I Want to be by the Sea

I could live very happily on the French Riviera for quite some time, I think. Nice is one of the loveliest cities I’ve ever been to, and in the middle of February it’s possible to lie out on the beach and take the sun. I should do this chronologically:
Thursday afternoon- visited Lugano for food, and preliminary knife shopping. Swiss army knives are the greatest invention. Did you know you can now get those knives with 2 GB flash drives and laser pointers? All that and a corkscrew.
Friday morning: Off to Nice! Train to Milan, change, and five hours to Nice. Once you get to the coast, it’s beautiful. The Mediterranean is so blue, the mountains charmingly rugged, and trains offer such wonderful views. Friday afternoon: Arrive in Nice, and take the Demon bus to the pick-up spot for the Hostel. This was my first hostel experience, and I may never be happy again. Our group (delightfully small) stayed at Villa Saint-Exupery in Nice. For those who are unaware, Antoine Saint-Exupery was a pilot, and the author of “The Little Prince.” If you haven’t read it, you should. The movie’s okay, it has Gene Wilder and Bob Fosse. As such, lots of cute images from the book all over the Villa. The building itself was a renovated convent, and rather charming with a sweet little garden, and incredible views from our window. The chapel has been converted (ha!) into a kitchen/lounge/bar; really comfortable, with cheap drinks and food after 7pm. The rooms were comfortable, and because of the slow season our little group managed a free upgrade to a private room with en-suite bathroom. As for the staff…free pick-up and drop-off at the tram station, and so helpful; on Saturday one guy came up to us at breakfast to ask what our plans were, showed us stuff on the map, offered recommendations, and basically explained everything. I appreciated the help. That night my companions and I took the opportunity to walk around the city, and get used to the tram and bus system.
Saturday: Today was my Villa roommate’s birthday, which was grand. We started at the Matisse museum, which was spectacular to look at. His Saint Domenica church plan was stunning. Wandered about the local Roman ruins, but couldn’t make it to the archeological museum owing to their afternoon naptime. So, off to Monaco after luncheon sandwiches; we encountered a very cute small child, who found it quite amusing to flip us the bird. Huzzah for early education.
Nice is pretty close to Monaco- we took a 40 minute bus ride to get there, all along the French Riviera, which has got to be the prettiest view in the world. Even better….one euro for the trip. Cheapest travel to another country I’ve ever encountered. And the bus drops you off in front of Monte Carlo.
Ahhh….Monte Carlo. I really wanted to visit Monaco to see if all the James Bond movies were true….and they are! The casino is gorgeous, but I only got as far as the foyer. Bit of a fee to get to the gaming tables, but it’s so rich! Everything about the place drips in excess and disposable income. And right outside the building, I found it. The Aston Martin DB 9. Surrounded by BMW and Bentleys, there was the holy grail of spy cars. I was thrilled, to say the least. Walking along the port, my group encountered the other Monaco group, and adopted the evening plan of seeing a soccer game. In order to fulfill this plan, my trio climbed up to the palace, looked about for a bit, saw all the Grace Kelly souvenirs, and climbed back down to get to the stadium. Took a pause in a grocery store to look for dinner, but the crowds and mess, and cart girls on roller skates was enough to send us scurrying back out, and off to the stadium.
For eight euro, we got seats to the evening’s match up of Monaco v. Lille, and time before to eat still more sandwiches and rest our tired feet.
The game wasn’t terribly well attended, but we discovered the glory of soccer hooligans in our section (I proposed a plan to abolish Tech cheerleading in favor of official hooligans at all games). It’s really rather exciting to see a game where the action doesn’t stop, and every five minutes some guy trips, or gets kicked in the face and promptly gets back up after milking a little time. I really do love the game. No victory to be seen, but still a good night of sporting goodness with friends.
My trio had to wait for the late bus to Nice, so the hour of waiting was well spent at the bar with beer and coffee, before yet another one euro bus ride. Think about it: 10 euro for Monaco, Monte Carlo, and soccer. I call that roughly $16-17 well spent. Even better was the girl having a weird drug trip at our tram stop. My knowledge of drugs and their effects on the human body is limited to most cold medications and the ensuing coma, so any thoughts on the source of: hysterical screaming, sobbing, belligerent, loss of body/muscle control, throwing self onto the ground would be greatly appreciated. Our discussion led to: acid trip or excess of adderol.
Sunday was supposed to be spent at the Archeology Museum, but we started just slightly too late for full enjoyment, so we visited the beach, poked at a few stores, and then waited for the train. Another five hour train ride home awaited us, which afforded some napping and homework opportunities. I ignored my work of course, in favor of exploring all the options my iPod offered for music based entertainment. And bonding with traveling companions. Arrived home to the Villa around 9pm, thoroughly exhausted, but still pretty relaxed from the weekend.
I’d have to recommend the Riviera to anyone planning a trip to France. It’s gorgeous, it’s relaxing, and the tram is so seductive. Really it is. You have to hear the voice. I really had no interest in going to France at any point this semester, but I would gladly return to Nice any time. There’s so much more to explore in the area, and so many new places to see, including Cannes, the rest of Nice, and Eze. And I should go see the “Asterix the Gaul” movie. I love finding all this references to my childhood as widespread cultural icons, unfortunately in the original language. I suppose I’m going to have to learn French now. I wasted five years on Spanish, when I should have been learning French and German to go with the current study of Italian. Silly me.