Nice and One Year Anniversary! — Ariel Photographie

Today marks my one year anniversary of living in Tunis. I have all kinds of reflections on that in another blog post I'm working on... I haven't written since I went to Nice and am feeling a bit behind! So, I am sorry if this post is a bit disjointed.

I arrived in Tunis on April 12th last year, and I left the States on the 11th. It really does not feel like a year has gone by. I spent today shopping and hanging out in La Marsa, serendipitously with two of the first people I met in Tunisia about a year ago. The rest of the day was dedicated to cleaning (super exciting). Winter has FINALLY left Tunis and it is slowly getting warmer, which means I can open all my windows and figure out the spiderweb situation. I want to leave a few spiders to combat the mosquitoes that will arrive soon. I'm really excited for the heat, but I am sure we'll be longing for the cold soon, because I have heard from many people that this summer is supposed to be crazy hot. Since I thought last summer was hot, I'm not sure what to expect...

Anyway, Nice:

This was my first trip to France ever and it couldn't have been better. We rented an apartment for a week in old town Nice and went on day trips from there.

The trip started off a little rocky. But between lost baggage and bus strikes, we got the misfortunes out of the way early. We spent the first few days wandering around Nice and enjoying the food and wine. For those of us who are Tunis-based, the grocery stores and markets seemed magical. The cheap wine and cheese made everyone happy, but I almost cried when I walked into a grocery store and saw red peppers, lettuce, and asparagus next to each other! The weather was hazy, but mostly clear and the beaches were beautiful. I spent a decent amount of time stalking dogs and trying to speak to them and their owners in French...

The rest of the trip is better described in the pictures below.