Prince Albert's Wedding

So, I figured out why Nice reminds me so much of Italy. It's because Nice actually WAS part of Italy until it was given back to France by a treaty in 1860 (It's a long story-you'll have to read the history of Nice elsewhere). Hello, Kristen. Glad I have tour guides to point things like this out to me.

After touring the rest of the French Riviera today, I've decided that Nice is my favorite city of them all. My parents and I concluded that Nice has the best setup and is easiest to navigate of all the towns.

In other news, Prince Albert of Monaco got married today.

This tiny detail had slipped my mind until this morning when our tour guide announced that it would pretty much be impossible to get into Monaco today, because Prince Albert was getting married and all of the roads would be blocked off by 1 PM. Since it was only 9 AM at the time (and how often do you get the chance to see Monaco?), we decided it was at least worth a shot to go. We were lucky enough to get in Monaco (the roads weren't blocked yet but there were lots of police officers directing traffic) but weren't able to see Monte Carlo. We did, however, get to see a lot of preparation for the wedding, including the camera setup. It was really cool to be there, and I felt like I was watching history being made right in front of me.

I started out my day with the same breakfast as yesterday-a croissant and a banana.

Photo Op #1 on the way to Monaco:

We weren't able to really walk around once we got there, but we did stop for a photo at the port in Monaco.

The famous casino where the reception was held.

We stopped in a quaint town called Eze for lunch. Eze is adorable! We walked through a beautiful garden to get to a restaurant our tour guide had recommended where a breathtaking view awaited us.

The food really was as amazing as the view.

Fresh bread + EVOO. The olive oil is a kinda spicy over here-it definitely has a little kick!

I ordered grilled sol, and it was cooked to perfection. They deboned the fish right in front of me!

I devoured this fabulous dish of eggplant and zucchini baked in marinara sauce. 

It felt so good to get some veggies back in my system!

 I gave some fish to my dad and rounded out the rest of my meal with mixed vegetables and salad tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.

We finished up the day by visiting Cannes and Antibbes:

On the way, we passed the hospital where Angelina Jolie's twins were born!

In front of where the Cannes Film Festival is held!

Cannes is the only town I've seen with sand on the beach!
Nice only has rocks.

Antibbes.

Once we got back to the hotel, we walked to Old Town Nice for dinner. We went back to the same square where we had gelato yesterday. We randomly chose a restaurant called La Claire Fontaine, and I finally got my Nicoise Salad. Unfortunately, this was not my favorite Nicoise Salad ever. I have had much better in the US (aka Bottega Cafe), but hey, you win some and lose some. I'm not quite sure why they feel the need to add mayo to salad over here, and I tried to counteract this by adding a lot of balsamic vinegar. I mean, it was ok-I still ate the whole thing. I did enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant and listening to the fun music being played in the square.

Of course, I had to end my night on a "good food note", so my dad and I went back to the gelateria we went to yesterday. I decided to try out some new flavors and got a mix of amaretto and caramel.

Gelato solves all of life's problems.

Tomorrow we are taking an early train out of Nice to Paris! It's a 5 hour train ride, which means prime studying time for the RD exam?

I am SOOO excited about going to Paris tomorrow. I've loved Nice and the French Riviera, but there's just something about Paris. I mean, it's PARIS!