For the final school-sponsored trip I made a return to southern France where I visited Nice and Monaco with my parents during the summer before my junior year in high school. The majority of GIF students jumped onto two buses bound for the French Riviera to enjoy a bit of R&R before the craziness of finals week descended upon us.
Our first day in Nice we went for a walking tour of the city and enjoyed lunch at Wayne's pub before hitting the rocky beach to bask in the sunshine. That night I had a wonderful girls night out with my friends Hannah and Maggie in the market area of the old city.
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| Michelle, Lindsay and I embark on our final adventure together |
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| Here comes the sun . . . |
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Reminisces from my first trip to southern France:
"Daddy, Daddy, I want the big white one!" |
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| Cote d'Azure |
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| Fruit Market |
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| Alex, Nicole and I enjoying our lunch at Waynes |
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| Me, Colleen, and Stephanie |
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| Last trip as roommates |
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| Michelle and Me |
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| Alyse, Lindsay and Peter |
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| Beaching |
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| Rough life |
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| Peter and Erin |
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| Matt contemplating the infinite horizon, or something... |
The next day we went on a day trip to Aix en Provence, a two-hour drive from the Cote d'Azure in the warm hills of the Provence region. The city, similar to the to the towns of home-sweet-Tuscany, was rich with history and decorated with countless fountains. My favorite part of the visit consisted of browsing the Saturday market which offered various items from locally-made soaps to antique jewelry and everything in between. After a few friends and I enjoyed glass of wine at a cafe to beat the heat, we headed back to Nice and enjoyed a quiet evening filled with crepes and laughter.
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| Tree-lined avenue at Aix |
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| Market |
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| Street performer |
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| Fabric ala Provence |
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| Old Belfry |
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| Lovely little village feel |
We left for Florence on Sunday, making a pit stop along the way at the small country of Monaco. Although the weather there was not as good as my last visit, I spent an enjoyable afternoon wandering around the country (yep, it's that small) with a few friends. We made it back to Florence later that evening and faced the looming reality of finals, though not before we celebrated the semester at the farewell dinner. There were many pictures taken, wine bottles emptied, and tears shed that night, but it proved to be a lovely farewell for all of us who had become like family in Firenze.
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Me and Joseph—we were just two kids from North
Kitsap, back before we embarked on the semester of a
lifetime. |
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| Lindsay, Peter and I—pensione-mates. |
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Me and Shelley, the dean of Student Life
for GIF |
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Me, Prof. Horvath and Maggie—we enjoyed her Love in
the Renaissance class bright and early, when we showed
up on time that is... |
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| Nicole and Me, roommates and friends |
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Me and Dean Burke—he provided me with
a new perspective on philosophy and helped
make the semester unfogettable |
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