Boat day June 2! 

Organized by our director, the University of Maryland group spent the afternoon and the evening on a boat! The morning, however, was rainy and cold so I was nervous the trip would get cancelled. None the less I packed a bag and Sanata and I got on the bus to go to our meeting point. 

We boarded the boat on a dock just passed Antibes around 3pm and enjoyed snacks and drinks while we were in route to two islands just of the shore of Cannes. The sky was becoming clear and the sun was shinning, much different from earlier today. There we anchored the boat and the brave ones, including myself, jumped in 16 degree C water! It was very chilly but amazingly blue! (Pictures will be posted of me swimming when I locate them ;) Some students swam to the close by shore, others paddled around in kayaks and I enjoyed the clearness of the water and just floating. 

Then once everyone was back onboard we lifted anchor and headed to our next destination Villefranche-sur-Mer. It was relaxing being on the boat and looking out at the water and the coastline. I loved seeing the coast of Nice from the water and picking out the Negresco Hotel and the Collin du Château.

When we got to Villefranche-sur-Mer the crew got dinner together for us, which consisted of pillea, salad, cheese and dessert. Towards the end of dinner music was blasting and some of the students began to dance, it was great entertainment while I ate a slice of apple tart for dessert. 

Then we began the short trip to the port of Nice. It was so peaceful sailing at night. 

The whole year I’ve been sitting in classes looking at the sea and watching the boat and wishing to be on one of them! And that dream is now fulfilled and in perfect timing! 

May 29th Sanata and I started our day at Carrefour getting picnic supplies and other things we needed at the house. Then we went to Beaulieu to have our picnic! 

I was partly cloudy but we ate and laid out in our bikinis anyway. Every once and a while there would be a patch of very hot sun light which was appreciated. 

It was great having the beach to ourselves and it was relaxing just laying there on very small rocks, not quite sand. ;)

Château des Baux was our next point of interest. Once we got ticket we went straight to a Bear vs Man show. Which was a guy playing with a bear while informing the audience of bear habitats. The bear was really cute, especially when it began to play with a rope. 

Then after the little show we got some audio guides and toured around the area. Surrounding the château are lovely vineyards and olive fields and they were beautiful! 

Isabelle and I spent a lot of time waiting to see the trebuchet demonstration, which was more of a combat history discussion. There eventually was a little demonstration, but it was lame and that was a little disappointing. 

4pm rolled around and we headed back to the bus to return to Nice. I had a great nap again on the bus and when I woke up we were driving through a thunder storm! It was pretty and reminded me of the US. 

Overall it was a incredible full day and I’m extremely glad that I was able to make to the bus that morning. :P 

Sunday the 24th I woke up late! After calls from Isabelle and the director I got up in a rush, threw on clothes, and ran out the door. I continued running until I got to the bus with the other students in our program. Once I calmed down, I was able to rest, we had a 3 hour journey to our first stop. 

The Pont du Gard. This is an old Roman aqueduct used to transport water to the town of Nîmes. It was extremely impressive! The whole area was picturesque with the river running underneath the aqueduct and families with their little ones splashing in the water. 

We spent about an hour in the area and enjoyed a light picnic supplied by our director. Then it was back on the bus for a little drive to our next location. 

May 23rd was a day of crossing things of the list. Sanata had never been to Eze Village so we decided that morning we would go there and explore. It hadn’t changed since the last time I was there, but I got an opportunity to take more photos. 

Then we came back to Nice to have some lunch, before continuing on to Cap 3000, which Mme Jeandel said we should go to before we leave. Cap 3000 is a mall and it was pretty equivalent to American malls. We spent about an hour there browsing and then came back to Nice. 

I was really exhausted by the end of the day, which wasn’t the best because the next morning was the last UMD group trip that left at 7am. 

That adventure is next to come! 

The 22nd of May Sanata and I were treated to a little road trip with our host parents. We traveled along the coast just past Cannes. It is Mme Jeandel’s favorite route. We stopped a few times to take pictures and get a drink before we got to Saint Raphaël. There we walked around and had some lunch. 

Traveling by car is so strange after not having access to one for so long. I really enjoyed it! I’m looking forward to that freedom when I get back to the States.  

It was a great little trip just being with everyone and I got a nice nap in the car on the way back to Nice. ;)

May 16th was my first day in Cannes for the Film Festival. I decided to go on a whim with Emily, who had been over the weekend, to see if we could get into a movie or see some stars! 

When we got there for our type of pass they had given out all the passes for the day. So we decided to stake out for the red carpet for the big film that evening, which was the Tree of Life. The whole red carpet even was crazy. All the fans blindly holding up their cameras and snapping and the flashes from the professional photographers. And there was a DJ there to add to the vibe. 

The stars I got to see were: Jude Law (He was a blur down the red carpet), Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, and a lot of other celebrities I didn’t know but looked amazing! 

Brad and Angelina were wonderful and professional on the red carpet! When they got out of their car they split up and started signing autographs then Brad walked down the carpet with his cast members then turned back and walked down with Angelina, but also gave her a moment to have some pictures taken by herself (She looked like a Barbie! So perfect in real life). When they got up to the top of the stairs Brad acknowledged all his fans that flanked the red carpet in clusters. Then lastly when they entered the theater and they had a camera following them, projecting it on the jumbo-tron, he waved a the camera and the whole crowd reacted with joy! They were definitely used to all of this and I was really impressed.

May 18th was my big offical day in Cannes. I skipped my oral class to get there early and picked up tickets. I went with my roommate and another one of my year friends and we saw two films and enjoyed the crazy atmosphere. 

The first film was Brazilian and about a women who was abruptly left by her husband and showed part of her emotional journey. After a quick lunch at McDonalds, which was packed, we saw Les Enfants du Paradis which was a Cannes Classique film and was a restored black and white. It is a 3 hour film but I got to see about an hour and a half of it, because I needed to get back to Nice around 6 to study. I enjoyed what I saw of that film and I would like to watch the whole thing one day. 

Overall, I loved the festival and I felt important with the badge that our director acquired for us.