day 44, 45, 46

Day 44: Sunday, May 3, 2009: Today was really fun too! We went to Eze village just outside of Nice. We took the TER again and when we got off, we found the bus line that runs to the village. But since it is Sunday, the buses only run every hour. So we decided that we would take the trail and hike to the village. We all only had on sandals and it was a nice, sunny day.
So we start walking up the mountain and have no idea how far we are going. We stopped to talk to a couple of people along the way. It ended up being over a mile and a half and took almost two hours to accomplish. So finally in the old village of Eze atop a mountain in the south of France, we decided that we needed a snack to reward ourselves. We had crepes at a little restaurant just inside the town walls.
The village was excellent! I bought a new belt from a leather maker that was custom cut to fit me. He also shortened by old belt. I also got a leather bracelet. Then we found another store where my mom and aunt bought a pair of shoes each. The storekeeper couldn’t speak that much English so it was fun translating for my family. I also bought a Picasso wall covering for my room next year and a gift for my other grandma’s birthday.
We took some pictures and wandered back down to the bus stop only to find out that it was done for the day because it was Sunday; it was no later than 6:30 p.m. So then we waited around to catch a taxi. Finally, we got one and shared it with these two other American girls from Miami, Florida. One of the girls was studying in Paris for the year and her friend was visiting for a long weekend.
We paid the taxi fare and waited for the TER to take us back to Nice. My friends had left to go back to Avignon because we have a class tomorrow but I am allowed to miss it since my family is here. After freshening up, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was close to our hotel.

Day 45: Monday, May 4, 2009: Today was the last day with my family so we went to Grasse, home of the finest perfumes in France! We took the TER train from Nice for the hour trip the small city. We met a couple from Connecticut that was on their honeymoon.
We started by going to the Perfumerie Fragonard. It was semi-interesting but my aunt and grandma were loving it. After that, we had paninis for lunch. After walking around the city for a while, we decided that we had seen enough and I needed to get back to catch my train for Avignon.
We got back to the hotel and I packed my stuff and gave some things to my mom to take home for me and then I was ready to leave for the train station. My mom walked there with me. She waited with me until the board posted my platform and then we said goodbye. I had an excellent long weekend with everyone! They are leaving France tomorrow.
On the train, I always have to sit by the screaming children that are never under control. Just my luck. I needed to read basically an entire book for the class that I was missing today too. It was a struggle but I did it.
Finally, I was back in Avignon at 12:30 a.m. I walked the 20 minutes to my house and my host dad was waiting up for me. I had to sleep in the salon because their son and his fiancée and their granddaughter were sleeping in my room. They are leaving to go back to Paris tomorrow.
In my room, I noticed that I had received a box in the mail! It was from Alexis Parker! What a surprise! It had a bunch of fun Cincinnati stuff in it: Busken’s cookies, Reds’ peanuts, Skyline Chili, water balloons, playing cards, etc. It was really nice of her!

Day 46: Tuesday, May 5, 2009: Today was really busy. I had an oral exam for my grammar class. My teacher said that he could tell that I had spoken English all weekend and that my progress had suffered. Well my family doesn’t speak French so was I not suppose to speak to them at all?! Maybe we could just look at each other all weekend and they could try to guess what I was trying to tell them. I wasn’t happy when he said that.
Then I had my two other classes: history and literature. After that, I needed to write a paper on the book I had just finished so I went to the internet café. After sending a less-than-par paper, I went to Melissa’s to decide on plans for the next long weekend coming up at the end of the week. May is filled with lots of holidays in France!
We decided to go to Juan-les-Pins on the ocean for a weekend of fun and sun. We booked a hotel 100 meters from the beach for three people for 20E/person/night. Juan-les-Pins is just outside of Antibes, France. My room is Lance, Melissa, and me; Nina, Caitlyn, and Kelby are also going and they have a room for three as well.
Also today, John left to spend the week in Germany visiting his girlfriend. He is missing a week of classes after missing one yesterday because he missed his bus home from Barcelona, Spain, this past weekend. After dinner, everyone went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even though we are in France…