Nice times in Nice

Another Wednesday, another late night post. Another moment where I feel lazy but we’ll do what what can. I’m bad because last week I said I would update that post but I never did :( but I actually did do stuff that week so I’m debating whether I should make this one just really long and juicy, or go back to the other one for the sake of organization…. Ok I will just put it all here to also save you all some of the potential confusion. In short these past two weeks, I’ve been to: Lille, Paris, and Nice. So I think I’ll go chronologically :) also I hate to do this but I will have to add pictures when I’m back home because I don’t have my laptop with me and long story short I can’t download the pictures from my own camera roll because the storage on my phone is in shambles. Like I had to delete texts to even redownload the Wix app. Anyways that’s not what you guys came here to read, I know.

Lille – two saturdays ago, I went with H to a city in the north called Lille. Amiens is north in France but Lille is even more north. I thought it would be on the smaller side like other French cities I’ve been to but much to our surprise, it was quite a popping little place! Bigger than Amiens in any case. One of the goals of this day trip was to visit a yarn and notions shop called La Droguerie. They have one in Paris and Nice too but basically they just have really nice stuff. If you hadn’t heard, my next endeavor is knitting. I’ve practiced a bit but it is quite new and difficult. But I’ll keep on trying. At this shop I got some materials for a project, but now I think I got the wrong yarn so I’ll have to rethink things… knitting is an expensive hobby… but now I have materials to work with so it’s all good. Anyways, Lille. We went to other little shops and cafes and their fine arts museum. Personally I thought it reminded me of Brussels, the architecture and vibes. And it would make sense since Lille is near the Belgian border. Yet I told that to H’s friend, who’s lived near Lille and in Brussels and he didn’t agree so maybe it’s just in my mind. In any case, I would definitely go back!

Paris – the following week was the first week of our February break. I spent it in Amiens just relaxing, but Wednesday I was able to see my good friend Katie in Paris. We had crêpes and reminisced a little bit about when we studied abroad there and I finally got to visit a Parisian cemetery! A major one, Père Lachaise. It’s an impressive cemetery, and we saw a few of the famous graves, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison. We saw the movie Nightmare Alley after. I hadn’t heard of it but when I heard the cast I was intrigued. It’s sort of a creepy carnival theme and has to do with carnival acts. I thought it was well done but it was long (2h20m I think) so it probably wouldn’t suit some of you. Anyways, most movies out right now don’t look that interesting to me so I was pleasantly surprised. I was supposed to also see Katie on Friday before she left but I’ve been sick with a low grade something pretty much since the new year. The covid tests I’ve taken test negative so I think it’s not that but this thing is quite annoying. I went to the doctor again and she said maybe it’s allergies but I’m skeptical. My main thing is coughing so finally I went to the pharmacy recently and they gave me something for it so I’m trying that out too :/

Nice – for the break, the main course has been a trip with H to Nice! We’re here for 5 days and boy has it been a trip already. H went to art school here so it’s very nostalgic for him I think. He’s lucky to have gone somewhere like this. We actually visited the school itself today. It’s in a really beautiful place that was super peaceful and calm. There are so many places here with a great view! Backtracking, the first day we got it, it was a bit sad because there was a lot of rain and it was cold. The Airbnb we’re staying in is small but good for us but that first night was rough. There’s only a tiny radiator in the room and weirdly enough there was only a bed sheet, no blanket. With wet clothes, I’m sure you get the picture of the level of comfort. The next day though I asked the Airbnb guy if we could have a blanket and he graciously obliged and the weather has been much better since so sleeping is once again a pleasant experience. Otherwise we’ve been doing all the things I like to do in a new city! Walk around, visit the art museums, EAT, see the shops, marvel at the local nature etc etc. There are a lot of shops closed because it’s not summer but still a lot is open and it’s an absolutely stunning city. Being so close to Italy it definitely has the Italian influence in all the senses, but dare I say I like it more than Italy :0 (at least where I’ve been in Italy to be fair of course). I think my favorite museum so far has been the MAMAC, their contemporary art museum. I felt like I enjoyed all their exhibits, which I can’t always say in a contemporary art museum. I especially liked the exhibit of this guy, Daniel Spoerri. He’s done a lot of stuff but my favorite was this thing where it’s like food as art. He would have elaborate meals and with other artists and critics and make art of it in the aftermath. I liked seeing all the menus and food designs :) we leave nice on Saturday so I’ll have more to say next week but this is already extraordinarily long so I’ll spare you all for now.

Also since it’s so long I’ll wait on the book of the week updates because I already know I’ll have too much to say teehee

Talk to you all again soon <3