Ah the beautiful French Riviera! It was so nice to arrive to crystal blue water to get my mind off the last 2 days and 12 plus hours of train rides. What we didn’t realize tho was that the beaches there were actually full of rocks haha. Zero sand. An interesting concept for laying out. The best part was watching peoples faces wince pain as they tried to walk across the rocks getting out of the water. There really was no graceful way to do so.

Our first night there we participated in the hostels pasta night. 3 euros for pasta, wine and popcorn haha. Budget meal life. We talked with a few people that night at dinner but no one in particular that wanted to hang out that evening. We laughed because this was the first time we had met people and not secured a second hang out. Were we loosing our touch? Haha

The next morning we moved from a 6 bed mixed dorm to a 3 bed private room. So much better! While waiting for our room to be cleaned we decided to get in some cardio and go for a run along the boardwalk. It was such a gorgeous day as we passed each set of blue umbrellas cast against the blue water and even bluer sky. We decided during our run that we wanted to do a day trip to Monaco that day, which was only a short 30 minute train ride away. Monaco was so pretty as well in its little independent way. Tucked into the hillside were the winding roads that that you followed down to the million dollar yachts in the marina. This place had money. Ferraris and Lambos were everywhere. We made our way down to the Monte Carlo which was only a short 10 minute walk since the city was so small. We even went in and gambled in the slot machine side of the Monte Carlo where I won a grand total of 6 euros on digital roulette haha. Woo! But in order to get into the high roller side of the casino there was a fee and also a dress code that flip flops unfortunately did not abide by.

We then walked up to the Palace on top of the hill. From there we enjoyed some gelato and a view of the marina and almost the entire city below. Our photos from the top turned into a windy photo shoot fail, but nonetheless the view was incredible. We covered the whole city in only a few hours and still made it back for free champagne night at the hostel. A successful day in my book.

Our last day we slept in and spent the afternoon having makeshift piña coladas on the beach. Unfortunately no where in France sells ice apparently so we settled for mediocre ones on the rocks, minus the rocks. That day I focused on trying to relax. I had been so wound up the past couple weeks jumping from place to place trying to book last minute trains and places to stay, constantly packing and re-packing and figuring out the next place to go. It really is kind of hard to relax when you constantly have to have your guard up. And the one time I actually let it down for a second I got my things taken. But now, with them gone, I really hadn’t anything to worry about that day other than just taking it all in an and appreciating the fact that I was in Nice, swimming in the freekin’ Mediterranean. So surreal. I needed this little time to be still and just stop and take it all in, because the next day was about to be the start of another whirlwind adventure.

We weren’t sure where we were going next. Maybe Italy, maybe Switzerland. Where ever the train would take us. We finally decided on a pit stop in Turin in route to Interlaken for some outdoor fun if the weather permits! See you soon!

Xoxo
Carly