Glamor & glitter of the French Riviera

As a 17-year-old I went to the French Riviera, a famous Mediterranean glamorous beauty for my graduation trip. A five days long journey we started one warm evening in Varaždin and after 14 hours of  bus ride we settled at hotel Azur in Nice. Hotel’s exterior was modest and at first glance it didn’t delight us, but the interior was nicely decorated, with everything you need in double or triple rooms. But the hotel wasn’t located in attractive nor idyllic area – a poor neighborhood in which quarrel and fight are common. The hotel was only 10 minutes from the tram station that leads to the center of Nice. Trams are modern there, unlike ours in Zagreb, but also more expensive and with frequent and strict control, so we only once took the tram, just to try it , and it was nicer to walk half an hour to the beautiful turquoise coast.

The weather was great – warm and sunny, so we were able to swim in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. Promenade de Anglais walkway stretches about 6 kilometers along the coast , where during the summer nights there is a little dance floor where young people dance in the rhythm of music. The other option for having fun and dancing was going to the night clubs which are very expensive, so just for entering the night club you could pay around 15 euros, not to mention the prices of drinks – for example, juice-vodka could cost you 25 euros, which was not acceptable for high school budget.

However, since we were on school trip, we had to learn something while we were there. So we visited Matisse Museum in Nice and of course Monaco and Monte Carlo. Monaco, the city-state, which I remembered for Monaco’s princess and  American actress, the beautiful Grace Kelly, who lost her life when she was a 52 year old, in a car accident when driving to Monte Carlo. In  Monaco I enjoyed Jardin Exotico de Monaco, a wonderful botanical garden from which you can see the luxurious Monte Carlo, Principality of Monaco known for its casinos, the Monaco Grand Prix, World Championship in boxing and unavoidable fashion and luxury contents.

Cannes, famous for its film festival (Le Festival International du Film de Cannes), held in May in Palais des Festivals, and beautiful sandy beaches – La Croisette, was our next stop. I was particularly impressed with Walk of Fame, where many movie stars and other famous but significant people left their palm prints. But enjoying the view of the beautiful blue sea and walking on warm sandy beaches was priceless.

Last stop of our graduation trip to the Côte d’Azur was the most fragrant place, not only in the Côte d’Azur, but in the whole France – Grasse. The center of the French perfume industry, one of the best in the world. We had the opportunity to visit a “demonstration” factory in which friendly staff has guided us through the entire process of production of perfume.

Au revoir.

By: Ema Vuković

Čari i blještavilo francuske rivijere

Kao 17-godišnjakinja maturalno putovanje provela sam na Azurnoj obali poznatoj po sredozemnoj ljepoti, ali i glamuru. Na putovanje dugo pet dana krenuli smo jedne tople večeri iz Varaždina te smo se nakon 14 sati vožnje autobusom smjestili u hotel Azur u Nici. Hotel je izvana bio skroman i na prvi pogled nas nije oduševio, no iznutra je bio lijepo uređen, sa svime potrebnim u dvokrevetnim ili trokrevetnim sobama. Ono što nikako nije bilo privlačno i idilično kod hotela je kvart u kojem je smješten – siromašna četvrt u kojoj su svađe i tučnjave česta pojava. Sam hotel bio je udaljen 10 minuta pješice od tramvajske stanice koji vodi do samog centra Nice. Tramvaji su za razliku od naših zagrebačkih moderni, ali i skuplji te uz česte i stroge kontrole, tako da smo se tramvajem provozali reda radi, a i bilo je ljepše prošetat se samo pola sata do predivne tirkizne obale.

Vrijeme je bilo odlično – toplo i sunčano, tako da smo se mogli i kupati u predivnom Sredozemnom moru. Duž obale proteže se Promenade de Anglais, šetnica duga oko 6 kilometara, na kojoj u ljetnim noćima slože mali plesni podij na kojem mladi plešu u ritmu glazbe. Inače je izlazak u noće klubove veoma skup pa bi sam ulazak u noćni klub mogli platiti oko 15 eura, a o cijenama pića da ne govorim – primjerice juice-vodka od 2 dl koštala je 25 eura, što za naš skroman srednjoškolski budžet nije bilo prihvatljivo. No, pošto smo ipak bili na maturalnom putovanju, morali smo nešto i naučiti. Tako smo u Nici posjetili Matisseov muzej te naravno Monaco i Monte Carlo. Monaco, grad-državu, između ostalog zapamtila sam po američkoj glumici i monegaškoj princezi, predivnoj Grace Kelly, koja je život izgubila u 53. godini u automobilskoj nesreći, kada je vozeći se prema Monte Carlu u jednom od zavoja sletila s ceste , kojom smo se i mi vozili. Iz Monaca mi je u lijepom sjećanju ostao i Jardin exotico de Monaco, predivan botanički vrt koji pruža pogled na raskošan Monte Carlo, dio kneževine Monaco poznat po brojnim casinima, VN Monaca, svjetskim prvenstvima u boksu te nezaobilanim bogatim modnim sadržajima i luksuzu.

Cannes, poznat po filmskom festivalu (Le Festival international du film de Cannes) koji se održava u svibnju u Palasis des Festivals, i prekrasnim pješčanim plažama – La Croissete bio nam je sljedeća postaja. Posebno me se dojmilo šetalište slavnih, gdje je mnogo zvijezda iz flimske, ali i drugih umjestnosti ostavilo otiske dlanova. No, uživanje u pogledu na predivno azurno-plavo more i hodanje po jednako lijepim pješčanim plažama je neprocjenjivo.

Zadnja stanica našeg maturalnog putovanja Azurnom obalom bilo je najmirisnije mjesto ne samo Azurne obale, već i cijele Francuske – Grasse. Sjedište francuske industrije parfema, jedne od najboljih u svijetu. Imali smo priliku posjetiti „pokazne“ tvornice gdje nas je ljubazno osoblje provelo kroz cijeli proces proizvodnje parfema.

Nadam se da ste uživali u putovanju u kojem sam vas provela kroz Azurnu obalu kakvu ja pamtim. Au revoir.

Ema Vuković