Getting motivated in the French Riviera

It has been a huge obstacle to overcome since being here, and I can't quite seem to figure it out, but I cannot get myself to be motivated to do anything strenuous over here. Whether if it's strenuous on my mind or on my body. Don't get me wrong, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking and walking since being here, but there is something about this French laissez-faire attitude that has gotten the best of me.
As you know, I am here for school. That is supposed to be my main focus, not shopping and not sightseeing. But, I can't remember this last time I actually did schoolwork here. I mean, yes, I had one exam, but I studied for probably about two hours in total for it, which is nothing compared to studying for a test back home. I just can't be bothered here. I have so many things I would rather do: go walk along the beach, go on a day trip somewhere, hang out with friends, go to the market, or whatever else really. Anything but schoolwork.

And to be honest, this trip has quickly become more of a vacation then a semester abroad. I'm not mad about it, just a bit disappointed in myself. I am usually a bit of a keener when it comes to my studies, but with all this beautiful weather and all of this charming French culture, I have become easily distracted.
I am taking eight courses here in France, so you think I would be busy and going crazy, but no. The school system here is so dramatically different than the Canadian system, that is seems ridiculously easy and laughable. Even though I am enrolled in my final year of a bachelor degree program back in Canada, I am enrolled in a Masters Program here in France. So, essentially, the Canadian undergraduate system is on par with the French postgraduate system. The "professors" are very laidback here when it comes to assigning work and only one class I've been in has had a syllabus. I asked my professor of Advertising and Communication how we were being evaluated and he said that "he didn't know." My other professor of Value Management, which is a luxury brand course, told me that he still hasn't decided - the course has been over for three weeks now and he promised he would send us a project outline "soon". We'll see about that.
Courses here will either give 4 or 2 credits, depending on if they are 30 hours or 15 hours in total. My university back home  (Ryerson) has an agreement with SKEMA (the university I go to here) that 6 credits from SKEMA equals one credit back at Ryerson. And , since I am taking four courses that give me four credits and four courses that give me two credits, I will be getting 4 credits back at Ryerson for doing this semester in France. I have also signed myself up for a course to do through correspondence from back home, which I have only just started. The Professor has been really good about giving exchange students some slack and keeping us up to date with what's going on back in the Toronto class. But, I really need to step up my game on this.
So now, it's down to crunch time. I've seen the gorgeous area that I live in and I've had about two months to bask in its beauty, and now I need to start concentrating on what I really came here for.  I don't see the weather getting worse, it's only going to get better from now until May (which is when I go back to Toronto) so I should figure out a way to get myself motivated before this beautiful corner of the world overtakes my intelligence. Any ideas?

When to go to Ventimiglia

FRIDAY!!!

This passed Friday, we went to Ventimiglia, which is a quaint little Italian town just across the France-Italy border. Ventimiglia literally means "twenty miles" and this town is about 4 stops after Monaco on the regional Cote D'azur train. This commute is only about an hour and a half and 9 euro train ride from where I live in France.
I have been wanting to go here ever since I first arrived on the French Riviera at the beginning of January because I've heard such lovely things about the market. Every Friday, even on Christmas day, there is a market that takes over this tiny town. I was expecting the market to be quaint, just like the town, but in actuality the market is about 5 kilometers long, winding through the streets and around corners and stretched out along the promenade. Little white tents are set up like dominoes selling everything from leather goods, to jewelery to pashminas and clothing , to oil and cheese. This market is also widely known as being one of the best "black markets" in all of Europe, so obviously I had to check it out.
I was in the company of my lovely mother who loves looking for a great deal back home in Canada, and she was beyond thrilled to learn that I was taking her to Italy to spend a day at a renowned marketplace. Thrifting is her paramount hobby and she is very good at it, so I was happy to experience this market with someone like her.
We arrived in Ventimiglia at about quarter to 11 and followed the crowds of people that come from all over France and Italy to explore this market and all it has to offer. Every Friday the town averages about 5,000 visitors, which is alot for a place with a population of 55,000. We walked, almost like a herd, towards the rows of tents. I told myself not to buy anything within the first hour, because I would probably find a better deal further along. But, of course I couldn't help myself and bought a pair of beautiful grey leather boots almost immediately. After a couple of hours of nosing around and purchasing more amazing finds, we decided to sit out on a patio along the Mediterranean for lunch. The weather has been back to being lovely again, and it has been sunny almost every day for the past week and a half with an average of 15 degrees. I love it! We also took a couple cappuccino breaks and managed to lose eachother for about half an hour in the crowds of people. Luckily, we had a meeting point in case something like that happened, which isn't completely out of the question for two women in a shopping frenzy. After finding eachother again, it was almost 5 o clock and the market was starting to shut down.
The market is usually open from 8am-5pm every Friday and even though Ventimiglia is a beautiful town, I wouldn't suggest going on any other day. If you can go early on a Friday morning, you can experience the market before lunch and then venture around the town afterwards to see all the other sites it has to offer: like, the Romanesque cathedral, the old town and the stunning views from the beach.

I will definitely come here again!!

Tea and other Important Things

Coming from a British background, I have been raised on tea and have been brought up on the notion that embracing tea is part of life. Tea in the morning before breakfast, tea after lunch, tea during the day, tea after dinner, tea when watching my favourite show, tea when playing scrabble with my nana, etc. There has definitely been an overwhelming domination of tea in my life. Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoy a nice cappuccino every now and then, but for the most part I am all for the tea.
So since moving here to France, I have had to overcome the obstacle of finding the perfect tea place. And, I think I've done well. Aside from the usual Choopy's visit (see Choopy's post below) I have also been buying different loose leaf varietals at this cute little shop in the heart of Old Antibes. The place is called "Cafes au Negus Blanc" and it's on Rue Republique which is kind of like the gateway street between the Old Town and the not-so-new town. It's right across from the Carousel. The inside is not very big, but just big enough to hold many wonderful teas, coffees and chocolates. I have personally bought a couple different Earl Greys here, wish is my favourite, along with the current special: the Prince William. Yes, I bought it just for the name because I completely adore Prince William. But, it actually tastes quite nice, go figure. I have also bought the most perfect little pink floaty tea steeper from this store, and I love it!

We have also managed to score these amazing mugs since being here, we found them at this department store called Maxi Bazaar. They are vintage-looking and are basically cereal bowls with a handle. This is perfect for me because I love big cups of tea. I'm the kind of girl who orders a Venti from Starbucks. I'm probably a little weird over here in that sense, because everyone here seems to enjoy their daily dose of caffeine in a little espresso cup.
So to anyone traveling Antibes in the near future, if you run out of anything practical - be sure to go to Maxi Bazaar.

I will finish off this post by saying that lovely tea is available everywhere, even in the South of France. If a confused, non-French speaking exchange student from Toronto can find excellent tea, just think of what you can do.

Lockdown Sundays

I haven't had a lot of complaints since living in the French Riviera. I mean what's there to complain about? The weather has been gorgeous, the Mediterranean is an 8 minute walk from my front door and I've met some fantastic people to share my time with. But, the one complaint that I do have is the fact that everything is closed on Sundays. Literally everything. The grocery store, the coffeeshop, the kebab place around the corner that I like, the boutiques and drug stores. Everything. I don't understand what people do here on Sundays! Usually back home in Toronto I would do most of my errands on Sundays. I used to love going grocery shopping on Sundays, clothes shopping, shoe shopping and going for a cupcake at the Cupcake Shoppe near my house or going out for dinner with my friends. And, above all, the number one thing I miss most about Sundays in Toronto is just going to Starbucks to work on assignments and homework. I miss it so much. This past Sunday I figured I would have no problem going to Choopy's (the coffee shop mentioned a few posts ago) and wasting the afternoon away sipping tea and doing my Advanced Macroeconomics assignment. But no, I couldn't. It was closed, so I was stuck at my apartment doing homework :(
I guess I will have to plan better next weekend and do my homework on Friday or Saturday, but how fun is that? Bummer.

Top 5 Things to do in Monaco

1. Go to the Monte Carlo Casino.
It's world famous, and stunning. It costs 10 euros to get in, and don't forget to bring your passport, but it's worth it. The architecture alone is something to marvel at, and so are all the Bentley's and Rolls Royce's parked out front - if that's your thing (not really mine)

2. Go up to the Royal Palace.
I personally haven't done this yet, because I was wearing heels and Monaco is very hilly so I didn't feel like doing the trek. But, some of my friends did and said it was amazing and the view was beautiful. They were there for the changing of the guards and apparently it was really something.

3. Gamble.
I'm not a gambler, by any means but I budgeted 10 euros for pure gambling because I figured, why not? When in Rome right? So, I ended up doing slots because the minimum hand at the tables were quite steep, and I wouldn't know what to do there anyways. I ended up getting some Bonus thing on the "Red Code" slot machine and won 25 Euros after putting 5. I decided to cash out immediately. However, all my friends there were so excited for me and pressured me into doing it again. So I did, and I won another 22.80 Euros, and cashed out right away. Some of my other friends weren't as lucky.

4. Go to the Monaco Opera.
We didn't plan on this, just kind of stumbled upon it. A man gave us free tickets outside the entrance to the Monte Carlo Casino and the Operahouse is actually in the same building, so we decided to go for it. It was only 45 minutes long, and technically a dress rehearsal, but I still enjoyed it. I had no idea what they were singing about, but it was impressive. Apparently this Opera House is one of the most beautiful in world. I haven't seen any others, but I don't doubt it for a second.

5.Go to Buddha Bar.
It's a classy and trendy bar located in the same building as the Monte Carlo Casino. You can't miss it with all the beautiful people and beautiful cars out front. Ladies wearing mink coats following their spouses who are 35-45 years their senior into this beautiful building. But, we went in, had a 15 euro glass of wine (with my winnings) and left an hour later. There were about 12 of us and it was the perfect way to end the night. The prices on the menu here change at 8pm though, so be careful !!!

A bientot!

the Black Friday of Europe

Yesterday we decided to go shopping in Nice, which is an easy 20 minute train ride away. So, obviously, still being new here, we decided to take the 1 hour and a half crammed and stuffy city bus that stops and goes the entire way to old Nice. As horrifying as that was, it was only a euro, and I felt like it was a good option considering we were going to Nice to go shopping and spend money anyways. It wasn't, oh well. Anyways, we had heard about these sales that start on January 11th that equate to Boxing Day sales in Canada or Black Friday in the States. So, being girls, we were beyond thrilled. We packed our euros and our water bottles and headed for downtown Nice. I remember when I lived in Rome this passed summer of the amazing sales in July and figured it would be similar, and it turned out it was. Cheap name brands, long lines, crowded streets and angry women. We visited about 5 or 6 stores and came out with great finds: boots, dresses, makeup, soap and onesy pajama outfits (not my purchase, just Nicole hahaha) I was happy with my finds, but I couldn't help but feel competitive the whole day. I am not usually a competitive person, but it's hard to stay in a peaceful state of mind when all these French women are pushing through you to get to the sales racks. I was always running to racks and squeezing through other shoppers to get around them. It was such a weird day, I never act like that. Shopping is usually always such a stress reliever for me, and it's something I love and that I feel like I can always count on to make me feel happiness. As crazy as that sounds, I'm sure most girls understand these feelings.

Either way, it was a fantastic day and to top it off we found an American restaurant and had wings and beer. After dinner we went to the Promenade des Anglais, which is essentially the boardwalk in Nice, to watch the sunset. Another perfect day :)

The Friendly French

I've been so surprised with how nice people are here so far. Not just the other exchange students, but the actual French people who live here. After our first finance class, a guy we met named Gautier offered to drive us home, which is about a twenty minute drive from the school and he and his friends were just so friendly and welcoming towards us. The people that we've met on the street have been so nice too, not at all the French kind of "snobby" attitude I was expecting here. Just yesterday after walking around the old part of Antibes, we were walking home and a group of three French people walked by us: a girl and two guys. They started saying something to us in French and we were just like "Oh sorry, no francais." But the girl ran after us and asked us in broken english: "Are you twins?" and we laughed and said no and she said, "Well you're very beautiful girls." It was so cute and she was so genuine. I can't imagine ever doing the same thing to someone in Toronto. Like, it just doesn't happen. I have never known a girl to run after other girls just to tell them they were beautiful.
It's so nice though, I love this adventure so far!