Study Abroad Week 1- The French Riviera at a Glance

The whole group for the day one CEA program orientation.  Photo courtesy of the CEA Study Abroad- French Riviera Facebook page.

Here is the first of my posts regarding my study abroad experience.  Last Sunday, January 5th, I arrived at the Nice airport in France and was picked up by the program staff and driven to my housing in Antibes, France in the French Riviera.  The CEA staff, Kristin and Syvlie, are extremely nice- not only did they drop us off and give us keys, but they also showed us how to open our gate, walked us to our exact residence, and gave us orientation packets with a map of Antibes, bus routes, train routes, travel information, and everything you can possibly think of.  Monday we had the program orientation at a cafe they reserved for us, and we got the French take on the rosca de reyes for the Epiphany.  Kristin and Silvija then took us around the beachfront of Antibes, which is largely spanned by the remains of a beautiful Roman wall that surrounded the whole town until the 19th century.

Left: The gallete de rois for the Epiphany.  Right: The view of our street from the town square.

Tuesday was our school orientation at SKEMA Business School, and the rest of the week was spent on school until Saturday.  That was the best day of the week.  We toured the French Riviera by bus, first by a drive through Nice and a walk through the market place and the town square, followed by a stop at the Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse, which was, according to the tour guide, the perfume capital of the world.   I purchased a souvenir for one of my sisters there, as she is very much into perfume, while I am not.

Soap stall in the Nice marketplace.

After the perfume factory we went to the hilltop village of Éze, originally built as a fortified structure to protect against various invaders, such as the Romans and the Vikings.

A walkway in Éze and me posing with a statue outside the chapel.

After that, CEA took us into Monaco, where we had lunch, saw the Palais des Princes de Monaco and the changing of the guards there, and then toured the Cathedrale de Monaco.  Then came what we had all been waiting for: the visit to Monte Carlo.  That proved to be more disappointing than anything, as while I had indeed been expecting it to be classy, the casino was so quiet and so high class that it just felt stuffy and uncomfortable.  There are no cameras allowed in there, but the place was gorgeous and ornately decorated.  Most of us only remained for 5-7 minutes, although a pair did gamble before they lost approximately 50€ in 2 minutes.  I would have liked to have a drink in the Monte Carlo so that I could truly say I'd been there, but those were too pricey as well.  Taking pictures outside the Monte Carlo and the shopping square was an entirely different experience, though, and I had a lot of fun posing for these photos!

Top left: The changing of the guards at Monaco.  Top left: The Chapel of Monaco. Bottom left: Monte Carlo from the fountain.  Bottom right: The view to the left of Monte Carlo.

Au revoir!

Just a block or so off the Monte Carlo.