Nice, France - Gypsies aren't very Nice

After one week of Finance class we had officially finished the first half of the 'semester' and had our first midterm. After the test our group of about 20 packed up and headed to the nearest train station down the street in Capolago to go on our first weekend trip. We took 3 different trains and 8 hours to get to Nice, France. Our first stop was at Milano Centrale in Milan, Italy. We had a 2 hour layover to walk around the city and stop at an authentic Italian pizza place. 6 euros for an entire pizza!! Everyone thought that was a decent price for a slice. It was unbelievable. After the long train ride our final stop was in Ventimiglia, France before we switched to a smaller, local train to end up in Nice. On that ride I really enjoyed talking to a couple people from London who were literally backpacking through Europe.  They had tents and everything and were banking on sleeping somewhere on the beach for the weekend. 

Italian Pizza photo credit: Holland Anderson

When we finally made it to Nice, it was getting dark and the city looked amazing. Everything was lit up and we saw everything from cathedrals to lights strung across the streets. After we got checked into our hostel we all went down to the hostel bar to hangout. There where all kinds of people from different countries. My favorite part was talking to 3 Norwegians for almost an hour. I basically explained to them the entire United States political system and now feel fairly well versed in Norway's. After the hostel we went to the world famous Wayne's Bar in downtown Nice. I was surprised to find out that even in a French bar American music dominates. There was a live band playing everything from Stevie Wonder to the Rolling Stones. Not only was the music in English, but all the locals knew all the words as well. After leaving Wayne's Bar we stopped for some good old fashioned American fast food at a place called Burger Express. Needless to say it was a very cultured meal. This is when things got interesting. After Burger Express we walked to the beach, and after seeing the French Riviera for the first time in my life I was definitely getting in. 

Amazing cathedral lit up at night

The beach was completely smooth rocks with no sand and the water seemed saltier than what I am used to in the Atlantic. One of the coolest experiences of my life turned to not so great pretty quickly. As we were all getting out of the ocean I noticed my shirt wasn't where I left it. At first I figured the girl that was watching our stuff just moved it closer but that wasn't the case. I lost my shorts, shirt, belt, watch, wallet, phone, and 2 cards. In all our group lost a few more wallets, one passport, one eurail pass, a kindle fire, multiple phones, and an ipod. The term American idiots had never been more clear to me. Although it could have been much worse, everyone knows not to leave things out on a beach at night in a foreign country. The opportunity just seemed too much fun at the time. We all learned a valuable lesson and everyone was able to get in contact with their parents to cancel credit cards and what not. My dad in particular was glad to hear that everyone was safe and that I still had my passport. I'm sure I won't hear the end of this one for a while though, I deserve it. 

Cap d'Ail

The next morning we woke up paranoid of thieves and ready to check out Nice. Being a beach town, Nice looks even cooler during the day than it does at night. Our hostel was a short walk to the city center which is a plaza surrounded by shops, restaurants, and a huge fountain in the middle. We sat there and I had my first french crepe. Bananas and Nutella, it was excellent. After breakfast we took a bus to a nearby beach called Cap d'Ail. From the bus stop it was a pretty long walk but it was totally worth it. There were huge cliffs coming up from the water and once again smooth rocks instead of sand. We spent most of the day at the beach relaxing and taking pictures of the area. After the beach we made it back to the hostel in time for dinner. We were all ready for an authentic french dinner, but when we got to the restaurant it ended up being Italian food. I can't complain though, it was still an great meal after a long day. After dinner we hung out at the hostel bar and went to a club in downtown Nice for my friend Stefanie's 21st birthday. My highlight of the night was talking to a flight crew that was hanging out at the bar. They said they worked for an airline that flew out of Saudi Arabia all over the world. It was 3 people from Michigan, New Zealand, and London. It is always so interesting to talk to people from other cultures and find out their different views on the world. We made it back to the hostel that night with all our possessions.

Crammed in the aisle for a 5 hour train ride

The next morning we had time for one more french meal before we had to get to the train station. I ordered a sandwich on a baguette with chicken and brie and it was absolutely delicious. The train ride was mostly uneventful except for the fact we did not get reservations for the 5 hour leg. We had to sit in the aisle for most of the time, bouncing back in forth between trying to sneak into first class and sitting in between the cars. We had another hour layover in the Milan train station, but this time just stayed there and got some pizza until our train. We finally made it back to Riva at around 10 pm and everyone was exhausted after our first weekend adventure.

Riva San Vitale

We arrived in Riva San Vitale by bus on Friday August 17th after hitting 5 cities, 4 airports, 3 states, 2 countries, and 1 Buffalo Wild Wings. The bus ride was long after the driver got lost and drove past Riva 3 different times from across Lake Lugano. I am living in the Villa Maderni in Riva with 15 other business students and 12 architecture students from Virginia Tech.

Villa Maderni

 

Everything about Riva so far is awesome. There is a beach close by with access to Lake Lugano, with Monte Generoso high in the sky right on the edge. On the other side of Lake Lugano is Mt San Giorgio. It reaches over 1,000 meters at its peak and we let our wonderful house mom Daniella talk us in to hiking up it early Sunday morning. It ended up being way more of a challenge that any of us expected. In all it took about 8 hours from start to finish. Once we reached the top, it was all worth it. The views were unbelievable and it was a good chance to get to know everyone in the program. On the way back we walked down the back side of the mountain through Daniella's hometown of Meride. She showed us around and it was only a short walk from there back to Riva.

The Group at the top of Mt. San Giorgio

Since then I have had plenty of time to wander around the town of Riva San Vitale and love every part of it. All the locals are very nice and patient as a group of 50 rowdy American 20 year olds roam their streets. Everyone from the cashiers at the local grocery store to the bartenders is very nice and helpful. It is cool to be there with architecture students as well because during some of my walks around town I have noticed really cool things about some of the buildings that I wouldn't otherwise.

After the first weekend was over we were sent back to reality with our first day of classes. In this program we are able to travel every weekend and 3 week longs breaks. In order for this to be possible and still take 21 credit hours of classes we have to be in class 6 to 8 hours a day. It seems like a lot, but it is completely worth it. My desk in the classroom is literally 3 steps from my bed and anytime I want I can turn around and look out the window to see Lake Lugano and Monte Generoso. Needless to say we are spoiled.

I will try my best to keep this updated as the semester goes on, hopefully after each place I travel too. Feel free to read it once, or never again but I am very excited to share all my adventures with all my friends and family!