Nice - Cote D'Azur

Weddings seem to take me to places I wouldn’t typically visit. A dear childhood friend had invited me to be a part of her wedding in the South of France - Provence. So there I was, gearing up for another Euro trip within the space of 2 months. The difference with this trip was that I was going solo – something I had not done in years.  Oh the luxury! no hubby, no baby, no travel companion to have to compromise with, just  me, myself and myself! I had been craving some alone time, so this was perfect. I should add that this was not originally meant to be a solo trip but a series of events occurred that caused it to be so. 

Naturally, I started planning on places  to visit; For  a split second I considered going against my natural instinct and not plan… but planning won, it almost always does, I can’t help myself. Sigh. 

Some light research revealed that I would be visiting a predominantly beach city - Nice, a place synonymous to Miami with more shi shi. Since I do not value getting half baked in the sun or wearing a bathing suit, the plan was to embark on a cultural adventure of sorts - visit the 2 villages I had read about on tripadvisor – Eze and Antibes.

At this point, I will skip any facts about Nice that you can find on google. One, because I hate when bloggers regurgitate Wikipedia  and Two, because it’s boring.

 Nice was my main destination, I flew into Nice,  boarded there for a few days before heading out to Provence where the wedding took place.

Before I delve into how epic (slight exaggeration) my trip was, I like to give a budget breakdown of my travels. I do this because I think this is a very important factor for interested travelers. Yes, it is nice to see the pretty pictures and amazing activities, but for regular people like me, what I want to know once I have established an interest is, can I afford it? And not a lot of blogs show a cost break out.

Airfare       Delta roundtrip JFK – Nice - $1387 (worst food everrr)

Lodging     Airbnb, Nice - $246 (3 nights)

         Airbnb Contignac - $145 (2nights)

Pocket Money – 500 euros (with a goal not to spend it all –feel free to judge me)  

I arrived in Nice in the afternoon and was completely unprepared for the wave of heat that engulfed me. It was October and the temperature was bordering the 80’s - my iPhone temperature forecast obviously did not do its job, because I did not pack for summer.

I stayed at the cutest little airbnb right off  Promenade de Anglais (the main strip along the beach front) couple of streets behind the Negresco hotel (famous people stay here). I highly recommend this airbnb, Emmanuelle who runs the place is a sweetheart. The ride from the airport to her place was 16 mins busride, this is a plus plus if you’ve had a long journey down. One more thing, if you ever stay here, no need to waste money on a taxi (35 euros); the bus 98 right outside the airport terminal will take you straight to her stop for 7euros.

A quick shower and I hit the streets to explore the beautiful town where the rich and famous journey to frolick in the sun. 

Figured i'd stick my feet in the Mediterranean sea

I strolled down to the Vielle Ville (Old town) where there are tons of restaurants, little shops and an open market. 

South of France is known for its Lavendar

I later ended at Place Massena the main square; here, you see 7 men seating in different positions on poles. I was told that these men represent the 7 continents; at night, they are lit in different colors signifying the different conversations being had, at some point during the course of the night they all change into 1 color symbolizing that an agreement  has been made and they stand as a united front. Isn’t that beautiful? Only if the world would work that way;  I loved the idea of this that I of course returned later to take pictures.  

PS: You can see the whole of Nice, or at least all that is worth seeing in 5 hours. 

Fashion is Art : Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum

CameraShy Challenge - Week 3: Routine

CameraShy Take 52 Challenge - Week 2: CRISP

Picture  submitted for Week 2 challenge

Week 1: Revitalize – Cup’a Chia Seeds

Hello and Happy New Year. I decided to skip the whole “look-what-my-family-did-for-christmas” or “how-to-have-an-awesome-newyear-party” posts.

Outside of making an effort to use another 10 percent of my brain capacity, it’s a no-resolutions kind of year this year.  It’s all about taking things day by day and one step at a time. In that light , one of the things I seem to be drawn to is photography, trick photography to be exact but since I know zilch about photography, I’m starting from the basics – How do I turn on a camera?!?!

Luckily, I got an entry level SLR for my last birthday from the adorable Hubs,so, the plan is to spend the next  11 months learning all the nooks and crannies of this nifty device.

Step 1: Research....

Through immeasurable amounts of googling + youtubing things like aperture, shutter speed, iso, noise, white balance ?!?! I  stumbled across a photography blog (Camera Shy) that does a yearly challenge which encourages enthusiasts to shoot in manual mode . The premise of the  “CameraShy Take52 Challenge”  is become a better photographer so that every shot is as deliberate as can be.

How it Works: A new word is released each week;  the challenge observers are supposed to capture an image that is inspired by the word , explain the image and provide stats used to capture that image.

Every week, I will post my image from the challenge; I might also include other images shot on my own which I think are great - screeeech!!!- one step at a time no?

With that said, this is my photography journey, now watch me kick photography's ass :) Ninja Pose

Step 2: Do it 

Week 1 - Revitalize

The Hubs always puts Chia seeds in his oatmeal and tea every morning; the stuff looks sorta kinda sketchy like something that tastes funky. Other than making sure I replenish it when it runs out, I’ve never given it a moments glance; that is, until it popped up on my yahoo news as a superfood (dont judge me :) . A little more research and I find that it has a truck load of healthy benefits that does wonders to revitalize the system. So I’ve decided I’d drink a cup of chia seeds with my glass of water as often as possible. On a side note, it actually has no taste, and after a few minutes in water the seeds plump up taking on a gel-like form. The texture is a bit weird, and now I see why people combine this stuff with other things. Try some Chia seeds, Trader Joes has them for less than 5 bucks.  

I don’t mean to ruin it for anyone, but am I the only one who thinks this looks like a whole bunch of dead ants?

Camera: Nikon D3200

Lens: 18-55mm

Aperture:  F5

Shutter speed: 1/25 sec

ISO: 100

Other : Hand held 

Las Queridas

Chez Lucienne
Address: 308 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027
212-289-5555
Landmark - Red Rooster