Our last weekend...Nice

So, I’m about to embark on a new European Adventure, time to finish the first journey.

Friday, February 28:

            We (Mallory, Kristina, Kiele and myself) left Yssingeaux and with three hours of travel we headed to Lyon to fly to Nice.  One-hour flight later, we made it (Mallory met a friend of hers at the airport); stepping out of the airport, immediately see palm trees, “warmth of 50 degrees F”, beautiful blue water at our finger tips with rocky grainy sand getting washed ashore.  Just beautiful!  We grabbed a bus heading into the city center and our hostel.  Got off the bus, and walked down the long main street to our hostel.  The street was where Carnevale takes place. The streets lit up with gorgeous lights, streamers, a stage with giant statues and the parade float.  What a site to see. 

            Finally made it to our hostel.  Checked in. Dropped off our bags, and got refreshed.  We were starved and all needed food.  Mallory and her friend went one way, and the three of us went the opposite way.  It was almost 10:30pm, and Friday night is considered a weekday in France, so most of the restaurants were already closed, but we found a diner down the street.  We were seated if we only ordered burgers (good thing we all wanted a burger).  YUM!  Afterward, we walked back to the hostel, stopped on the way at a quick mart and grabbed a drink and sweets.  Made it back to the hostel, rested and got ready for sleep.  Tomorrow we explore!

Saturday, March 1:

            This morning we woke up early to catch the train to Monaco, Monte Carlo.  Monaco is known for racing, however many beautiful beaches can be found here.  We arrived an hour later, and were welcomed by palm trees, clear crisp blue water and gorgeous views. 

            We left the station, and just started walking.  Looking out to the sea, boats docked, fancy and expensive cars driving down the street.  We came across a casino, with the filthy rich cars parked outside, and a few cafes next door.  Mallory wanted a poker chip for her dad, but the casino wasn’t opened to the public until 2pm, so we had to come back.

            Breakfast time.  We stopped at one of the café’s, and I got a 4-euro croissant.  We all ordered something small to tide us over until lunch.  After breakfast, we wandered around some more, back into the city, down some stairs to saw the beach, and everyone wanted to go in.  So what do we do (except me), we take off our socks and shoes, and walk along the beach.  It was too chilly for me to take off mine.  But the site was absolutely breathtaking; having the ability to see into the water, the sky reflecting off the sea, and the palm trees in the background made for some amazing pictures. 

            After the beach, we dried off, and continued the stroll.  We managed to find some restaurants on the beach, but first it was dessert time, and what do I want…Gelato.  We happened upon a gelato shop off the beach, and we all got some, coffee and mint for me.  Delicious.  Next it was time for lunch.  We found a place down the street from the gelato shop, the restaurant had just opened as it was 11:30am, and we chose a table under a tent literally looking onto the beach.  Breathtaking!  Lunch was delicious, even more so with the view! 

Following lunch, we wandered around some more, before it was time to head back to the casino for the poker chip.  While Mallory was obtaining her chip, Kristina and I decided to gamble a bit.  We each played a different machine, I chose on poker, and played 5-euros, only to win 1-euro.  First time gambling, and it was in Monaco, pretty cool!  The casino was unbelievable, but unfortunately we were forbidden to take pictures or video inside.  After the casino, we went to the gift shop and of course had to buy some souvenirs. 

Next, Kristina wanted to see Monaco Palace.  There was a bus that would take us up the hill and stairs, but what’s fun about sightseeing by bus.  So we started our trek up the hill, then up the stairs to the Palace.  Once we reached the top, we saw guards standing outside the palace, and of course many gift shops.  In the shop we all found masks to wear for Carnevale tonight.  The site from the top was really pretty, but the palace wasn’t anything special. 

On our way down from the palace, we went a different way, and ended up walking through the gorgeous garden down along a path that ended into a cathedral, which Kristina loved and went inside.  The rest of us stayed outside; I myself have seen enough cathedrals and churches during my trip to Europe. After the cathedral, we continued down the path, ended up finding a cool statue to take photos under, and then back down to the “downtown” Monaco we went.  At the bottom of the hill, we found a steel car, which we again took pictures in, and found a car show that I would have loved to attend.  We found an outdoor ice-skating rink, which is a weird concept considering it overlooks the water, and its 60 degrees outside.  Mallory and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to skate in the warmth.  We paid, got fitted into our skates, and away we went.  I am not made for skating, I always feel like I should fall over on the very slippery ice.  We lasted less than 10 minutes, and back we went to replace our skates for shoes and back on dry land.  We noticed our favorite sushi spot directly behind us, Planet Sushi.  Unfortunately, they didn’t open for another hour, so instead we decided to head back to Nice, and coincidentally found a Planet Sushi there too. 

Once back in Nice, we went to our hostel, relaxed for a bit and freshened up, plus Kiele decided she wanted to get drunk tonight, so on our way to Planet Sushi, we stopped at a convenience store similar to CVS or Walgreens, and picked up some vodka and juice for mixer.  The three of them started drinking as we walked to the restaurant.  Along the way, I really had to pee, so I stayed pretty far ahead to get there quickly.  I got to the restaurant, used the restroom and waited for a good ten minutes before the three “drunkies” showed up.  We decided to sit outside which ended up be the best idea.  As soon as we sat down it started to pour down rain.  We all ordered our food, and first came the appetizers, which included miso soup and edamame.  Then our food came out, and I scarfed it down, which in turn was good thing, cuz kiele then got sick from the alcohol, causing us to be the center of attention and then being extremely frustrated and embarrassed.  Thank god we were outside.  Mallory took Kiele to the bathroom and Kristina took over as a mom, cleaned up everything. The girls came back, table was clean, and we quickly got the check, paid, and tried to get out as fast as possible.  I was especially embarrassed and pissed off that the drinking got so out of hand and resulted in Kiele getting sick and making a mess of a restaurant.  Also, due to the terrible weather, Carnevale was cancelled.  We walked through the “scene” of Carnevale streamers, silly string and confetti line the streets.  We were determined to make it to Carnevale while in Nice.

We made it back to the hostel, threw Kiele into the shower, all of us changed and relaxed to get ready for bed.  A long day of travel and unexpected twists; plus tomorrow we travel again!

Sunday, March 2:

            Today we started the day by checking out of our hostel, but leaving our bags in a locked room so we didn’t have to lug them around all day.  We walked into town, stumbling across a Sunday flea market.  This is where the locals set up all sorts of trinkets, jewelry, art, and other stuff in rows along the streets.  I found some interesting tables to check out, however I didn’t purchase any souvenirs. 

            Next wandered into town, and along a path that led us to the beach.  Ah the beach.  It was just so beautiful.  White sand leading up to pebbles that invited you into the bluest of blue waters.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Taking off our shoes, sand between the toes in March is a feeling to savor. 

            After the beach, we were hungry, and ventured to the heart of the city where we found a multitude of restaurants.  The restaurant we were interested in had a long wait, but down the road we found another one that opened at noon, we put our name on the reservation list for a table.  While we waited, what better to do then eat gelato? Right next door was a gelato shop, and of course we had to get some.  Delicious.  Noon came up quickly and our reservation was ready.  Pasta coming out of our ears and I ordered gnocchi, Delish!

            After lunch we slowly ventured into the town as we were stuffed from the meal.  We approached another beach and of course had take pictres plus get our feet in the water.  After the beach, we went back to our hotel to pick up our luggage.  On the way to the hotel it started to rain.  We next went to check out a few gift shops.  Mallory purchased a little tennis dress.  Then it was onto the bus to take us to the airport. 

            Back to Yssingeaux we go.