Nice and "Le Petit Prince"

 While in Nice, Anna and I stayed at a hostel (above) called Villa St. Exupery. Before I go any further, I must fawn over the hostel a little bit, because it was a so great, especially because of the friendly and helpful staff. Stay there if you ever go to Nice, France. The hostel is also named after this guy:

who wrote this book below (Le Petit Prince).

Coincidentally, I had just finished reading this book for the first time before I arrived. For about six years now, people have been recommending Le Petit Prince, but I always blew it off, thinking it as book for little ones. To the contrary, it was, in fact, intended for adults, but it pleases both big people and small people. The book was so profound that I think I have to read it a few more times to really let the ideas sink in.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

"Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, 'What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?' Instead, they demand: 'How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?' Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him."

In the French version, St. Exupery calls grown-ups "les grandes personnes." Here are ways that I did not act like une grand personne on my trip to Nice and Monaco.



1) I ate a lot of gelato from Crema di Gelato: the best gelato I've ever had:

 

2) I was incredibly distracted by bright, pretty colors, and could've spent all day looking at these little treasures at the market:

 

3) We ate mussells like messy toddlers without any utensils at Lou Pilha Leva:

4) While in Monaco, instead of taking pictures of more sophisticated things, Anna and I were attracted to a big sculpture of american candy and a bunny painting.

 

5) And finally, in Monaco, I took time to stop and smell the tulips like I did in Nashville's Centennial Park as a little person.

 

So there you have it; sometimes, I think it is better to act like une petite personne in life, like le petit Prince.