Impressions
I landed in Paris today and did quite a bit of the site seeing stuff.  The only bad thing?  It’s raining, and it looks like it’ll rain the whole weekend.  I have the best luck.  I end up in Paris when it’s freezing cold and raining/hailing.  Well I’ll just have to make the best of it.  I’ll admit, I’m tired from all the walking but I’m happy about it.  At least there are tons of people around and I can actually walk somewhere.

What I Did
Car to Nice Airport
Quick breakfast at Ouishop (Airport quick stop food)
Plane to Paris
Metro to Hotel de l’Exposition
Metro to Notre Dame area
Walk to Centre Pompidou, Hotel de Villa, Notre Dame
Quick bite at La Rosace (Crepes and Cafe food)
Tour Notre Dame
Walk to Hotel de l’Exposition, exploring along the way
Rest at hotel from cold
Dinner at Le Leonard Cafe (Bar food)
Walk to Rue St Denis area, where they have some night life, exploring and snacking
Walk back to Hotel de l’Exposition

Impressions
The last night I’m here with the guys from NY. The London guys already left to go back, and the NY guys are leaving tomorrow. We went to Cannes and hung out at a bar in the area. Cannes isn’t the most happening city, but after a few days of boredom being in a rural country area, even this small city seems lively.  At least they have some people walking the streets.

Tomorrow Paris.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to Kontraste Restaurant (Bar food) for drinks and food
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
We couldn’t go out too far for dinner because we have to take our certification exams tomorrow. We ate at one of the French restaurants within walking distance and came back to prepare for our exams. Oh, and I found out that our hotel is near the border of the towns of Valbonne and Mouans Sartoux since the restaurant is in Mouans Sartoux.

One more day before Paris.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Car to Restaurant Bleu Lavande in the town of Mouans Sartoux (French food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
So there aren’t too many places left to visit near us, at least not at the evenings after work. Since most of the places around here closes by 7:30 PM, it really puts a damper on one’s social life.  Did I mention I hate it being so empty here?

We stayed near our own town and just ate dinner a this bar/restaurant. I can’t wait for the weekend.  I’m flying out to Paris. It better be more lively there than here, or I’m going to have a very bad impression of France after my trip.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Car to Brasserie-Pizzeria Le Montparnasse (Bar food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
We went to a small bar in Valbonne after work.  Of course, the bar closes at 7:30 PM.  Boy, do I miss New York.  I want to go home already.  I’m really getting sick of being in here.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to Cafe Latin (Bar)
Walk to Cafe Des Arcades (Italian food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
Not much to report today.  We were still tired from the past week so we kept it nice and simple.  We stayed in our small little town of Valbonne and tried a local French resturaunt here.  The food was really good.  I have to say, the French really do make great food, and I’m enjoying every taste and bite of it.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Walk to Le Bois Doré (French food)
Walk back to La Bastide de Valbonne

2008.12.07

Impressions
Tired. Exhausted. That’s how we all felt today so our goal was to keep it relaxed today. We visited the city of Cannes, best known for the Cannes Film Festival. The city was nice, but the most interesting part was visiting the island of Île Sainte-Marguerite and the fortress prison of the Man in the Iron Mask. Yes, obviously you learn some history from the fortress, but I was most impressed by the sea. This was the first time I got a chance to see the sea up close, and it’s gorgeous.  The water is clear, not murky and dirty like NY. It’s too bad I’m here in the winter. I’m sure this place would be even more spectacular during the summers.

What I Did
Car to Cannes
Lunch at Quai 55 (French food)
Walk around pier
Ferry to Île Sainte-Marguerite
Tour Fort Royal and area
Ferry to Cannes
Car to Nice
Dinner at Noori’s Restaurant Indien (Indian food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
Finally a weekend.  No work.  Yay.  What did we do with out time?  We decided to visit the famous Monte-Carlo in Monaco and Milan in Italy.

Spectacular.  That’s the first thing that popped into my mind as we drove along the cliff next to the coastline towards Monaco.  The landscape is gorgeous by itself, but to see the clear sea as far as the eye can see is so surreal.

Monaco really is a small country, but you can instantly tell it is a rich country. The streets are super clean and you see all these expensive cars all over the place. Having a beautify coastline just adds to the country’s already prestigious reputation.

Milan… The first thing that pops into my mind is hectic.  People here CANNOT drive. I don’t think they follow any traffic laws, as drivers seem to break all traffic laws, motorcycles cut through even the tiniest of spaces and people ignore traffic lights and run out which ever way they want. I thought New York City was bad, but this place makes New York look civilized. With that said, I enjoyed it there.  This is definitely a big city, with the streets crowded with people walking all over the place, graffiti all over the place, and tourist walking around all over the place. The cathedrals were amazing.  Oh, and they have brick streets in quite a few places rather than paved roads, which adds a nice touch of history to the area, but makes it a pain  to drive over.

What I Did
Car to Monaco
Shop at Centre Commercial de Fontvielle
Walk to Palais Princier (official residence of the Prince of Monaco)
Car to Monte-Carlo Casino and walk around the area
Car to Italy
Quick lunch at Autogrill (rest stop pizza)
Car to Milan
Walk to Duomo di Milano
Walk through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Dinner at Pizzeria-Ristorante Dogana (Pizza and Italian food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
After work, we drove to Nice, one of the larger cities in the area. It felt like a REAL city.  What do I mean by that?  There were actually other people there.  There were people walking in the streets, performers begging for change, homeless people begging for change, etc.  Ok, so I shouldn’t be happy about there being homeless people, but I was happy to actually see a live civilization in after 6 PM.  I thought I would leave here thinking this whole area is a ghost town.  We had dinner at a touristy restaurant, but I did not care because there were quite a bit of people around and quite a bit o restaurants that were open in the area.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Car to Sophia Antipolis to pick up other coworkers for dinner
Car to Nice for dinner at La Pizza (Italian food)
Walk around Nice and explore the city
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

Impressions
I’m really getting bored of this town.  I’m a city boy and this rural area is not mixing well with me. We decided to stay in our small town and try one of the local restaurants within walking distance. Only problem was there was only one restaurant open.  At least the food was good, and this time it was French food.

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Walk to Les Pierres Rouges (French food) for dinner
Walk back to La Bastide de Valbonne