This past weekend I was fortunate enough to visit two new cities! (thank Iberia for the cheap flights!). I went to Nice, France and Monte Carlo, Monaco. Both cities were absolutely stunning. On Friday night my friends and I flew from Madrid to Nice. We got in late and went to straight to our hostel. In our room we met an 80 year old French lady. She insisted on telling us her life story exclusively in French! She was so nice and shared treats with us but we were so confused. My friend, Sarah, carried the conversation with google translate and her month long french class she took years ago.

The next morning we woke up early and enjoyed my favorite french food, croissants of course! Then we explored the city. We walked the famous Promenade des Anglais along the beach. The we made our way to castle hill to soak in the best views of the city. In the afternoon we took a tour of Eze and Monaco. Before we left Nice our guide stopped at two of the best lookout points for stunning views of the city. Eze is the oldest medieval city in France. I had so much fun exploring the hilly streets. I even snuck away and bought a beautiful water color painting. After Eze we took a tour of the oldest perfumeries in the world. I learned more about perfume and how its made than I ever imagined! I bought perfume from Fragonard and I am obsessed with it. Next we made our way into Monaco. Monaco is the 24th country I've been to! Once in the city we drove the route of the formula one race. The bummer was that we could only drive a fraction of the speed that the race cars go. After that we visited the Casino de Monte Carlo. Our final stop of the excursion was to the royal palace of Monaco. By the time we arrive the sun had sunk and the country of Monaco was illuminated with lights. We ended our day with sushi in nice and a wine night back at our hostel.

On Sunday morning we packed up our stuff and left the hostel. We enjoyed breakfast at a cute hipster place. We then made our way to the Nice Museum of Modern Art. Personally, I didn't love the museum but that is just my preferences! The best part of the museum was the roof top terrace. The museum is located in the middle of Nice so we enjoyed panoramic views of the entire city. After the museum we wondered the beautiful streets until we stumbled upon a place to eat lunch. Later that afternoon we headed to the airport and sadly said farewell to the French Rivera.