Nice is nice
This past weekend brought yet another great trip to Nice, Cannes and Monaco of the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. Inspired more than a year ago to come to this area, it was great to finally make it there, and the weekend was very memoriable because it was spent with friends. I booked this trip several months ago, and planned to go by myself, but then a met a friend of a friend who was interested in going to the area with his girlfriend, and they decided to go the same weekend as me. Happened that I met Johannes and Judith in Cologne as well, so we got to hang out a bit more before this weekend. I stayed in a hostel in Nice the whole time, and they did the couch surfing thing, which was great because we were able to meet some great new people.
I arrived Thursday afternoon and met up with Johannes and Judith shortly after checking into my hostel. We walked down to the old Nice area and sat on the beach for a bit, and went exploring the old fort area with some great views of the city. That night we had dinner at the flat they were staying at. The couple hosting them cooked salmon, J&J made salad, and my 'american' contribution was quacamole with chips... oh so good!
The next day we got an early start and went to Monaco. The funny thing about these towns is that there really isn't a whole lot to do there. They are kind of pretty and being on the ocean is great, but really unless you've got TONS of money you can't shop there. But Monaco was great to see, we walked around the harbor, and up to the famous Monte Carlo area and casino.
I went to the Aquarium while they went to the palace area, becuase I had heard that it was actually better than the Monterey Bay Aquarium... so NOT true!!! oh well, i did get to see some pretty fish and get a great view of the area. And while the aquarium wasn't worth my 6 euro, I am still glad I went because if I hadn't I would have always wondered if it was really better. On the way back to Nice in the afternoon, we got off the bus in a small town along the way and layed out in the sun for a while. We tried to swim, but there were poisonious jellyfish right there close to the shore, so that didn't really work out. That night we all went for drinks with Ellen and Pascal (the hosting couple) and got to see a little bit of Nice at night.
Saturday we got a later start on our way to Cannes, because another couple had come to couch surf, arriving at about 1am, that morning. This couple was from Brazil (Bhagavan and Marcella) and they were really cool and laid-back. Bhagavan was studing art in Barcelona, and Marcella had come to Europe for a month so they could travel together. The five of us went to Cannes and enjoyed the sandy beach (unlike the other rocky ones).
After enought sun, we went walking around the city a little bit. We walked up to the old fort there, where there is still a church. In fact, a couple was getting married in there while we were visiting, how special! After seeing a bit more of the city, we took the train to Antibes to meet Ellen, Pascal and two of his friends for dinner. We had some excellent pizza and headed to a British pub afterwards for some socializing. Antibes has a huge British population because of the harbor and the yachting industry. We intended to catch the last train back to Nice a little after midnight, but there was a strike and the trians had already stopped. We ended up taking the bus to the Nice airport and then another one into town.
Sunday was spent in Nice. I wanted to go to the Chagall and Matisse museums, which J&J weren't that interested in, so I went there in the morning, while they all slept in (which you all probably know, i don't do too well) and then we met up in the afternoon. We just went to the beach and napped and enjoyed the last real day of vacation. Amazingly after 4 hours there none of us were sun burned! That night the three of us went to have some great traditional Nicoise dishes for dinner, and had a couple drinks to end the night.
Monday we met for breakfast and then I had to take off for the airport. Johannes and Judith were continuing to stay with a friend near Avignon for a couple of days, then back to Paris where they are doing a civil service year (though they are both German) It was a great trip, with beautiful weather and awesome people. It definitely was much better than seeing the area by myself, because like I said there isn't a whole lot to do there. I ended up doing a lot of walking to my hostel because it wasn't very close to the fun area of town where the others were staying, but in the end it all worked out and I got to see everything I wanted to, and have a nice, relaxing vacation.
links to the photos:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152350&l=bae38&id=3206990
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152354&l=ec1b8&id=3206990
and... did you know that you can click on the photos in the blog and see them bigger? I didn't, until last week!
I arrived Thursday afternoon and met up with Johannes and Judith shortly after checking into my hostel. We walked down to the old Nice area and sat on the beach for a bit, and went exploring the old fort area with some great views of the city. That night we had dinner at the flat they were staying at. The couple hosting them cooked salmon, J&J made salad, and my 'american' contribution was quacamole with chips... oh so good!
The next day we got an early start and went to Monaco. The funny thing about these towns is that there really isn't a whole lot to do there. They are kind of pretty and being on the ocean is great, but really unless you've got TONS of money you can't shop there. But Monaco was great to see, we walked around the harbor, and up to the famous Monte Carlo area and casino.
I went to the Aquarium while they went to the palace area, becuase I had heard that it was actually better than the Monterey Bay Aquarium... so NOT true!!! oh well, i did get to see some pretty fish and get a great view of the area. And while the aquarium wasn't worth my 6 euro, I am still glad I went because if I hadn't I would have always wondered if it was really better. On the way back to Nice in the afternoon, we got off the bus in a small town along the way and layed out in the sun for a while. We tried to swim, but there were poisonious jellyfish right there close to the shore, so that didn't really work out. That night we all went for drinks with Ellen and Pascal (the hosting couple) and got to see a little bit of Nice at night.Saturday we got a later start on our way to Cannes, because another couple had come to couch surf, arriving at about 1am, that morning. This couple was from Brazil (Bhagavan and Marcella) and they were really cool and laid-back. Bhagavan was studing art in Barcelona, and Marcella had come to Europe for a month so they could travel together. The five of us went to Cannes and enjoyed the sandy beach (unlike the other rocky ones).
After enought sun, we went walking around the city a little bit. We walked up to the old fort there, where there is still a church. In fact, a couple was getting married in there while we were visiting, how special! After seeing a bit more of the city, we took the train to Antibes to meet Ellen, Pascal and two of his friends for dinner. We had some excellent pizza and headed to a British pub afterwards for some socializing. Antibes has a huge British population because of the harbor and the yachting industry. We intended to catch the last train back to Nice a little after midnight, but there was a strike and the trians had already stopped. We ended up taking the bus to the Nice airport and then another one into town.Sunday was spent in Nice. I wanted to go to the Chagall and Matisse museums, which J&J weren't that interested in, so I went there in the morning, while they all slept in (which you all probably know, i don't do too well) and then we met up in the afternoon. We just went to the beach and napped and enjoyed the last real day of vacation. Amazingly after 4 hours there none of us were sun burned! That night the three of us went to have some great traditional Nicoise dishes for dinner, and had a couple drinks to end the night.
Monday we met for breakfast and then I had to take off for the airport. Johannes and Judith were continuing to stay with a friend near Avignon for a couple of days, then back to Paris where they are doing a civil service year (though they are both German) It was a great trip, with beautiful weather and awesome people. It definitely was much better than seeing the area by myself, because like I said there isn't a whole lot to do there. I ended up doing a lot of walking to my hostel because it wasn't very close to the fun area of town where the others were staying, but in the end it all worked out and I got to see everything I wanted to, and have a nice, relaxing vacation.
links to the photos:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152350&l=bae38&id=3206990
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152354&l=ec1b8&id=3206990
and... did you know that you can click on the photos in the blog and see them bigger? I didn't, until last week!
posted by emily at 5:57 PM
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