So i’m finally back in the US and after the whirlwind of term papers, final exams, international flights, and setting up my new apartment i’ve found some time to catch up on the last several posts i’d like to write. Now i’d like to tell you about a place where the water is a deeper blue than any sapphire you’ve ever seen, where the clouds, though rare, are whiter and softer than in any Tide commercial, and where the food, wine, and humor are in no short supply. Welcome to the Côte d’Azure.
I hesitate to refer to this as the French Riviera for fear of invoking visions of yachts, swanky dinner parties, and vacationing in million-dollar summer homes. Instead, i’d like to talk about the people, the culture, and region of France that has left an incredible impression on me that I hope others find as wonderful.
I had but 1 week of La Sorbonne’s 2+ week Spring Break (meriting capitalization) because it conflicted with my other university’s, AUP spring break (obvious lack of merit). So my friend Alanna and I decided to invite two other friends Maura and Lucas from Rome to come with us. Four persons was the max we could fit into our tiny Twingo econo-car and splitting the costs made this a fairly cheap endeavor.
Maura & Lucas flew into Paris on April 17th and we rented a car from the local Avis which was the only place that would rent to under-25′s. I could drive a manual transmission car so I was forced to humbly “volunteered” to drive the grueling 9 hours south. Surprisingly, aside from the 30 euro toll roads and staggering petrol prices, the drive was extremely pleasant. Beautiful roads and blossoming countryside was periodically interrupted by a dramatically-lit chateau on a hill. A beautiful drive with luckily no ill-fortune. We were on our way to the first stop: Marseille.
Disclaimer: The service I am about to describe is purely to educate. I cannot be held responsible for any repercussions from using said service now, or any time in the future.
Now that the business is out of the way… Our group of eager Europe-hopping world-travelers decided this would be a good time for our first Couch Surfing experience. CS is a website that connects people from all over the world to surf some couches, getting a free place to crash but more importantly, an opportunity to connect with another culture and spread understanding throughout the world. If it sounds naïve and idealistic well, maybe it is…
Luckily, Alain from Marseille opted to host the 4 of us for a few nights. He is a French hospital engineer of 49 years with a great passion for travel, learning, and making friends (he currently studies Russian, Arabic, Spanish, and English to connect with more couch surfers). This stay, in my opinion was one of the most valuable experiences i’ve had so far in my life.
Alain cooked us a traditional Marseillean meal full of slow-cooked vegetables, fresh olive oil, and pleennnnttty of seafood topped off with an anise aperatif. During our stay, we talked shared stories about our travels, cultures, and ideas all the while working on our French! (He spoke very little English). The next day, Alain drove us in his car around the coast, showing us the beaches, city hot spots, cultural attractions, and best places for gelato!
During the few days we were there, we explored all around the city, but adopted a laid-back attitude seeking to explore the life as the French do (note that the south of France is a completely different culture) rather than that of a tourist. We saw fewer monuments, but we enjoyed the food, the music, swimming, and even took a ferry out to L’isle d’If (the island of yew).
The tour, also to be mentioned, was made possible by the charity of another of the locals. A woman heard us expressing a wish to go to the island and promptly handed us 4 tickets for free ferry-rides because she thought we’d like them and she wouldn’t be using them. The island was fantastic.
Gestures like these are the kind that renew our belief in the goodness of people and make for an amazing experience. Keep that in mind next time you see someone who might use a hand…
As we parted with Alain and our friends in Marseille, we were sad to leave such a beautiful place but ready to start the rest of our trip. Before we left though, we made a partial day-trip to the Calanques of Cassis; a set of rocky limestone inlets along the Mediterranean. This was a wonderful hike and Alanna, Maura, Lucas (all Cornelians) and I had the opportunity to meet up with a fellow Cornelian of theirs and share the hike together. I suggest highly doing a quick Google Pictures search of the Calanques.
After that, we backed our bags and hit the road again. We had 3 and a half hours to meet the man we were renting an apartment from in Nice (pronounced neese). We drove along the gorgeous coast line, which takes much longer than the direct auto-route and nearly missed it as we enjoyed the vistas passing over the hills and through Marseille, Cassis, and Toulon. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time and missed Cannes and Monaco. Quel dommage.
Nice was nice. But it was no Marseille. The beaches were beautiful but we missed our new friends and yearned for another Couch Surfing experience to get a better understanding of this new city and how the locals live. Despite all, it was a fantastic trip and we enjoyed our last city immensely.
As our trip wrapped up, we hardly thought of the volcanic eruption that had squashed nearly everyone else’s travel plans as most European flights were cancelled. Escaping by car we made it safely south and were only brought back to this realization after finding that our friend’s flight back to Rome was cancelled. However, they were happy to spend another day in Nice and Alanna and I had to begin our return journey to Paris, and more importantly, exams.
