carolynw

The Cote Azur was really beautiful. As I mentioned in my last entry, I was based in Nice. Nice is one of the larger cities in France, around 300,000 people. From Nice there are many beautiful cities and towns which are easily accessible; it was hard to pick, but in the end I visited Antibes and Monaco. Antibes is west from Nice, not quite as far as Cannes. I took a bus ride there for 1 euro, it was economical, but intensely hot and stuffy. The ride took about two hours and after a late night of partying at Waynes bar, I was not feeling very comfortable. I opted for the train to return - only 20 minutes, air conditioned and 3.50 euros. Nice upgrade. I choose Antibes for several reasons: the Picasso museum, the sandy ... read more

i hope this posts, the free internet i'm using is sketchy... unsurprisingly, the burgandy wine tour today was the highlight of my stay in dijon. As I mentioned in my previous post, chardonnay and pino noir are the only two types of grapes harvest in this region; they also happen to be my favourites. The tour guide was very informative regarding the region's soil conditions and how to identify quality bottles of wine. after writing this I should probably go write down notes, i'm afraid after several glasses of burgeone (burgandy) wine, i may forget all i've learned. basically, over the past 2000 years of wine making in this region, they have everything down to a science. the qualtiy of wine may change over a couple of meters because of factors such as soil quality, amount ... read more

Since I've been in Paris my diet has consisted of primarily two things: bread and chocolate. And coffee. And wine. Okay, so four things. As someone who normally does not eat many sweets or white bread, I'm afraid I'm on the verge of a sugar coma, and posibbly not fitting into my jeans. Thank goodness for all the walking. But it's all good, I really love bread. I know it is not the most nutritious choice, but it is often the cheapest, and therefore justifiable. My hostel has a free breakfast of baguettes and jam every morning, making that the easiest meal choice of the day. For lunch, I've mostly been going to "fast food" stands. In Toronto this would mean a hot dog vendor or Subway, but here, the fast food is crepes and paninis. ... read more

Bonjour! I made it to Paris, France safe and sound at 8am Monday morning. It is now Thursday. I thought that I would have updated my blog sooner, but thanks to jet lag, a lack of internet cafes and having fun, here is entry number one. Monday, May 16th I flew from Toronto to Paris on Air France, and it the flight was excellent. Even the flight meal wasn’t bad. It was still airplane food, and therefore not great, but it did have definite French elements to it: a baguette, cheese and a small bottle of complementary wine. Each seat had its own tv with a variety of movies to choose from. Unfortunately the only two English movies that were playing were Season of the Witch (starring Nicholas Cage) and No Strings Attached (or Sex Friends, ... read more