September 21st, Nice, France

September 21, 2006
Nice, France

Nice (pronounced Niece) is very Nice!

This morning I woke up to the sun shinning on my face. When I looked at my iPod to decipher the time, I discovered that it was about 8:45. After chilling out in bed for a few minutes I decided to get up and shower. All of the Bastons did the same thing by about 10:30. While the others were cleansing themselves, B and I went to the free breakfast. It was much better than most and gave us the option of a great number of cereals! We then left the hostel and headed for the beach.

On the way we stopped at this very large fruit, flower, and pastry market. It was like a farmers market but bigger and with more stuff. I think that it would probably be one of my mother’s favorite places ever! I can only imagine the food that my mom would be able to cook from the ingredients that they had there.

After filling our stomachs and gathering some lunch supplies, we headed for the closest beach. Although it was rather rocky, we had a good time and enjoyed the hot sun and warm water. We stayed at the beach (where we ate lunch) till just after 2:30. Although many of the woman were topless it was not at all appealing….:)

After the beach we climbed many stairs to a lookout tower. The view was magnificent. We took some pictures and then made our way back down.

From there we decided to head to the train station and reserve our seats for tomorrows train to Barcelona (Peter and Marty are going to Biarritz). Once we had completed our chore, B decided to head back to the hostel. Peter, Marty, and I headed for Monte Carlo (a new country!).

Monte Carlos (in Monaco) was unbelievable. I have never witnessed such wealth. When we arrived we quickly stumbled upon a yacht show (50 Euro just to look at the yachts! And, where the total value exceeded several billion). We decided not the pay and headed for the famous casino. On our way we passed numerous Bentleys, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis (not to mention a car worth more than a million dollars!– pictured). When we finally arrived at the entrance to the casino we were amazed to find numerous phantoms (a cool model by Rolls Royce – featured in Entourage for those that watch the show…).


Peter and I both wanted to go put 10 Euro on red but were denied by the 10 Euro cover charge to the casino. Furthermore, we were not dressed in appropriate attire and had to leave. After being denied we headed back to the train station and made our way to Nice.

Once we got back to our hostel (which has been ranked on of the top 10 in the world) I had some laundry done (they do it for you for only 5 Euro). Then, we all met in the dinning hall for dinner. It was a very tasty meal, complete with wine and a fine dessert.

After dinner we hung out in the common area with some of our fellow travelers. We learned about cool things to do in Switzerland (canyoning) and heard tales from other backpackers. Peter and I drank several bottles of wine and got fairly drunk. We returned to the room just after 11:30…

PS – while eating breakfast we ran into 2 girls from Australia that were also at our hostel in Cinque Terra and our hostel in Rome. It is an amazing coincidence! Also, I am a little tipsy as I write this (from a few bottles of wine) so please excuse any typos!

PPS – Marty paid for the last 2 nights of the hostel and also treated us to dinner. It was an incredible gesture and one that I greatly appreciate. Thanks Marty!!