Ventimiglia

Given that the Italian border is a mere 45 minutes from Nice by train, a couple of day rips with visitors who had never been to  Italy before had to be done. Friday is the day to visit Ventimiglia, as the otherwise quiet and sleepy town is transformed into a bustling market place (and French will get you pretty far in this border town, when your 5 words of Italian run out).

The indoor market is filled with giant jewel coloured fruits, vegetables and flowers:

 

 

Whilst the outdoor market sprawls for miles and can be divided into two categories –

The food sellers, giving out yummy free samples to all who walk by. I  bought some authentic Italian pesto for just 3 euro.

 

The rest of the vendors are selling much more markety things, along the lines of ‘This probably fell off the back of a lorry’. Genuine Chanel perfume for 5 euros, Longchamp bags for 2 euro…HMM. No wonder the French police are ready to hand out up to 10000 euro fines for people caught buying fakes. Add in people selling the same splat toys and iphone covers every five minutes and it can start to feel like you’re stuck in a Scooby Doo cartoon where the background repeats over and over again. After being approached by a shady man asking if we wanted to buy a Rolex (this actually happens, and he was wearing a big coat), market fatigue was declared and we set off in search of food. First time round, it was delicious ravioli in the old town with Nicola, Emily and Kirstyn. Round 2 was great pizza bought in the market place with the sis. And of course cannolis are a must…

I loved this old lady with her basket of knitting, it’s just such a chilled out lifestyle. 

 

Antibes (encore)

The past few weeks have been a steady stream of visitors here to Nice. It’s been so great to show people from home or from university what my day to day life here is like, as well as exploring new places and just spending great time together. (I just hope they had fun and that I was hospitable enough! As an aside, our apartment has never been cleaner…)

My sister arrives tomorrow and I can’t wait! I haven’t seen her since Christmas and I’m so excited to hang out with her and eat ice cream (in that order).

St Jean Cap Ferrat was one trip I took with Laura (from college) and Laura (from here!). We also went to Antibes for the day. I’ve already written about how much I love Antibes, but it still stands. A bit of a little England in as far as that is the language you will hear everywhere, as well as signs offering yacht provisions of caviar and kobe beef…but there is also a sandy beach, which is a rarity here, as well as beautiful views and an old town with city walls you can walk up on (the York of the Mediterranean, perhaps?)

This time we took a different turning and ended up with a great view of the Cap d’Antibes and lots of old men playing pétanque in the afternoon sun.

A perfect spot to sit and look out to sea and chat about life and dissertations (yuk).

Happy Easter

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” Luke 24: 5-6

Happy day of celebrating the fact that Jesus died for us and for all our sins and rose again so that we don’t have to be separated from God but can enjoy and experience a relationship with him and life to the full! (Bit of a mouthful, so Happy Easter for short!)

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to St Jean Cap Ferrat, a beautiful peninsular to the east of Nice. The weather was perfect for walking all the way along the peninsular, experiencing (and dodging) the crashing waves, admiring the lighthouse up close (normally I watch the light sweep round over the bay from my bus stop every morning) and feeling very windswept and on the edge of the world.

Cactus graffiti - I'd like to think that this is somebody's Grandma and Granddad declaring their love for each other...

A staircase leading to the sea. We sat and watched the waves for a while and left behind a message for whoever would come after us; I wonder if anyone found it?