Nice, Monte Carlo, and Monaco

Wow, this has definitely been a weekend to remember. As Charles Dickens would say, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The trip to Nice started out fantastically. We arrived Friday night after a short delay into the Nice airport. We were definitely starting this trip at without having planned fully our vacation. We arrived in the airport, caught a bus to the city center, or somewhere near the center. Luckily for us, when we were taking the bus, an extremely kind Canadian gentleman overheard us talking and offered to help us get to our location. Thank goodness for him, because he correctly guided us to the tram that took us a block away from our hostel.

We woke up Saturday morning and headed off for Monaco and Monte Carlo, but before we hit the train, we had to stop at the local baker. The bakery outside of our hostel was absolutely amazing. Each one of us definitely ate our fair share of Pain de Chocolats and baguettes. They were simply outstanding. After eating a few pastries we set off for the train station. We decided the best way would be to follow the signs posted in Nice. Unfortunately those signs led us in a circle before pointing us in the right direction. So after a bried tour of some shops we finally arrived at the train station. We caught an late morning train into Monaco, a principality of France. You exit the train station and you can go right, to Monaco, or left, to Monte Carlo. We first decided to conquer the Monaco side. After a walk along the harbour we reached the first very large hill to climb towards the Monaco palace.

The first item we encountered was a sign that told us that tourists should keep there clothes on. You would think that would be a given, but I guess not in Europe. We started the ascent, and quickly the view got to be spectacular. As we got higher, we had these amazing panoramic views of the Monaco harbor on one side, the French alps on the other, and buildings between the two. It was simply breathtaking. All the while we were climbing ancient roadways to get to the top of this hill where the Monaco palace was. We got to the top, and there was the entire city of Monaco laid out in front of us. The view was spectacular and so calming. Out there, the hustle and bustle of the city didn't exist. Life just went on at a more relaxed pace. We walked around the hill that the palace was on for couple of hours taking in every view possible from every side. Even though we spent hours on it, I feel like we didn't even see the majority of it. Well after a couple hours of wondering, we were all starving, so we set out to find a cafe on the hill.

We came across this small cafe whose tables spilled right into the street with a french woman who didn't speak any English and a chef. We sat down and began one of the best meals I think I have ever had. It was a simple meal. A couple bottles of wine, pasta, and a panini. First we ordered our first course (which we thought would be our last). I ordered a creme pasta with mushrooms, and it was quite possibly the most delicious dish I've ever tasted. The pasta was perfect, the sauce was light but flavorful, and it was still warm from the pan. We all finished our respective dishes and then we decided we wanted more because it was so delicious and we had neglected our stomachs since the moring. I split a panini with a friend, and then we called it quits. One of the best parts of France is they don't ever try and rush you through a meal. I think every time we ate out, we sat down for at least an hour and half, sometimes two. This trip was so relaxing and enjoyable. I laughed so much at meals. It was great to be surrounded by friends in such a beautiful place.

After trekking around Monaco, we decided to head over to Monte Carlo. But instead of just walking, we took the one euro water taki across the harbour. So much fun and ridiculously intimidating. We were on this small boat surrounded by multi million dollar yachts / mini cruise ships. But it was a great perspective on the city and the mountains. We got to the other side and set course for the Monte Carlo Casino. The Casino was absolutely fantastic. I think it might have been one of the most ornate places I have ever been. I wish I had pictures, but cameras are not allowed in the building. For lack of a better word it was so regal. We went to the slot machines, the one thing we could afford and each spent about ten euros pulling the slots. Unfortunately I didn't win the jackpot, or come out ahead, but it didn't matter because I have now gambled in the Monte Carlo casino. After a beating at the machines, our small group went and sat down at the bar in the casino. We sat there for about an hour sipping on overpriced (or what we soon found out later was inexpensive) drinks and all laughed considerably more for the day.

After we had put due diligence into taking in the casino, we went across the street to the Hotel de Paris, more specifically the Bar American. That was definitely the ritziest bar I have ever been to. No drink was below twenty-five euros, and the most exepensive bottle on the menu was 50,000 euros. It was ridiculous, but the night was just beginning. We all ordered one of the less expensive drinks, and just sat and talked. We didn't know, but bar snacks were provided (and by bar snacks I mean appetizers). As we would finish what they placed in front of us, the servers kept bringing out more. It was incredible. They brought our drinks, which were spectacular. Katie ordered a mojito, which we're still laughing about because so much fresh mint was inside the goblet it came in, it appeared to be a mini forest. There was a spectacular jazz trio providing the music. It was just a spectacular night. After we finished our drinks (extremely slowly) over the course of about an hour and a half, we departed the land of luxery and headed back to the train station. It definitely was an eye opener walking out of the hotel, where dozens of Ferraris, Maseratis, and every other type of luxery car was parked. We caught the next train back to Nice and probably should have fallen asleep.

Instead of falling asleep, we resorted to the only thing we knew in France, eating. We took the tram to the market, which at night is converted to multiple restaurants. We sat down in a small cafe and enjoyed an official dinner. Again the food was spectacular, accompained with great conversation and even more laughter. As I look back on it, I don't know what we could have been talking about for so long, but we found something and kept laughing. After dinner, we walked for a bit along the beach and then headed back to the hostel.

In the morning, we were going to discover Old Nice. But first we needed breakfast, so we stopped by the bakery right outside of our hostel. Again it was delicious. There is nothing like fresh French pastries, right of the oven. We then set off for the fresh market nearthe beach in Nice. We started out journety there and then continuted to follow the Rick Steves Europe Guide Book, taking a self guided walking tour. Our first stop was Chez Thereza's Socca stand. Socca, a chick pea crepe, is only found in Nice, so of course we tried it. We then continued throughout the streets of Nice seeing such incredible architecture that I had seen before in paintings, but seeing it in real life was a completely different expereince. You think some of the buildings have been embellished in the paintings, but they haven't. There is so much history and texture throughout the city.

We then began ascending the hill / mini mountain alongside Nice. Again the views were absolutely spectacular, most appearing on postcards depicting Nice. We spent a solid two or three hours just climbing up a bit, gazing out into the city thinking we had seen the best view, but then went to another location where another incredible view lay. At one level there were bunch of ruins from ages past, and a mosiac garden. Everything was so rich with history and so beautiful. Unfortunatley it started to rain when we were a ways up, so we decided to get to the shore and find a place to eat. We found a small cafe alongside the ocean and sat down for lunch, which again lasted a couple hours. After lunch we headed back to the hostel after a walk along the beach to get ready for the airport. No one could have prepared us for what happened next.

On Sunday, the largest amount of snow fell on London that the city had seen in eighteen years. We got to the airport, checked in and began wating for our flight. At first it was just delayed. Then it was delayed again, then finally cancelled at about one am. We quickly ran to the service desk to be rebooked onto another flight, which would leave at 5pm the next day and also get a voucher for a hotel that night. We stayed the night at a nearby hotel, which was actually suprisingly nice. Of course Sunday night was also the night of the Superbowl. It started at about one am France time, so quite frankly I was wickedly tired by the time I started watching. The reception wasn't that good, it only came in in black and white, sometimes switching to color for a brief second. And the commentators were all speaking French, which complicated matters. After about forty minutes I fell asleep for a long night of rest.

The next morning I woke up, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel, then we headed to the airport praying to get out. They wouldn't let us check in for our flight untill two hours before, so we found some seats and started the day's camp out. I bought a book from the book shop in the airport and by the end of the day had read three hundred pages in John Grisham's The Broker. So we waited and waited for our flight. Finally when it came time to check in, the word "cancelled" flashed acorss the screen at the check in counter. I wanted to scream. We again waited in line at the reservation desk, and they told us we wouldn't be able to get out till tomorrow since the flight tonight was fully booked. We got our names on the standby list, prayed, and went back to our small camp we set up.

I started thinking, we could fly into Paris and take the chunnel over. I went back to the Air France desk to get a price for a flight to Paris. They told me it would cost 99 Euro, which wasn't that bad. This was better then flying out tomorrow night, so I went back to the Easy Jet desk to ask for a refund. I went to the desk, explained my situation again and asked how to get a refund. Suddenly two seats were available on the flight for tonight. But we were in a group of three and weren't splitting up, so I declined unless we could get another seat. They shrugged. I then asked to borrow they're phone to call EasyJet customer service to order the refund, they proceded to tell me it would take eight days for it to go through, I told them I didn't care and started to dial, once I finished dialing suddenly three seats were available which we could take.

Luckily we were able to get out on that flight and were back in our flats in London by 1:30 am. Minus the trip home, this was such an incredible vacation filled with amazing food, so many laughs, and great friends. Life is still increidble here in London.