Snorkeling for perspective

A few days ago, my housemate Katie and I found a snorkel set in my bedroom. On a whim, we decided to take the snorkel mask (not the mouthpiece, gross) to the beach with us to see if it was any good. Holy moly, let me tell you, that snorkel mask has become my number one form of entertainment the past few days. The water is clear in the Mediterranean anyway, but combine that with the ability to see the the bottom of the sea after the pebbles shelve away from the shore and you, my friend, have one #winning combination.



From an idea presented by my very own wonderful mother, this blog post is dedicated to perceiving French life as through American snorkel goggles. This blog post is not meant to complain about French life, but rather point out some of the more amusing differences.

For example, Nice is quite known for the "bling bling" lifestyle - nice cars pass you by on the streets, older men court younger women, flashy hotels line the Promenade. But nothing, however, prepared me for this little gem:



This rather dapper gentlemen just beyond Katie's legs is wearing a HUGE gold cross necklace, along with an itty bitty Speedo bathing suit. Talk about flashy! When he jumped into the sea to take a swim, Katie and I weren't sure if he was going to be able to float. Speaking of the beach, of course there's the whole "nude beach" scene. Nice does have it's fair share of topless-ness, but luckily (or maybe not so luckily), the vast majority of these topless women is contained to the population over 60. The locals don't give it a second thought.


In leaving the beach, one may find odd additions to buildings around any corner. Not only have I see a carousel within a hotel dining room, but one statue in particular has zero explanation as to why it's there, what it represents, and why the owners of this building decided to leave it there.



Here's a pretty shot I lifted off of another assistant (and friend of mine), Ann.

The soaps pictured here are native to Marseilles, which is just a short train trip away. However, the smells (and colors) are incredible. It's different to visualize a city being known for its soaps, but Marseilles does it right.

Finally, the vibrancy of the Old Town here is incredible compared to the steel beams and dark architecture in Chicago. It all just seems so... French




Get ready for a blog post to come very very soon.... the "teacher-in-training" snorkel mask!!

Hugs and kisses to everyone back home!
Molly