Je manque la France

It's been well over a year since I've returned from France, but I still think about it pretty much everyday. My desire to go back has not diminished one bit since I got off the plane in Miami last year. There are so many things that helped shape my time there, so allow me a few moments of nostalgia to the things I miss the most...

• The snack stand at the beach across the street from the school where I bought the same same sandwich for lunch everyday--saucisson sans buerre (salami, no butter)
• Walking by myself down the Rue d'Antibes and just taking everything in
• Being packed like a sardine into Morrison's and watching the World Cup with real soccer fanatics
• The pandemonium in the streets after France made it to the World Cup finals
• Learning things about the French culture that I could've never learned from a book
• The shockingly forward nature of the French men on the streets
• Being able to hop on le train and go to new and exotic places, like Nice, Monaco, Italy, and Marseille, in the same amount of time it takes to get to Orlando or Jacksonville
• Snacky
• Les petites voitures (the little cars)
• The wine!
• Walking home and realizing that I have a route that I call "my way home" in France
• Going out to eat and eating outside at dusk
• Les supporters de Les Bleus (the fans of Les Bleus--the French national soccer team)
• Just sitting in my room
• Waking up to the sounds of the sea gulls
• Trying to figure out how to eat French pizza
• The opulent beauty of Monaco
• Running into the same man in Monaco and Italy two days in a row
• Hearing Bob Sinclar everywhere
• Exploring at will
• Running down the streets of Paris at night toward the Eiffel Tower and seeing its sparkling lights reflecting off of the buildings
• Being in the Eiffel Tower as it sparkles
• The murals on the buildings around Cannes
• The pain au chocolat (chocolate filled croissant) from la gare (the train station)
• Watching the train go past the school and thinking of the places its going
• The kismet of seeing Kanye West in concert in Nice, being in the very front, looking him in the eye while singing along, and having him do two songs I requested
• The small big city feel of Cannes
• Making friends with the local waiters
• The view from my room