Day 157 Sun. Sept. 27 *ride to Nice
Up early, got my things and headed to the train station. I made good time, got some snacks and got on the train. I decided to work on my blog a bit and thankfully there were outlets on the train. The ride was 3 hours to Genova, Italy where I then needed to changed trains. It was a good ride and I got some blogging done and finally we arrived. I got off, and walked around outside, then back in to get some lunch. I sat down to eat and then went to chill and wait for the train, the wait was 2 hours or so. I ended up chatting with this Australian girl, she was heading to Nice as well and staying at the same hostel and while we chatted we found out that we both knew Teagan and she recommended the hostel in Nice to both of us. She met her in Venice, and me in Florence, small world. She gave me some information for the train from Nice to Barcelona as that was the same thing she was doing, so that was good. Finally it was time to get on the train, I was in a different cabin then her, and mine was full, there was a French couple, an Italian lady and a Finnish couple. I ended up chatting with the Finnish couple for most of the ride, they were an older couple and they had a place in France that they were heading to for vacation. This ride was not so good, we stopped a couple times for technical difficulties and finally they told us to change to another train for Nice. So, we all switched to a different train and it wasn’t too much longer, we got to Nice at around 3pm. The hostel here offers a shuttle pick up as well, so in the train station you make a toll free call to them and let them know your here. Then from the train station, I walked down to the tram and got on, took it to the pick up point and waited there. There were a few other people waiting as well, the shuttle came and we got in. Got to the hostel ‘Ville Saint Exupery’ it was a pretty cool place, there was 13 beds in my room all bunks, there was a huge common room and bar, an upper area with a t.v and a bunch of computers, and the kitchen as well as a nice patio area. I checked in and got to my room - (forgot to get a shot of the room)
I met another fellow Canadian from B.C, and we chatted quickly, I was asking what was good to go and see here in Nice. The hostel offers excursions and had tons of different pamphlets with directions to things and suggestions as well. I sat and chilled waiting for dinner, as they offered a nice dinner here at the hostel. I met another roommate who just checked in Belinda, from Melbourne Australia, she was working in London, and this was a short little vacation for her. We decided to go down for dinner together, had some French wine, was really good, as was the dinner. We chatted with a young German couple who was also just on holidays for a short while. We planned to hang out tomorrow sightseeing Nice. Then, I sat up online for a bit waiting for these great looking brownies to come out of the oven. They were huge for 2 euro and it was divine, so good fresh from the oven you can imagine….Mmmm! Then I went and crashed for the night.
Day 158 Mon. Sept. 28
Got up early, and Belinda and I went down to brkfast, they had 12 different cereals, (ya I said 12), some French bread with jam and juices and coffee and tea, was really good. Went back to the room, got cleaned up, put on my swimsuit and packed a bag, left my laundry and we headed out. We got the shuttle to the drop point and then the tram into town. From there we wandered through the streets
here is Belinda (Hi! u made it to my blog :)
Below is the main square of the city and these were some statues they had there, interesting
We walked along to find the Matisse museum, it was a bit of a trek up hill but the views were nice and it was a great day, so all good. We walked through the museum and then we caught the bus back down to some point and got on the tram to go to the promenade. We walked along the beach
very rocky beaches
All along the promenade is some of the high end shopping. We stopped for some dinner, and it was kinda funny, in Italy I was always using French and while here is France I started to use Italian. The waiter found some humour in it and when I would respond in French he would then reply in Italian….lol. After a very good meal, we got back to the tram and to the pick up point and back to the hostel. We got some wine and played some cards for a bit and played to go to Cannes and Antibes tomorrow. I quickly checked out some hostels for Barcelona and then off to bed.
Day 159 Tues. Sept. 29 *Cannes/ Antibes
I went down to brkfast myself today and then back to the room. I got changed and packed a bag again. Belinda came in and we headed to the train station again, I also bought my ticket to Barcelona. We met another girl who was heading to Antibes today, so she travelled on the train with us. It was a short ride, and we got off, the tourist information office was closed so no map. The other girl wandered on her, and Belinda and I ventured out to see what we could see
mostly the harbour with lots of yachts, and while I was in Tuscany I met a girl that was telling about a new popular industry of working on the yachts in either Spain or the French Riviera, interesting. There wasn’t much else to see so we decided to head back to the train and get back on to head to Cannes. That was another short ride and we made it, got off and again no tourist info opened, so we again ventured out on our own to see what we could see
this is a mural dedicated to the Cinema Cannes as you see, and the pics are of different stars from different films, pretty neat
We had a nice lunch and then headed down to the beach to chill out for a bit, the beach here was sandy, much nicer
After a few hours relaxing we walked along and got an ice cream ….today was Belinda’s bday – and we went to have a glass of champagne…Happy Birthday Belinda!
Then we headed back to the train station and back to the hostel. Got in and we ordered a pizza from the restaurant downstairs and got some more wine and had dinner and relaxed. I checked out hostels again for Barcelona but no decision yet. Then off to bed.
Day 160 Wed. Sept. 30 *Monte Carlo / Cap d’Ail (beach plage mala)
I was up earlier then everyone in the room, so had to be quiet. Had brkfast, then finally booked a hostel for Barcelona after referencing with the map I had. Then I chatted with this Australian guy who was just there and he gave me some tips, etc. I went and cleaned up, put on my swimsuit and grabbed my bag, and off to get the shuttle. I got to the train station and headed to Monte Carlo first, just to check it out and then I was going to the beach for another chill day. I got to Monte Carlo and walked out of the station, it wasn’t in the best area, nothing there really but I followed some people and found the Casino and main area 
I hate to say that it wasn’t really anything spectacular, and as for Monaco, I didn’t bother walking down to it, terrible I know, but I was anxious to get to the beach. And stupid me, there was a beach at Monaco, but instead I listened to a recommendation to head to Cap d’Ail (beach plage mala). So I went back to the train station and I had to wait like an hour for the next train to come. I ended up talking with 2 older English couples who were celebrating their 40 yr wedding anniversaries so they have been doing a bit of travelling….good for them! Finally the train came and I jumped on and headed down to Cap d’Ail, I got off at the right stop and walked down to the water. Well, there was no beach per say, just big rocks to lay out on, and there was one lady in front of me who was thinking the same thing and she found a spot and she jumped right in the water. I continued to walk along the pathway, there was another spot with a few other people just laying on the rocks. I found a spot and just sat and chilled out, was not the most comfortable, oh well, was nice to listen to the waves and relax.
The clouds started coming over, and it was getting chilly so I went back to catch the train back to the hostel. I went to my room, and relaxed, cleaned up and Belinda was there, so we went down to eat. I had the yummy roast beef dinner they had in the restaurant, another great cook. We chilled for a bit and then I went online quick to check some things out and then back to the room. I organized my bags and got everything ready for tomorrow and then off to bed. It is gonna be a long day travel to Barcelona.
So, that was Nice, it was nice to see a different part of France besides Paris, and the people were great here. I wasn’t however that impressed with the world famous ‘French Riviera’. I guess I expected more. Otherwise it was a good time, the hostel was great and in good company with Belinda. Got to see some other parts and it was rather easy to get around. I know and have heard of so many other places in France to visit and one day I will have to check them out, this was an easy route on my way to Spain. On that note…moving right along, check out the next post of my adventures in Spain :) see you then!
