Nice

Good morning, everybody!

Today I'm writing from the lobby of our hotel in Nice.  As usual, our group is beginning our day with breakfast in our hotel which, as always, features ham.  We've decided that ham is the official meat of France; it's somewhat challenging for people who don't care for ham to find meal options for breakfast and lunch that don't include it in some way. 

Yesterday, we spent our last few hours in Paris.  We rode the Metro to the Louvre, where we had two hours to explore.  You certainly can't do the Louvre justice in two hours.  I could easily spend two weeks there and not feel like I've seen it all.  Many of our students hit most of the "high points" of the Louvre's collection:  the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, etc.

We then set off for Nice on the TGV train.  We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the train was extremely smooth, especially considering it moved at speeds up to 200 MPH.  The chance to sit down, relax, read, write in our journals, nap, and converse was a perfect change of pace from the hectic pace of Paris.  We sped through the French countryside, spotted castles and an aqueduct, and got our first breathaking glimpses of the Mediterranean.

Once in Nice, we settled into our rooms and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  A walk down the "English Promenade" and back to the hotel completed our day.

Today, we're off to Monaco, which many of us are anticipating excitedly.  Again, I'm sorry this is somewhat brief--our busy days don't leave me much time to write.

Thanks for following,
Chris