Quite a NICE day.

I love the ocean.

Have I mentioned that?

I got a good, solid dose of rolling coastlines and shimmering blue waves crashing against rocky beaches today in a famous southern France vacation spot, Nice.

The gals and I headed to the 4th largest city in France Sunday morning with a group of other American students to spend the last day of Carnivale on the palm tree- lined Promenade D'Anglais.

When you first pull into Nice it feels a little like you are heading to LAX, as the palm trees are plentiful and line all the streets. The lightly clouded sky is a perfect blue, with patches of golden sunlight beaming through.

We started the morning off with hot chocolates and cafe au laits so we could perk up after the 3 hour bus ride from Aix. The streets were busy with anticipation for the coming parade later in the afternoon. There were all manner of people dressed in costumes as pirates and princesses. Colorful masks, like those used for Mardi Gras were plentiful on the faces of attendees of all ages.

The best part about Nice is that it is a big town with a small town feel. Nikki, Sarah and I made our way into the "old city" and spent the morning walking up Lombard Street- style alleyways and in and out of both vintage and kitchy tourist shops alike.

We splurged for lunch and went to this fabulous Italian restaurant right in the center of town and had delicious pizza and pasta. It was a long, leisurely, 2 1/2 hour lunch...a great break from the stress that has been school lately.

In the afternoon, it was of course, The Carnivale. Like Mardi Gras, Carnivale is a huge party that celebrates/kicks off the beginning of Lent.

The official day of Carnivale is actually February 16th this year, as that is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday...but in Nice it is celebrated every Sunday the whole month of February.

Venice, Italy is where the largest and most famous Carnivale takes place, and it officially ended February 16th. So strict!

Carnivale is every colorful, and I'll admit, a little bizzare to me. The floats were themed, which was cool because it was a blue planet/environmental theme this year...so the huge float of President Obama was holding trees in his hand. There were also floats of corn husks and a lot of dancing trees.

Most of our viewing of the parade was done from the beach! We perched ourselves at a seaside cafe with darling plastic, white outdoor furniture that belonged at the beach and sipped more beverages as the floats glided past.

It was an absolutely perfect day.