In our travel plans we never really put much weight on the part involving the south of France. We knew we had to get from Venice to Barcelona and figured it might be worth it to stop along the way.
We booked a hostel in Nice, in the heart of the French Riviera. It was an old monastary that was converted into a youth hostel, equipped with dorms up to 12 beds full (the kind we were in), a bar, restaurant, computers, laundry, and gardens. It was located on the very top of a hill, overlooking the old town.
But perhaps more interesting than the place itself was the journey it took to get there. We left Venice Sunday evening by train and stopped in Milan, italy. Our train arrived a bit later than expected so we had to literally sprint (huge back packs and all) from our train to the next. Lucky, we made it, huffing and puffing!
The train then had another stop in Ventimiglia, a town on the italian/french border. It is supposed to be a beautiful place, but seeing as it was 1am at this point, we wouldn't know. What we did know was that we had 3 hours to kill in this very minimalistic station. We walked in and there were french and italian men sprawled out everywhere, on make-shift beds, snoring loudly. We just looked at each other, shrugged, and claimed our corner. It was very cold so we layered up and attempted to make our own "beds" if nothing else to protect us from the freezing concrete floor. We sat in between our bags, guards up, as it was too cold, uncomfortable, and sketchy to even consider sleep. We began to joke about the situation and it eased our nerves a bit.
Then an older woman, traveling alone rounded our corner and decided to "bunk up" with us. Next, 2 coules saw our crew and joined. Then one more solo traveler. We joked about our "wolf pack" that we created and were very proud of our safe crew.
After 3 very long hours we hopped on the train. It arrived in Nice at 5:30am. We took the tram to the stop closest to the hostel and proceded to call the number the provided so that we could be picked up. But no one was answering at that hour.
So we decided to walk...
Remember when I said the hostel was located on the very top of a hill?! It was a 45-60 degree hill!
Well we made it! Had to take some breaks, and had sore hamstrings afterwards, but we made it. Unfortunately reception didn't open until 8am. We waited a while but then noticed that they were setting up breakfast, so we sat inside, snuck some food, and passed the time. We eventually checked in and were so exhausted, so we headed to the beach.
We booked a hostel in Nice, in the heart of the French Riviera. It was an old monastary that was converted into a youth hostel, equipped with dorms up to 12 beds full (the kind we were in), a bar, restaurant, computers, laundry, and gardens. It was located on the very top of a hill, overlooking the old town.
But perhaps more interesting than the place itself was the journey it took to get there. We left Venice Sunday evening by train and stopped in Milan, italy. Our train arrived a bit later than expected so we had to literally sprint (huge back packs and all) from our train to the next. Lucky, we made it, huffing and puffing!
The train then had another stop in Ventimiglia, a town on the italian/french border. It is supposed to be a beautiful place, but seeing as it was 1am at this point, we wouldn't know. What we did know was that we had 3 hours to kill in this very minimalistic station. We walked in and there were french and italian men sprawled out everywhere, on make-shift beds, snoring loudly. We just looked at each other, shrugged, and claimed our corner. It was very cold so we layered up and attempted to make our own "beds" if nothing else to protect us from the freezing concrete floor. We sat in between our bags, guards up, as it was too cold, uncomfortable, and sketchy to even consider sleep. We began to joke about the situation and it eased our nerves a bit.
Then an older woman, traveling alone rounded our corner and decided to "bunk up" with us. Next, 2 coules saw our crew and joined. Then one more solo traveler. We joked about our "wolf pack" that we created and were very proud of our safe crew.
After 3 very long hours we hopped on the train. It arrived in Nice at 5:30am. We took the tram to the stop closest to the hostel and proceded to call the number the provided so that we could be picked up. But no one was answering at that hour.
So we decided to walk...
Remember when I said the hostel was located on the very top of a hill?! It was a 45-60 degree hill!
Well we made it! Had to take some breaks, and had sore hamstrings afterwards, but we made it. Unfortunately reception didn't open until 8am. We waited a while but then noticed that they were setting up breakfast, so we sat inside, snuck some food, and passed the time. We eventually checked in and were so exhausted, so we headed to the beach.
After 4 hours we awoke from a very serious slumber, on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We were finally relaxed, rested, and functioning and it hit us. We are in the French Riviera! The beaches are stunning. The "sand" is made up of rocks... Not the most comfortable, but doesn't stick to you either. The Mediterranean was as blue as blue could be and there was good looking people lounging and playing everywhere.
We walked around Nice and got to know the town the rest of the day. Hung out at the hostel that night and made some new friends, including one in particular, Max.
Max, our new Argentinian friend, invited us to go to Monaco/monte carlo with him the next day. We accepted and left Nice the next morning. Its only a 30 minute train ride but you'd think you were on some far off island. Because Monaco is a state run on royal money, not the french government's, it is very unique. The place reeks of wealth, with ferraris and yachts everywhere!
We saw the famous Monte Carlo casino (above), ate amazing seafood, and took well deserved naps on the beach after walking several miles. They were cleaning up from the Grand Prix last week so we saw all the bleachers and course signs. It was a truly awesome place to visit for the day, but staying there would burn a hole right through your pocket! It was so fortunate that we were able to just hop on over there for a day. The three of us had a blast!!
The train we planned to take to Barcelona was sold out so we had to catch an earlier one (leaving Nice at 5:56am). We dragged ourselves out of bed at 4am and caught the train to reluctantly leave france. We now know next time that maybe 2 days isn't quite long enough in such a stunningly beautiful region.
But its off to Barcelona now to reunite with more friends! We will be staying with louisa (juli's friend from high school) and meeting Koo (sara's friend from college) when we get there. It'll be the perfect way to end such an amazing trip.
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