So after spending 5 blissful days in France, I’m back in Edinburgh.
I trained down to Flora’s place in Bath last Wed (23/06) and got to walk around the town on Thurs. It was quite pretty, but smaller than I’d expected. Accidentally bought 2 dresses (opps!) and then for the first time in ages went to the gym with Flo that evening. Her boyfriend Tobias arrived later on and we flew out to Nice 7am Friday (25/06). Flight was slightly delayed because the French air traffic control was on strike (very french I was told…) We met up with Uli at the Nice airport (who at that point was fretting because we were late and she didn’t check the arrivals board!). We got our car from Europcar and made our way to their friend’s Thomas L’s place in Antibes, who was flying back to UK for his friend’s wedding. We were really lucky to be able to stay at his place for most of the trip because otherwise hotel / renting flat would have been extremely expensive since it was high season!!
We then got ready for the Swedish Midsummer Festival and headed off to the beach.
For the most part, it was just like a beach party, except with the famous Frog Dance at around 10pm ish. It was a really funny experience and I had no idea what I was doing while people were pulling me in all directions during the dance!
The next day was the beginning of our quest to get tanned 
We got to beach near Antibes town centre and proceeded to roast ourselves, although being careful with some sunscreen because the sun was so strong! Finally we made our way back home to get ready for dinner with many of Flo/Tobias/Uli’s friends who used to / still works in Amadeus. I’ve not had a 3-course meal in ages and I was so stuffed by the end of it!!
Thank god we went for a long walk afterwards along the beautiful coast of Antibes!! There were so many gigantic yachts at the dock that made us drool with envy. If only…!!
We got up early-ish the next day for a little hike around Cote d’Azur.
The scenery was absolutely stunning.
Took me a little while before I got into the mood of hiking (by then I was skipping around the rocks like a hyperactive kid!) but the hike soon ended (2 hours ish). We got back to the flat to freshen up before we went into town for lunch at this place famous for its salad. I had one of the BEST dishes of my life:
Salade de fruits de mer (Seafood Salad).
Yummmmm.
Tobias and Uli both buggered off to watch World Cup after lunch (Deutschland vs England), so Flo and I decided to spend more time tanning on the beach instead. This time we made our way to Juan les Pins (JLP), where the sand was artificial, but the beach was so much nicer and less rocky and the seawater was amazing!
Unfortunately the sun went away really quickly, so we walked around JLP instead while waiting for Tobias to come pick us up after watching the football game. That was when I found the amazing purple dress I just HAD to buy, along with a pair of grey leggings to match. But then SHOCK HORROR, I realised I didn’t bring my wallet, so I paid a deposit with the 30€ I had with me and luckily the shopkeeper agreed to set it aside for me as that was the last dress!
We went out of dinner, and then went back to JLP for drinks. Uli wasn’t with us as she decided to go to a BBQ at a friend’s place after the football game. Luckily, the shop was still opened so I paid for my dress and was glowing with joy by the time I walked out of the shop holding the little brown bag! We went to a bar called Pam Pam and had the prettiest and cutest cocktails of my life!!
One of my drinks was inside a wooden MONKEY!!
I was so tempted to actually kidnap it home!!
We woke up really early the next morning to go to JLP for our last chance to beach and tan because Thomas L was coming back to Antibes that evening and we’d had to move into an hotel in Nice. By the end of the tanning mission, I was rather pleased We managed to get into Nice to return the car to Europcar by 5pm and then checked into our hotel, where we stayed for our last night in France. We went and walked around Nice’s old town, dinner, then walked along the beach a little before going for a quick drink. The beach in Nice is full of peddles instead of sand, which is not the most comfortable beach ever but nevertheless it looked quite pretty in a rather unique way. And when the waves washed up and down the pebbled shore, it made a very crisp clattering sound which was amazing.
Beach in Nice – featuring my new GORGEOUS dress & leggings from JLP
Final morning in Nice – we packed and had to check out by 11am. We left our bags in the hotel’s storage and then went out SHOPPING. We were on a mission to find a dress for Uli to attend her friend’s wedding. I swore to myself that I would not buy anything…and sod’s law, ended up making the first purchase out of the 3 girls – a floaty top from Mango. We went to some boutiques before lunch, and then Galeries Lafayette, where I bought a few things again! MAJOR EPIC FAIL. In the end I decided not to feel guilty about it, instead to just cut down my shopping in HK this summer – I mean…how often do I get to shop in FRANCE?! And come on…French people have such exquisite taste and the clothes are simply AMAZING!!
On the other hand, Uli’s dress hunt was not going well! The closest 2 dresses we found, we had to give up. One was beautiful from Burburry, which fitted perfectly but was too expensive, and SOD’s LAW, it wasn’t going to be sales until a week AFTER!! The 2nd dress – it was either a size too small or too big. We were about to give up when, finally, I spotted a blue dress buried amongst others. I grabbed it off the rack and shouted for Uli. She tried it, and it fitted perfectly. That was it. WE’D FOUND THE DRESS.
Perhaps I should just start go into a new career of being a personal shopper instead!! That would be so much more fun! 
It was time for Uli to fly back to Dresden. We waved her goodbye at the bus-stop, and then walked around Nice a little more before it was our turn to go.
Me & Flo at the top of a hill – overlooking Nice
But hey, the story doesn’t stop here…not like this…because what better way for France to show their french love than a DELAYED FLIGHT?!
Yup. Delayed for 30 minutes at least.
Well, it was actually Gatwick’s fault for the delay, but hey...everything in France either strikes, delays, or don’t come at all. We made me back to London in the end…but didn’t get to Tobias’ place in Hammersmith till about 12.30am, and by the time we crawled into bed / sofa, it was at least 1.30pm. Flo’s train from Paddington to Bath, as well as my train from Kings Cross to Edinburgh, were both at 8am…so we had to drag our sleepy butts onto the tube at about 7.10am.
Then guess what?! Yes – you guessed right – DELAY on the tube. I only JUST made it onto my train in King Cross, and trust me, running through the tube up and down the bloody stairs with my luggage was really NOT FUN!!
To make my journey even more thrilling – the air con on the train was malfunctioning, and I felt like I was in a SAUNA for 4.5hrs!! I only managed to sleep a little bit because it was so hot, and just tried to distract myself by reading my novel “The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet” by David Mitchell.
I got back to Edinburgh by 12.30pm and went for my haircut…which ended up with my hair quite a bit shorter than I’d expected. A change I suppose?!! I’m sure I’ll have posters of my new hairdo after this weekend’s graduation!
Well…this has taken me a rather long time to write…so I better get going! Not done much flat-cleaning still, and my mom is here TOMORROW!! I’m going to try and finish off the novel, get some sleep and then do more cleaning tomorrow before I go and pick up mom from the airport! Need to also sort out documents for the Removal Company as well as sending a letter to my flat agency to officially let go of my flat!! Eek!!
Goodnight y’all xx
