo was gorgeous! We then went to Eze and visited the famous Fragonard Parfumerie where many of us perchased custom made perfums. Today we started week three with a normal day of classes and electives. I can't wait for what's still to come!

Antibes!

On Sunday we went to Antibes, a beautiful smaller town on the French Riviera. We started our day there by browsing the market pictured above. There was a lot of jewelry clothes, fruit vegetable, jams and so much more that was unique to the region. We then went to the Picasso museum which was located in a huge old castle. It was really cool to see all of his original art pieces. A lot of us chose to take a visiobowl boat trip which was a boat trip around the cost line where we could see through the bottom of the boat. We had a great dinner in Antibes and then headed back to our residence in Nice. We had a normal day of French classes in the morning and electives in the after noon on Monday. On Monday night we had the option to do a Zumba class on the beach and it was so awesome! Tuesday we had classes in the morning and did pottery in the afternoon. At night we were given the opportunity to go out to the beach while it was dark and take light drawing pictures with our two very experienced photographer staff members. Wednesday we had another day of normal classes and then went to VilleFranche, a town very close to Nice and we had a picnic on the beach. After dinner we walked to an old castle and watched a movie outside. I'm having a great time and i'm loving Nice!

Cannes

a picture on the red carpet!

I have been having a great time on Abbey Road's Nice program. We have been here for almost a week and have already taken our first two french classes and electives. We have classes in Nice Monday through Friday, but on the weekends we get to explore all the beautiful sights along the French Riviera. On Saturday we went to Cannes, home of the famous Cannes film festival. We started our day by visiting and taking pictures on the red carpet in front of the Palais de Festival. Then we were given the whole afternoon to have lunch, go to the beach and shop! We will be on our way to Antibes today in a matter of minutes and I can't wait to see more of what the south of France has to offer :) 

First day in Nice!

We have safely arrived in Nice! After getting to the residence, we settled into our rooms and got to know our home for the next month. We had a little orientation activity in a nearby park and then explored Nice a bit.  Today we were released into the town to find a place to eat. Me and 5 other people found a small crepe restaurant and the crepes were delicious! After lunch we each went to our different electives: drawing, photography or conversation. In the conversation class we spoke for about an hour and then went to the beach and got some gelato. Tonight we going to the beach as a whole group to have a fourth of July picnic. Happy fourth of July and until next time!

Pre Departure reflection

         There are officially 12 days untill Abbey Road's Nice program begins and I couldn't be more excited. I have enjoyed starting to get to know people over the facebook group, but I can't wait to see everyone in person. I am actually going to be in France before the program starts and will be on a plane headed for Paris in only 4 days! I will be spending the week before the program starts with my family who lives in France. I am looking forward to seeing my cousins and grandparents as well as friends and extended family.
         What I am most anticipating this summer is the opportunity I'll have to improve my French skills. I have been speaking French since I was about two years old, but over the past few years it's been really hard for me to become more profficient. I take a French class at school, however I find it difficult to learn from a teacher in a classroom setting. I am BEYOND excited to be involved in a French immersion program where everyone around me will be speaking french!
         I am a little nervous to be traveling by myself and taking part in a program where I don't know anyone. I love feeling independent though, and I know i'll find people I connect with and be just fine :) à bientôt!

Sophie