Ah, bonjour!

Hello, this is your blogger speaking... Yep, she's at it again!

I have been in France, or the south of France to be more specific, for 2 days now.

My parents and I arrived at the airport massively early so we decided to get the check-in out of the way. I was obviously going to France with a different airline to Latvia and sadly did not get away with my excess baggage this time, all 26kg to be precise *shakes head*. To brush off the shame, my dad treated me to my last meal in England for 4 whole months.

A traditional full English for Dad.

A ham and cheese toastie and a bucket of chips for moi.

Shortly after taking these photos, my camera died. Oops. I remembered to pack my charger but didn't actually charge my camera before I left! Whilst finishing my toastie, I thought it would be wise to ask my mum for a few French stock phrases - a bit late don't ya think?! I remember two phrases: "je suis fatigee" and "parle-vous anglais?" They have definitely come in handy so far. I must admit that leaving England was more emotional this time round. A tear nearly fell when waving goodbye to my parents at customs, but I stayed strong. Once I start crying, I can't stop. My 19th birthday is a perfect example of this.

I had a great seat on the plane, a window seat (of course) over the front of the left wing. The complimentary chicken mayo roll and can of sprite topped it off! Even though I was fatigee I couldn't sleep on the plane. It was probably the mixture of anxiety, excitement and sadness bubbling up inside me. Suddenly, we were hovering over the Mediterranean Sea, rich blue in colour, overlooking Nice. Yachts, swimming pools in every back garden and rocky mountains... paradise in my eyes.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport (photo courtesy of my new
American housemate since my camera died!)

After hauling my suitcase off the carousel, I went to the front entrance of the airport and used my first French line with a taxi driver: "Parle-vous anglais?" I showed him my apartment's address on my phone and we were soon on our way, with a small tour of the town thrown in there too. After a tour of the apartment, I was taken through the contracts and keys by the letting agents before my American housemate arrived. Our other housemate was arriving the next day.

After an hour of unpacking and bed-making...

My housemate and I, each unpacked and relaxed, found a cosy restaurant for our first meal together in France - parfait!

With my camera all charged up, taking photos of my apartment's view was the first thing I did this morning.

Fort Carré, a 16th century fort.

Mountain climbing anybody?

After our third housemate from London arrived, we went for a walk into the town and came across many interesting things along the way...

A huge vending machine!

My first breakfast in France:

So much choice!

I had to go for a croissant - can you get any more French than that?!

Enjoying our petit dejeuner.

Full of energy, we took a lovely stroll into the old town of Antibes, which very much reminded me of Old Riga.

This is so French.

Get your fresh fruit and veg!

Beautiful.

I was so tempted.

Antibes bus station.

My apartment in 20 years' time.

My first tourist pose.

Every supermarket was closed apart from one, Monoprix, which not only had groceries but clothes too. I think the prices of everything had me in shock for a while, until we decided we would buy something for dinner tonight and write a shopping list instead. Guess what aisle I went to first:

Les biscuits.

At least we knew what kind of products were available. Organisation is key, particularly when you have a very (and I mean very) tight student budget.

Pre-dinner snack.

My aims for this week are:

• To attend my Orientation Day (tomorrow) at the university campus
• Explore the local town (museums/guided tours)
• Purchase home insurance - French law apparently
• Contact family friends living in the south
• Buy a French SIM card
• Find local SGI members
• House and food shopping
• Visit the beach - number one priority
• Get some sleep!

"Gabe" is now my nickname, kindly given to me by my American housemate. I still can't believe I'm in France...

"No matter what our personal circumstances may be, if we ourselves become a source of light, then there will be no darkness in the world" - Daisaku Ikeda