Nice/Amsterdam

---

Hi Everyone! Sorry for not being better with the updates - it is sometimes hard to find an hour to sit at the computer and do this...
Nice and the whole Cote d'Azur region in France is beautiful. I was so sad to leave the sunshine, the coast, and the food! While in Nice I took another French language class which I thought was much better than the one in Paris. For the first week in Nice I had also had Alliance Francais arrange a homestay for me. It worked out really well. I stayed with an older woman who was really nice, warm and welcoming. I was finding it really difficult to meet people in Nice as I wasn't staying in a hostel. After French class ended I went and stayed in a hostel in the North end of the city called Villa St Exupery for 4 nights. It was a really nice hostel with a great atmosphere and if you are ever looking for a hostel in Nice I would recommend it! I met a lot of really cool people and a lot of other solo travellers as well.
While in Nice I was able to visit a lot of towns/cities in the area. The hightlights were:
A medieval village called Eze which is essentially unchanged since the 16th century. Narrow cobblestoned streets, little shops, and an incredible view.
Villefranche for the beach! The beach in Nice and many in the surrounding area are pebbles, not sandy. This beach was very beautiful in a bay with a small town we explored in the afternoon after we had enough of the sun.
Cap D'Ail also for the beach. It was a bit of a hike down to the beach from the road but well worth it. It was a really sheltered beach in a cove with the cliffs behind and almost no one was there!! It is still spring in Nice so I guess for the locals it's still a bit cold (and the water is FREEZING!!!). Afterwards we walked along the rocky shore along the Medeteranean.
St. Jean Cap Ferrat is another medieval town about an hour from Nice by bus. Well worth the travel time as it was so beautiful there.
Monaco was not a favourite - a bit of a weird place, and seems very crowded - not people wise but building wise. I'm not really sure why the fabulously wealthy want to live there.

On Apr 28th I flew to Amsterdam to visit my friend Justin for a few days (Susan he was the perfect host). I rented a bike for a day to get around which was a lot of fun. It is so nice how bike friendly the city is - especially compared to Canada. On my first night we had a picnic dinner which is very Dutch. Queens Day was yesterday which was absolutely nuts. It is the one day of the year where anyone and everyone can sell stuff in the streets. It is a massive street party - lots of vendors, food, and drinks. At pretty much every major intersection there was a DJ set up or sometimes a band. The streets were packed and we just walked around for most of the day to. Lots of Orange.

Tomorrow I am off to Zagreb, Croatia for a couple weeks. Will try to update again soooon
xoxo
Sarah

---