Vieille Nice et Le Chateau

Well today was quite the day.  It was our first day of class and we took a test to see which class we should be in.  They didn't tell me exactly, but I think they have 3 different classes and I'm in the 2nd one.  There are two others from UVU in my class, and also a woman from Brazil (I think), 2 people from Spain, and another girl who I'm not sure where she's from.
After school we had a tour of Vieille Nice (old Nice) and Le Chateau (The Castle).  To me Vieille Nice looks a lot like normal Nice, but just seems a little older.  All of the buildings here have an old style to them, and they all kind of look the same to me.  Their architecture is very fancy, but I'm not the biggest fan of it.  Le Chateau was on top of a hill above the sea.  It wasn't much of a castle anymore, they said the only thing left that was originally there was a doorway.  It was fun climbing up there though.  It was very green and peaceful in contrast to the rest of the city.
At first I didn't really like Nice.  I don't really like the architecture and the buildings are way close together.  I guess the French don't really take up much space because everything is really small and really close together.  However, after touring the city with a guide, Nice is starting to grow on me.  The beach is really really pretty, especially next to all the plants around Le Chateau.
After the tour some of the students and I explored the chateau hill a little more.  We found a Jewish cemetery and they had a monument to the victims of the Holocaust.  The sign said that they had some actually ashes from the victims there.  I thought that was really cool.
French is coming.  I feel like I can understand about 75% of what they say to me, I just have a hard time talking back.  Right now I wish I had learned more vocabulary before I came.  Even if I think I know a word, I have to ask myself, am I just making it up, is it Spanish, or is it actually the right work.  I have to really try not to let Spanish words slip, and it slows me down a little bit, but I'll get there.
PS.  Two things that I heard about the French that aren't entirely true:  First they don't all speak English, and second they don't wait until it's pitch black to turn on the light.