Nice is very Nice.

6/13/16- went to the beach!! THE WATER IS SO BLUE YOU WOULD NOT EVEN BELIEVE IT. we felt like we were floating in literal kool aid. So amazing. Then we headed over to Old Nice which was very cute and had lots of cool streets and cute restaurants and shops (we tried socaa). Then we headed up to The Rock and the Castle which was a heck of a lot of stairs but totally worth it because the view was incredible. Then we went to dinner with some friends we made here and ended up watching street performers for a while before we walked back home along Promenade des Anglais. A very swell day.
6/14/16- beach! again! This time we swam out to one of the buoys which was actually pretty far out there lol and on the way back we low key freaked out at first because it felt like we were not moving at all. Suddenly visions of me spending the rest of my life treading water while getting swept away to sea flashed through my mind. Obviously it was just our brains playing tricks on us because here I am alive and well sitting in my hotel room updating my blog. After the beach we headed over to a Russian Orthodox Cathedral and it was cool to see the style of architecture since it is so different from the other cathedrals we had seen thus far. I also liked how it was bue on the inside. I would include pictures, but we couldn't take any inside. Then we stopped and got groceries and made ourselves a nice little dinner! yay for being domestic af. man I don't think I mentioned this but I live our apartments here because its the most space I've had since I got to France and its nice to have our own kitchen that we can cook in.
6/15/16- AKA TODAY. This morning after hitting up the pool, we headed over to the Chagall Museum and some rooms were closed but the ones that were open were super cool. I really like Chagall's style and I especially like the colors he uses. It was also cool to see the room of sketches for the Palais Garnier. Then we headed back to Old Nice and shopped and then ate at the most delicious indian restaurant ever. so good. then we headed over to the Fan Zone to meet up with some friends (the ones we got dinner with) to watch the soccer game! SO FUN and so intense haha it was cool to learn the different chants as the game went on. SUCH A GREAT LAST 5 MINUTES AND FRANCE WON so that was good. It was also cool on the ride home because cars would drive by honking with French flags hanging out the windows and wow no words really to describe the emotions but I am absolutely in love with this country and the people here. wow it must be getting late because that was incredibly cheesy. On that note, enjoy these pics. G'night.

Kool Aid

the rock

View from The Rock and the Castle 

Russian Orthodox Cathedral

friendz and viewz

Musée Chagall

nice fan zone!!!

bus trip

6/6/16- we started our bus trip! so far we’ve gone to Bayeux to see the Tapestry there which was really cool (especially with an audioguide to explain it all to you)—moral of their story: don’t go back on your oaths or you might get shot in the eye and accidentally kill your brothers) After that we got back on the bus and headed to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery there. While reading about war in textbooks it is easy to forget that every number has a face, a family and a story. The video presentation they had did a very good job of reminding the viewer of that and we may or may not have gotten a little misty eyed. It was also especially touching today, since today is the 72nd anniversary of D-Day and there were lot of soldiers waling around and seeing the young men, some with their families, really put everything into perspective. It is so important to love, respect and support our troops! Now we are back on the bus for another 45 minutes on our way to St-Lo where our hotel and dinner are waiting so that’s exciting.
6/7/16- Mont St-Michel aka THE CASTLE FROM TANGLED. So cool. and also a lot of stairs on that little island. Then we went over to Saint Malo which reminded me of Bodega Bay but like a creepier version bc abandoned boats and a fortified city.
6/8/16- we finished up at Angers which is a Medieval Castle and now we are on our way to Ussé. Good stuff. Ussé ended up being a super cool château and its the place that inspired the author of Sleeping Beauty. The main part of the château is all normal château type stuff, but there was a tower you could climb up that had scenes from Sleeping Beauty set up in different rooms and they had the attic area open that you could walk through. Also there was a flooded road that reflected the sky and it was actually absolutely gorgeous.
6/9/16- We went to Azay-le-Rideau which was under restoration but also had a cool audioguide and a nice grass area where you could sit in the sun. Then we went to Chenonceau which was Diane de Poitier and Catherine de Médicis' castle and they both had their own separate gardens. The château was built over the river, which is still very high and fast because of all the rain, so it was especially cool. Then we ended the day at Château d'Amboise which completely reminded us of Reign (great show 10/10 would recommend). It was up on a hill and had an absolutely gorgeous garden and the sun was out so all of the colors were super vibrant. Very cool.
6/10/16- Chateau de Blois! It was right next to our hotel and it was super interesting. Found out that it is very likely that Beauty and the Beast was based off of a true story. Mom and dad thanks for genes that don't result in a birth defect where I have thick hair growing all over my body--including my face. Besides that there was a building across the square where they had mechanical dragons coming out of the windows and smoke blowing and all we could say was "wtf." anyways, then we headed to our last chateau of the week: Chambered AKA BEAST'S CASTLE (as in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST). It was perfect omg there was a huge forest surrounding the chateau and lots of towers and it was all so lovely. Plus they had this super dope double staircase that I can't really explain, you'll just have to experience one for yourself. Anyways that night we took the bus back to Paris and had to say goodbye to the coolest bus driver ever. In Paris my friend and I went to grab some things/ meet up with our friend who lives there for dinner (ok whatever dinner was at chipotle. judge me. I miss my Mexican food. so much.)
6/11/16- TGV to Nice!! OUR APARTMENTS HERE ARE SO COOL I'M IN LOVE. Chilled at the beach for a while which was absolutely gorgeous. Got some dinner at a cafe near the hotel and we had the most interesting pizza of our lives.
6/12/16- Church! Then we went to the Matisse Museum which was cool and I was impressed by how many styles of art he did and I especially loved the rooms that showcased his work that was inspired by Tahiti. Then we wandered around for a while (doing our Get Lost walk) and then we discovered that busses here can switch numbers while you're on them. Good life lesson learned there. Lol. But now I am back chilling in our room and you're all caught up!

Also there are wayy too many pictures to put on here from this past week alone so imma put a link here that will take you to my photo blog if you actually care to look:

http://vsco.co/stephblackham/images/1

last paris stuff ):

I would put pictures on this one but apparently they're all on the cloud and won't upload. oh well. they're pretty cool pictures.


5/23/16/- Flew to CDG, hurried as fast as possible to get to class, discovered the best little sandwich shop ever, slept on the floor during the other class, had a meeting after our class, went home and was pretty much dead until 9pm when we had dinner.
5/24/16- Walk #9! It was a really beautiful walk that went around the Louvre, through a really cool little courtyard, an antique shop, Bourse and Passage des Panoramas which is such a cool street I would highly recommend it to anyone who visits Paris.
5/25/16- Walk #14! It was over in my neck of the woods (aka 17e arrondissement) and we went to 2 hôtels which were really cool and we also went over to Parc Monceau where we were “attacked” by 2 little boys. I’m telling you guys: theres nothing quite like relaxing in the sun at a park in Paris. Also, one of the places had a winter garden and tbh I’ll fail at life if I don’t put one in my future home. #42 is lit.
5/26/16- Walk 7! This included Victor Hugo’s house and a cool courtyard. The thing that blows me away about Paris is that you can be walking down a completely normal street and walk through a door and end up in a garden in the middle of the city.
5/27/16- Went to dinner at Passage des Panoramas and then hit up the Eiffel Tower at night with some friends. Then a lot of crap happened but you see, we try to be positive so we’re not gonna talk about any of that. Anyways took the RER A out and slept over at a friends bc MONETS HOUSE NEXT MORNING.
5/28/16- MONETS HOUSE. ohmyheck. I felt like I was living in a painting. His gardens were so beautiful and wow I can’t even. There are no words. (so there will be pictures below). Then more crap. Then Arc de Triomphe and Chipolte.
5/29/16- Angelia for Claire’s birthday! Seriously such an expensive place but so worth it because everything is so good. Then a Sunday nap, of course.
5/30/16- SO MUCH RAIN. LIKE WOW. France is currently in a state of natural disaster lol but more on that later. All we did that day was get some bomb falafels and go watch the new X-Men movie.
5/31/16- I walked over to the French Statue of Liberty and then went over to Musee d’Orsay. (LOL x1000 @ lil rude man that pushed us out of line) I must confess: it is not always on purpose, but we literally never wait in the lines here. I love it. If there’s a will, there’s a way. Anyways we walked thorough the Musee and then ate at the little cafe behind the clock which was super cute.
6/1/16- Louvre! We went through the Egyptian, African, and Oceanic rooms which were not very crowded and really cool. I would highly suggest them. 

6/2/16- Walk 13! Started over at the Seine which was actually pretty flooded at this point haha we both thought it was so cool and all of the French people and tourists were standing at the edges of the water taking pictures. Obviously a very scary time. Then we walked around the streets and over to a forest area inside of Paris. It was absolutely gorgeous.
6/3/16- DISNEYLAND PARIS. currently getting a lil carsick on the bus writing this so I’m gonna make the rest of this short. Highlights: Crush’s Coaster, Tower of Terror, short lines, Alice’s Labyrinth, plentiful bathrooms, ice.
6/4/16- Went to Palais Garnier for the last time ): SO BEAUTIFUL. Definitely one of my favorite places in Paris. Then we walked over to the Louvre to see the flooding near Musee d’Orsay. Then we went to Rue Cler to eat dinner and then we headed over to the Eiffel Tower and climbed to the top. So many stairs. Incredible view. We were the only people laughing up there (besides the people we made laugh of course)
6/5/16- We had a broadcast for church and after I walked through a super sketch place to get to a metro. Fun stuff. A day of rest and packing. Good stuff.

Barcelona!

lol sorry I am really really bad at updating this. just embracing my true procrastinator. ya know what they say, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

5/19/16- we flew to Barcelona! lol @ french strikes bc our flight was very very delayed. But its ok we made it, got the best burger of our lives and got quality life advice from the very very drunk woman at the bus stop.
5/20/16- We went to Parc Guel, Sagrada Familia, Saint Pau, Brunch & Cake (for lunch obviously. best food of our lives), Catalunya, Latin Quarter (including a cathedral I couldn’t enter lol), THE BEACH. All in all it was a pretty bomb day and it was so cool to be in a city that was full of so much life and so many different languages.
5/21/16- Arc de Triomf, Las Ramblas (bomb gelato), Columbus Monument, BEACH! Can you tell we liked the beach? It was really cold but after swimming around for a lil bit it felt really freakin nice. Got a bit of a sunburn but thats ok.
5/22/16- Placa Espagna (I bought a hat), Montserrat, airport. Montserrat is this super cool monastery/little town out on the top of the mountains. IT. WAS. SO. BEAUTIFUL. And then that night we slept at the airport and it was probably the worst sleep of my life. Barcelona was honestly just 4 days of no sleep so we were kinda dead once we got back to France.

Sorry that there aren't very many details. 2 reasons for that 1. They're already in my journal and I don't feel like writing everything all over again 2. I have a heck of a lot to write for this so I want to keep everything as short as possible. Yay honesty.

parc güel

that one saint pau place

mont serrat

barcelona

church in gothic quarter

best food ever @ brunch & cake 

i like the ocean  

friends!

arc de triomf