By Megan Henning & Peyton Purpura
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there! Today we started off by waking up around 8:30 in the morning and getting breakfast before we had to meet in the lobby of the hotel in Milan, Italy at 9:45 to check out. After checking out we loaded onto the bus. The bus was a double-decker and we had so much space to ourselves to relax for the five-ish hour drive to Nice, France.
Today on the bus, Brooklyn learned that you should not put sparkling water in a water bottle because due to the carbonation, it will explode everywhere. Her bath of sparkling water was definitely the highlight of our bus ride; most likely it was not hers. Definitely a learning experience!
It was awesome to see some of the views from the coastline as we were driving, as well as the mountainous landscape. About halfway through the trip we stopped at a gas station and got some lunch. We all agreed it was a nicer gas station than most of which we are accustomed to in the United States. They had nice bathrooms and even made fresh food/sandwiches as well.
We arrived at the hotel around 4 pm and the scenery was breathtaking. At this time, the city was very lively, we drove past parks, shops, restaurants, etc. The marina, full of boats and yachts, was a stunning turquoise color with the sun reflecting off the surface. After we checked into the hotel, we were told that the rest of the day was independent free time to explore and choose where to go.
We split into groups and started exploring the city. We ended up at the beach and started walking along the shore towards the marina. Some of the group hiked up to an overlook spot that included a waterfall and park, while the others kept walking and sightseeing.
After, we walked towards the marina to meet up with the group and have dinner at Gigi Tavola. Peyton got a gluten-free margarita pizza and Megan got Ravioli; both were extremely good. Nicole branched out and got a form of raw meat that unfortunately is not pictured, but she enjoyed it as well, much to our surprise.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel because the consensus of the group was that we were exhausted, sore, and ready to get off our feet and relax.
All in all, this was one of our favorite days because of the beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and delicious food. Nice is and will definitely be remembered as one of the major highlights of the trip.