A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (peter pan)

This past weekend was possibly one of the best I have yet to have in France, and maybe even one of the best of my life. I went to Nice, St. Tropez, and Eze on the French coast touching the Mediterranean, aka, The French Riviera. The buildings, the sea, the land scape, were all so beautiful and breathtaking. St. Tropez is a port in France, famous for its yacht users, and I must say that I saw some pretty impressive boats. We walked around the town for a while, which is built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, replete with cobblestoned, winding streets. The buildings are all painted different colors such as yellow and orange, with mismatched shutters. It was absolutely adorable and charming. My resident director, Marie told us that St. Tropez could be the French version of Malibu. Personally, I did not find St. Tropez as glitter stricken as Malibu, but maybe that is because I visited in the off season. After St. Tropez, we made our way to Nice, which is a large city on the sea. The architecture in Nice is gorgeous- big white buildings with intricate crown molding, and the older part of town is similar to the St. Tropez architecture. I got to play on the beach and dip my toes in the Mediterrianen. Quite a few people acutually went swimming, not this chica. I am from the South. I have a physical intolerance to cold water, but most of the people who swam are from Boston, so this water was either equal to, or warmer than what they are used to. I went to Mass Saturday evening, which was very interesting because I have never been to Catholic Mass or church in French. So that was a good experience, and no matter the language, it is always a positive and uplifting place to go! And it was Palm (Saturday, not Sunday). I will be attending Easter Mass this coming Sunday as well. For dinner that evening I had smoked salmon on buttered toast with a salad on the side. As usual, it was delightful. That night my friend Ali and I promenaded along the coast and through town. We returned (exhausted) to our hotel, and shared a few cookies and had girl talk time. On Sunday, we had the chance to see a marathon going through Nice, and after that we went to a parfumerie, which is where perfume is made. I now understand why perfume is soo expensive: it takes a literal Ton of lavender to squeeze out the essential oils that fill a liter bottle. We were free to walk around town for a while, and then we packed up to head back to Grenoble! The weather was fabulous,landscape marvelous, and company delightful. I could not have dreamed up a better weekend. I now have exactly a month left, and I can't believe how quickly it went by. It seems like yesterday that I was at home, and leaving for France in a month. I have been dreaming of being in France for years, planning for months, and enjoying every moment of it for weeks. These last weeks are going to fly, and I intend to make the most of them. I won't go so far as to say that study abroad changed my life, I'm a whole new person, but it opened my eyes to a few things. It gave me the chance to spend some quality time with myself, meet cool people from all over the world, and just have a few carefree months. I will never in a million years regret leaving my home and my family to travel here, nor will I forget the friendships and relationships I have made. I am truly blessed, and I do believe I am the most happy that I have ever been.