Katie's parents arrived in Barcelona last week and spent a couple of days seeing our home, some of our favorite places and the major tourist attractions. It was so fun to show them around and get a little taste of home! They also brought 115 pounds worth of American food and other necessities with them!! We're excited to have a literal taste of home to say the least!
Trip Advisor was faithful once again and led us to a yummy and adorable family-run Italian restaurant before exploring the sites of the Cannes Film Festival. We visited the The Palais des Festivals et des Congrés, where the film festival is held, and the Carlton to see where the honored guests stay. After the exploring, we found a cookie shop where we discovered our new favorite type of cookie: the Kinder cookie, which is a chocolate chip cookie with Kinder bars on top. Since our stomachs were full and our feet were tired, we decided to head to Vence. This is a small inland town on top of a hill. We all felt like we were living in a fairytale in this picturesque French town. The streets were cobblestone and the old buildings were each painted a different color. We loved getting to experience the culture of the quaint local town. We returned to Nice for dinner and checked into our hotel for the night. Also, don't worry, Mr. Turner figured out how to reverse the car!
Saturday morning began with a walk along the Mediterranean Sea to Castle Hill where we got to overlook Nice. As we took in the panoramic view, we could see the snow-capped Alps, the port of Nice and miles down the coast. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
To top it all off, we ran into Anna and her roommates on the way down the hill and got to exchange stories of the French Riviera. After descending the hill, we ate a quick lunch and went to the Parade of Flowers, which is part of Nice's Carnival celebration. This Carnival celebration is the most popular in Europe, and we definitely understand why. We claimed our front-row spot an hour before the start of the parade, and by the time the first float came around, we were being pressed into the poles in front of us by rows of people who don't understand the concept of personal bubbles. The carnival consisted of many floats that were covered in flowers along with performers and fun entertainment. (see video for examples) We loved getting to experience the culture of this celebration and would recommend it to anyone who has an opportunity to experience it! Following the Carnival Parade, we got Häagen-Dazs ice cream and spent our evening down the coast in Monaco. We ate a yummy dinner overlooking the port full of massive Yachts.
Sunday morning, we returned to Monaco with croissants in hand and beautiful views out the window. Upon arrival, we visited the Palace of Monaco, the cathedral where Grace Kelly was married and the beautiful gardens in her honor. Then, we had lunch by the sea and went to gawk at all the expensive cars outside of the Casino of Monte-Carlo. We also went inside and took a look at the fancy blackjack room and headed right back out because we realized we didn't belong there. After that, we got in the car and drove around the streets looking at high dollar shops. We returned to Nice for one last yummy dinner with Katie's parents and went to the airport. We were so sad to say goodbye all over again, but we loved getting to share a weekend with them!
Au Revoir,
Brynne, Katie and Meagan
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