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So you think you’ve mastered traveling huh?

After living in dreamland for 5 months and this fantasy of traveling all over Europe I had really thought I had mastered this whole traveling thing. First off, I conquered the security line at the airport; I knew how to minimize my time that I spent taking out all liquids and electronic and what to wear so I didn’t have to take anything off and never beeped. I managed to never pay for my bag even though it was way bigger than the airlines carry on limits. I always had my tickets on my phone so that there was no chances of loosing the ticket. As for other modes of transportation I always always knew how to find the best deal. And I always double and triple checked I was on the correct train/subway/boat before it started moving. And the most important thing, whenever I left any area I always double-checked the three lifelines: Passport? Wallet? Phone? Howeverrrrrrrrr, traveling is always a new adventure no matter where you are going and can snap you right off your high horse of travel queen. Such as realizing on your solo flight to Dublin, as you get to the bus station in Salamanca that you booked your ticket to the center of Madrid not the airport and as a result sprinted through the Madrid airport, making it to your flight probably only because the flight was delayed. Or leaving your phone on the over night train from Budapest to Prague because you didn’t follow your always double checkkkkk rules!

Traveling, being in and living in new cities is something that has given me memories of a lifetime, #tbts forever and friends that I don’t know how I’m going to live without. However, it also has taught me a lot about myself and the world around me. I learned whom I travel well with, who not as well, the times that I step into a leadership position with and times I’m more along for the ride. For instance, when the Gunnison clan was all together in Italy I was, for the most part, on traveling queen vacation, my guard wasn’t up as much and wasn’t doing my normal traveling routine. I know this was because my dad and probably the smartest man ill ever meet was there to be on top of everything and in my eyes never messes up (daughter brownie points deserved for that ;)). Howeverrrrrrrr we ran into a different situation in Florence. Storyyy time! At 7am the fam was getting ready to board a train from Florence to Pisa Italy and then from Pisa to Cinque Terre. My dad and I had thought that the train was leaving at 7:08am and when we looked at the board of train times and saw the 7:08 train was going to a place that started with a ‘P’ we just assumed that had to be our train, Florence is Firenze in Italian and on all signs in Italy so Pisa must have a different name too. Right? …. Welllll we got on this train and about 3 stops in the woman came to collect our tickets, looked at the ticket and then proceded to talk to us in perfect English saying “youre going to Pisa right?” “yes…” “well this train is not going to Pisa I am sorry.” Like I said when I am traveling by myself or with friends I always double and triple check to make sure I am correct but my comfort with my family lowered that a little. Opsss but we made an adventure out of it. Other trips I have found myself falling into my natural leadership patterns and using my newly found directional skills (yeah still shocked at this too) and planning to lead us in any situation.

My semester abroad and exploring Europe has not only shown me new cities and cultures of this amazing world it has taught me more about myself and how to life embrace each day and each adventure! Next blog more about this and how I am going to miss this amazing country and city I really do consider my second home <3

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~Ciao Bella ~

After leaving from 3 departing points, on 6 different planes, one almost missed connection, a bus ride and a sketchy taxi ride from the Italian mafia the Gunnisons were finally all together in Italy! We enjoyed all of the amazing views and sites that Italy has to offer and indulged in mass amounts of Italian food. Throughout the trip I was most intrigued by the culture surrounding their food and wine, the Italian language and the abundant amount of tourists that flocked there for the same reasons that my family did.

It is evident from everywhere in the world that Italy is famous and known for their food and wine. From the first margarita pizza we ate to the last gelato we were not disappointed. Eating and enjoying good food and drinking wine are so much apart of the culture. Italian restaurants were found at every street corner, across from every major monument and advertised with “grandmas homemade Italian food.” However, the best restaurants were found when you got yourself lost in the city and stumbled upon a non-touristy restaurant, filled with real Italians. We learned that the Italians don’t just eat and drink their food/wine they enjoy every bite/sip. And also that wine is drank with almost every meal. Also children start young and will enjoy wine with their parents at dinner. Its just culture, its Italian. The term wine is cheaper than water isn’t always true but pretty darn close.

Next the language! The Latin languages of Spanish, French and Italian are for many considered the most beautiful and romantic languages. I was also told that they are fairly similar and that I could maybe get away with speaking Spanish in Italy, that someone would understand me if they only speak Italian. Although this was incredibly false I enjoyed trying and attempting to learn some Italian along the way. For instance, I came back to Salamanca saying “Grazie” to everyone and learned that ciao in some form is used in every sentence. The 116,304 square miles country of Italy is the only country where Italian is the main language. That being said I think it is incredible how many people strive to learn Italian and how many non Italians speak the language.

And lastly people truly came from all over the world to see the amazing Italian sites and with good reason. Our first two stops are two of the most popular destination for tourists, Rome and Florence. In Rome you can feel the power of the former Roman Empire from the ancient ruins such as the forum, colosseum and the pantheon. In Vatican city you can not only go to the smallest official country in the world but can also see the existence of power, money and religion that was there for the church in the past as well as now. Florence is home to masterpieces of renaissance art and architecture like the Duomo and Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. It is also home to an abundant amount of gelato and famous for its Italian leather.  

The Gunnisons next stops: Cinque Terre and Venice. Both surrounded by water, Cinque Terre and Venice offer stunning views but are cities that are very different from one another. The quieter city of Cinque Terre is a string of centuries old seaside villages the sit atop rugged Italian Riveria coastline. In each of the 5 towns there are brightly colored houses and vineyards on steep terraces. Along with these five cities Cinque Terre is famous for its hiking trails that link the five cities and offer climbers astonishing views. Venice is truly a city on water. Boats are the main and really only form of transportation and gondolas filled with tourists take over the small canals. Opposite from Cinque Terre, tourists is 99% of the income in Venice and people pack the tiny streets just off the main square and surrounding the canals.

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Vamos a Espana (part 1)

Spain is a country on Europe’s Iberian peninsula known for its culture, art, architecture, Flamenco music and dance, bullfighting, tapas and sangria. Spain is also the country and culture that I have fallen in love with these past two months. Spain has 17 autonomous regions (or “states”) each with a unique geography, climate and culture. When I first started learning about Spain and its regions everyone mentioned how each area has its own unique version of Spanish culture; however, it was only when I was fortunate enough to travel to these places that I truly was able to grasp how different each region of Spain was, and how they all combine to make up the culture of Spain. In this lovely edition of Pey attempts to blog, I wanted to touch on the amazing sites that I saw in all of the Spanish cities I have visited so far and also how their culture, climate, food and people compare to my Spanish home of Salamanca. In this part I’m just touching on the first four cities that I visited. In each of these cities I was able to continue to practice my Spanish and learn more about Spanish history, culture and people.

Salamanca: I was first introduced to the city of Salamanca and its culture, people, food and climate. Salamanca is located in the northwestern part of Spain. Its old city, which is the part that I live in, was declared a world heritage site for its outstanding buildings, cathedrals and my Spanish university, The University of Salamanca, which will celebrate its 800th birthday in 2018. Spanish obviously is the main language of Salamanca and very few people speak English, which forces me to constantly speak and practice my Spanish. This was one of the reasons I chose Salamanca, a smallish city. Also the Spanish spoken in Salamanca is one of the cities where the Spanish is thought of to be one of the “purest” forms of Spanish. The region is also known for its Iberian jamon (ham) that is everywhereeeeee. The people who are from Salamanca are called ‘Charos/Charas’ and have been welcoming and friendly to me (??? much different than the  stereotype of charos being cold).

Avila: The first Spanish city I traveled to outside of Salamanca was Avila, a small medieval town between Salamanca and Madrid. It is in the same region as Salamanca and so the language was not very different; however, we found the people to be more reserved rather than colder and not as welcoming. The old town of Avila has an amazing complete and prominent medieval wall surrounding the entire old city, which we were able to walk almost completely around. (perhaps the wall makes the people not as open?)  We also visited the church of Santa Teresa as Avila was her home. In Avila we tried yemas, a local sweet that honestly just tastes like the yoke of an egg and was nobody’s favorite. We also learned that although Avila is only one hour away from Salamanca it is FREEZINGGGGG because it is higher in elevation that Salamanca is. Lastly since it is a smaller town it doesn’t cater as much to tourists. The group I went with found this out pretty quickly when we were trying to get dinner before our 9pm train and no kitchen was open until 8:30pm. This was the first time I bought American chips for dinner at the supermarket.

Segovia: I next traveled to Segovia, Spain with my AIFS group. Segovia is a historic city northwest of Madrid. In Segovia the two main attractions that we saw were the Alcazar of Segovia, an outstanding castle sitting on a hill, which the Disney castle is roughly based off of, as well as the roman aqueducts. The aqueducts have more than 160 arches, most in the original granite. As an engineer I was amazed as our tour guide told us that the engineers and architects of the time designed this aqueduct so that it was the sloped enough so that it could transport water from the mountain to the center of the city, but not sloped too much so that the water would spill from the sides. Also all 160 arches were constructed without any cement! They were cut so that each slab fits perfectly with the next and they are still standing after xxx years. I did not get a chance to spend too much time talking to locals or enjoying their food, but since the city is in the same region as Salamanca the food, people and language did not differ very much.

Toledo: My next trip out of Salamanca was a two-day trip with my AIFS group to the cities of Toledo and Madrid. Toledo is just outside of Madrid and is known as ‘the city of three religions.’ It sits on a hill and is a beautiful city. Within its walled old city, medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments can all be seen together, one in the same and next to each other. For instance, one of the first significant buildings in Toledo that we saw was the Santa Maria la Blanca. Santa Maria la Blanca was built and served as a Jewish synagogue up until a period in Spanish history known as the Spanish Reconquista where Christian states recaptured territories from the moors (Muslims) who had occupied most of the Iberian peninsula in the early 8th century. During this period all synagogues and Muslim influences were turned into churches or cathedrals. Even though the building now stands as a church Muslim and Arab influences can be seen throughout many aspects of the buildings architecture and designs. The there religions can still be heavily seen throughout this amazing ancient city. Although we didn’t really get a good feel for the people of Segovia, the language was similar to Salamanca as was the weather. I did however indulge in Marzipan, the local dulce (sweet) of Toledo. It is said that local Toledo nuns first invented marzipan.

Madrid: Lastly for this blog, is the capital of Spain, Madrid. Madrid is a hustling and bustling city filled with people, cars, large buildings and fast food chains like McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC. It is very similar to large cities in the United States … besides the fact that they speak Spanish! (Taking advantage of the big city, I let my American cravings kick in on this trip and got a Starbucks coffee!) On this second day of our two-day AIFS trip as well as another weekend I visited this Spanish capital and got a brief view of the culture, sites and people of Madrid. We saw its incredible and manicured Parque del Retiro de Madrid and some of the European art which can be seen in Madrid’s many museums. Madrid also has ample shopping, restaurants, cafes and astonishing plazas. Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol were my two favorites. They are immaculate plazas where there are constantly people meeting friends, watching the street performers, having a drink or grabbing a tapa. Ironically, I spent a New Year’s Eve celebration with my family in Plaza Sol in 2012, but it’s much different in the daylight and without the throng of NYE.  In my biased opinion Plaza Mayor in Madrid is not as pretty Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor, but is beautiful nonetheless. Being a big city the food in Madrid is very diverse, although paella can be seen advertised on every other restaurant. Next, although Spanish is the first language of the city, English can be heard alllll over the city. And lastly, the metro is the main form of public transportation in Madrid. Even I, a Midwest chica who only knows how to get around with a car and my gps, can attest that it is fairly easy to navigate.

Though my travels of Spain I am constantly seeing the similarities and differences between each Spanish city. And with each new city I see I fall in love with Spain even more. Every new city is a different part of Spain, a different part of its culture, a chance to improve my Spanish and an opportunity to open my eyes up to another part of this amazing world. More soon on the rest of the cities I have visited thus far!!!

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Food, Family and Strolling

As crazy as this sounds, I have actually been living in Spain for 8 weeks now!         During my time here I have learned many things about Spaniards, their culture and myself. First, I realized how awful of a blogger I am, as it’s been 8 weeks since I have done one (ops sorry Mom and Marie). The three things that immediately stuck out to me about Spanish culture is their food/drink, their importance of family and their strolling.

First, food and drinks! Spaniards have an interesting timetable for their meals. They eat very little for breakfast (maybe only a piece of toast), a ton for lunch which is usually between 2:30 and 3:00pm and dinner around 9:30pm. Restaurants and cafes will operate the same way as households, with kitchens not being open for dinner until 8:30pm. They also enjoy every meal more. They talk and even come home from work to eat all together with the family. This was different than what I am use to in the United States. Also the people in Salamanca eat a lot of meat and also a tonnnnn of Jamon (ham). Like it is literally everywhere. This was interesting to see because I always thought all parts of Spain followed a Mediterranean diet. Also, drinks of all kinds are present everywhere in Spanish culture. Enjoying café con leche while talking with friends is a must on a daily basis. Being an avid coffee drinker, I can taste the difference of the coffee here. It is so much better than I am use to at home and also it is very inexpensive. For instance, my school has a vending machine where you can get a cup of café con leche for .50 euros and it is phenomenal coffee! That is never present at home! Coffee costing 2.50 euros is known as very expensive coffee here! I will be missing these coffee prices at home. Beer and wine is consumed much more casually and more cheaply for lunch, dinner and tapas (more on tapas in a different blog because I am in love with tapas and could probably go on about them forever).

Next, Spanish families! Spanish homes and businesses are very surrounded by the family. All meals are eaten as a family, which is something that we have trouble doing in my own family because of all of our different schedules/school/work. In Spain it is very common for school children and parents to leave school and work for lunch at home as a family. This time is called siesta and is the time of day in Spain where shops, offices, banks and most other businesses are closed and the staff has a long lunch and/or a quick nap. Many shops close around 1:30/2 and won’t re-open again until between 4 and 5. My apartment is on a pretty busy street in Salamanca, Calle Toro, and it is crazy to see the amount of people on the street during lunch/siesta time vs before or after lunch/siesta time. My classmates and I have had no problem adjusting to taking a quick nap every day ;). On Sundays all shops and grocery stores are closed for the whole day so that the family can spend time together and take a day of rest. This is true even for non-religious families (which my culture teacher says is majority here). Although this family time is very sweet it does make it a tad inconvenient when I forget and need something at a store and everything is closed. This is present all throughout Spain.

Lastly, the very first day of my program on our tour of Salamanca, our amazing program director said that walking or strolling was a Spaniards favorite pastime. I thought it was so great hearing it but once I was immersed in the culture I could 100% notice this about Spaniards. They just stroll all day and long into the nights. They will run into friends and great each other with kisses on both cheeks and window shop at the countless number of shops in Salamanca. They don’t necessarily need to have a place to go … they just stroll. Some will stop in the main plaza to check out what’s going on, others will wonder into a restaurant to get a tapa but in general they just stroll. This is one of my favorite things about the culture and something that I do quite frequently since it’s so easy to walk everywhere.

More to come on Spanish life as well as all the amazing places I have been so fortunate to experience. From here on out I will really try to do a post every 1 to 2 weeks!!

Hasta luego, Peyton

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French Foodies

Although we are now in Spain, I wanted to touch on how fascinated I was by the delicious French food and the way that France enjoy it. The French love food! And so did we when we were there. We loved every single meal that we had in France. They have fresh bread with almost every meal but especially breads/croissants for breakfast, meals are rich and delicious, sauces are perfect and a Mediterranean diet is followed (which means very limited meat). Wine, champagne and coffee are enjoyed often and are loved. Every food/drink that we had in France was incredible. Again, idk how French stay so skinny with all that fabulousness. Secondly we noticed many people eating outside in the cold in jackets and scarfs with heaters. This was the case all over really no matter the weather. This was interesting to my mom and I but we were told it’s just the culture. Maybe I’m just not use to this because in Wisconsin and Illinois we get about 90 days of sunshine which leaves very minimal time to eat outside so for every restaurant to invest in outside tables and heaters is silly. But we loved seeing everyone enjoying their meals, coffee and dessert outside! The harmfulness of smoking has not reached many people in Europe yet and so there are still quite a few people who smoke. Some of these smokers may enjoy the outside seating purely because they want to smoke but I do believe that others just enjoy being outside.

Another thing that we experienced and learned about while in France is that if people go out to eat with family or friends they will stay at the restaurant for a lot longer than people in the United States.  They will start with drinks, then move onto appetizers then dinner then dessert or cheese and last coffee all with some time in between. It seemed as though if people had a reservation at a restaurant they had the table reserved almost all night whereas in the United States sometimes restaurants try to push out their customers to get a better turn over rate and there for more $$$$. We always had to ask for our bill because the restaurant never wanted to feel as though we had to leave by bringing the bill by when food is finished. Also ‘take away’ or ‘to go’ is very uncommon and same with boxes for leftover food. We learned (and loved) that this is because they believe they don’t pay for the food they pay for the experience and being with the people that they go out to dinner with (but also I think its because the portions aren’t as humongous as United States dishes).

Lastly the timing of dinners in France took our American stomachs a bit to get use to. All over Europe dinner is eaten much later than our typical 6:00 dinnertime. We experienced this during our first night in Nice, France. This was our first day without our French expert and my very good friend, Lena. My mom and I made a reservation at a restaurant at 7:00pm, which we considered fairly late and that we would fit in fine with the French. Not the case. When we got there at 7:00pm nobody was there and nobody arrived till around 7:25pm! Very interesting. 

Bye for now! Next blog will be from my new home in Salamanca Spain. Go PACK Go!!

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French Rivera: Nice, Monaco and Cannes

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1/8/16 to 1/15/16 Paris, Nice, Monaco and Cannes France

Bonjour family, friends and loved ones. I am writing this blog on all the new customs, cultures, food and incredible sites that I see during my study abroad and European experience. There are not enough pictures nor words to do the places that I visit justice but by writing about the most interesting/unique/beautiful/ect. things, I hope to share my incredible experience with my family, friends and loved ones as well as remember them myself for a lifetime. Some of the blogs may just be about trips I take during my time abroad, some about culture that I am immersed in or some could only be about food!!! Who knows! Some may be long and some short but all will have pictures from around Europe and the experiences I am enjoying.

My European adventure started in the best way …..a VACATIONNN! My mom accompanied me on this pre-study abroad vacation as she thought this would be the perfect excuse to travel. We began our travel in Paris. Here we had the pleasure to stay with one of my best friends Lena and her family. This was extra special because we got to see how true French people are in their homes and life besides being with one of my closest friends for 5 days.

This first blog may be a bit different (and longer) than the rest of them because it’s more about my vacation vs living in Salamanca. In this blog, I will be talking about the culture, food and sites from our experiences in Paris and the French Rivera. 

Day 1- Chicago to Paris

Once we landed in the gorgeous city of Paris, Lena and her Father Philippe greeted us. Lena had planned many activities and so we wouldn’t get sleepy and could combat our jet lag. This was extremely helpful during the day but the minute we sat down back at her apartment I felt like I was going to pass out from tiredness. We first ate lunch at Lena’s brother’s restaurant, a typical French restaurant, where we tried escargot and croque madame. Both very delicious and special dishes in France. I was surprised that I liked the snail! During the day we saw sights such as the Mayor of Paris’ house, outside and inside of Notre Dame and the famous lock bridge. We also rediscovered my moms love with big doors! After our day of activities we returned to Len’s house. Here we had Champagne with her wonderful parents! Lens dad explained that in France some people drink champagne like Americans drink soda (I like that <3).  Lens Dad prepared a wonderful fish dinner.

Day 2 – Paris

Our second day, little less jet lagged, began with a traditional French breakfast of coffee, fresh bread and chocolate croissants.  Len and her Mom showed us how to properly eat the croissants by dipping the pastry into your coffee or hot chocolate and then eat it. This was strange at first but I tried it and enjoyed the taste! Speaking of coffee American coffee is nowhere close to French coffee. French coffee is less watery and much stronger. Typically drunk black with no international delight Girl Scout cookie flavoring available. This is harder for me to get use to since I mostly enjoy coffee with syrups, creamers or flavoring. In the afternoon of our second day we enjoyed Macaroons at the very famous restaurant, Laduree. These were the very best macaroons. The ones that melt in your mouth. They were phenomenal. We then saw many national monuments around Paris and learned how all of the important buildings are all situated on the river La Seine. Back at Lena’s house we enjoyed Philippe’s tremendous homemade lasagna dinner. After dinner we tried French cheeses. Coming from Wisconsin I thought we knew everything about cheese but little did we know that was false … haha. We learned how French cheese is not pasteurized like Wisconsin cheese, which allows for a richer taste. French people often eat cheese after dinner like we eat desserts after dinner.  Then we had Laurence’s homemade tiramisu

Every single type and bite of food we had was FANOMAL in France. However my mom and I pointed out many many times, that French stay so skinny with all the delicious breads, pastries, chesses and desserts they eat! Len explained that although the French eat all this delicious and filling foods they don’t snack in-between and their food is all real, not changed nor preservatives added. Also most people from France rarely eat meat.  A seafood diet is more common and overall healthier for people to do. Also because of the abundant amount of public transportation people walk everywhere burning off all those fabulous foods.

Day 3 - Paris

On the third day we went to the city of Versailles (originally I thought this was just the castle but there is actually a whole city surrounding the castle). It is a very quaint town with more families and older people. We then went back to Lena’s house where Laurence, Len’s Mother, made fabulous homemade crepes with Nutella .They were wonderful! During the night of the third day we also went to the Eiffel Tower (pounced Tour Hey-Fell (no H)) and took super touristy pictures. Len explained that the Eiffel Tower was originally built for the world’s fair held in Paris in 1889; however, it was liked so much that the city decided to keep it. The Eiffel Tower is now one of the most recognizable monuments ever.

For dinner Len and her mom surprised us and took us on a riverboat dinner cruise. This cruise was phenomenal because all the important buildings in France are on the river. So during the cruise we saw all the buildings we had seen on our walking tour and more.  The food was also very good. As an appetizer we tried foie gras, which is a delicacy in France. It is made from the liver of a duck … not our favorite but at least we tried it. And French delicious chocolate for dessert.

Day 4 - Paris

On our last full day in Paris we went to China town of Paris and had sushi for lunch. As appose to Deklab’s Fushi Yami. Sushi here is simpler but very fresh. Also, had fun shopping and pizza for dinner.

Day 5 – Travel Day: Paris to Nice

Our travel day from Paris to Nice consisted of very stressful but funny experiences. For all travelers do not take Easy Jet if you are traveling heavy … this is meant for weekend travel with one small, small suitcase in tow…. Ops this was not us! So as a result, we were those people with our suitcases and stuff sprawled out all across the airport floor trying to shove more items in one suitcase and make the other suite case lighter.  Those crazy Americans.  After rearranging, finding out moms bag was too big, re-rearranging and $50 later, we were finally all checked in and ready for Nice, France and the amazing French Rivera.

Day 6 – Nice

Day one in Nice we walked along the Promedade, a long walk that goes from tip to tip of Nice right along the Mediterranean Sea. In the center of Nice there is an old fort that you can walk up and has now been turned into a park and walking trails on top. The view from the top of this fort was stunning. It seemed like you could see all of Nice, France and miles on miles of sea. Next we headed on the main street in Nice, Av. Jean Medecin. On this street are tons of shops, restaurants and coffee shops. In France they only have retail sales twice a year. One at the end of summer and one at the end of winter to get rid of winter/summer clothes. The winter sale is happening now! How tremendous for a shopping lover like me.  Unfortunately, I have zerooo room in my suitcase. For dinner we went to a local restaurant that serves a favorite of Nice called Daube. Its like beef stew with ravioli.  We arrived at 7:00pm (on the later side for Americans to eat) and were the ONLY people in the restaurant for about 20 mines. We were laughing at ourselves for thinking 7:00pm is late!

Day 7 – Nice

Day two in Nice we did a tour of the major cities and sites in the French Rivera. The first city we stopped in was Eze (mountain top picture). This town is situated into the side of the mountain. It is a very small town. On our way up the mountain we passed an older woman, our tour guide said she was 90 years old and walked up and down this hill every day. There are only 25 homes in this town, a church, some restaurants and small shops. At the top of the city is a garden of Cacti, this was strange to us because normally cacti are in dry/hot climates but Eze is on the sea (aka not dry). The view at the top of this city was incredible. After the city of Eze we drove to Monaco, which we learned is a country! It is the 2nd smallest county in the world and its size is ½ the size of Central Park in New York. We learned many different facts about Monaco and the rich of the rich who live or own there.

-       In Monaco 93% of the population don’t work

-       For a super small home/apartment it costs at minimum 1 million dollars

-       Only about 8000 people are citizens; however, 27,000 people have visas in Monaco and interesting how you can get a visa

-       The country has no taxes so much money laundering, hiding money, goes on

-       There is 1 policeman for every 15 people in the country of Monaco! Veryyyy safe, 0 crime rate.

In Monaco we saw changing of the guards in front of the prince of Monaco’s castle, drank $8 coffee at Café de Paris in Monte – Carlo and saw the formula racetrack around the country of Monaco.  Also, saw Grace Kelly’s grave. After we went to Cannes, which is the city that holds a famous annual film festival every year.  Next we drove through some small towns; La Californie, Gofe Juan and finally stopped in a town called Antibes. In this town famous artists such as Pablo Picasso got their great art start. The town is filled with little cobblestone streets and stores.

For dinner we found an Italian place close to our hotel that was open and had pasta there. It was hard to find this place to eat as in France most shops and restaurants are completely closed on Sundays! This was surprising to us. We had pasta, dessert and wine. After eating we asked for the bill and our waiter (who we think was the owner of the restaurant) brought us two glasses that were the size of a shot glass and smelled lemony and didn’t say anything about them. We looked at each other in confusion and then my mom took her drink like a shot. However, I had remembered having an after dinner drink at Lens and it was served in a shot glass but you were suppose to sip it. Len told us that they’ve had friends over who instantly take it like a shot and always shocks her mom because it’s a good drink and suppose to be sipped. So thinking maybeeee this was the same situation I sipped mine. We don’t know who is right but hey we at least had a 50/50?!?

**Pictures in the next post I wrote too much this time!