The 0500 wake up call was a bit fuzzy this morning as the side effects of my Moroccan meal was still with me. My eyes felt like they were velcroed shut as I struggled to figure out if my travel buddy decided to continue on this European adventure with me or not, while also trying to put the pieces together as to who joined us during the night as our bunk mates. Nothing a little European coffee can't cure. It made the trip to the airport bit more confusing than normal, but we made it without too many detours.
We arrived in Nice at 1100. Our hostel had water issues, so we got upgraded to a sister hotel that is literally 50 km from the beach. Holy crap! For once, my traveling mishaps got me an upgrade instead of another "you just can't make this shit up" kind of story. Yeeee!!! I am already wishing we had more time here and we just got here. We are basically here for 24 hours. So much to see, so little time.
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| My happy place |
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| Pretty stoked about our hostel upgrade. |
We took a train to Monaco, and fell asleep for a mere 15 minutes (or so I thought), and ended up way past our destination. When I woke up, I had to pinch myself as I thought this whole trip to Europe had been a dream! When I asked the ladies sitting across from me, if our next stop was Monaco, I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads! They both took a deep breath in, held it, raised their eyebrows, stared at one another, then glanced back at me. I was certain they were both going to pass out before they exhaled so hard I am certain they blew my bangs out of my eyes for me. Oh my gosh, had I slept for 5 hours and not 15 minutes?? (I don't wear a watch, life is already scheduled enough.) Nervous for us, they both exclaimed at the top of their lungs. "Zhe next stop iz Italy!!" Huh? I swear the entire train turned around and stared at us as if we were inmates or something. Another problem with this is, had the train conductor questioned our tickets, we could've been subject to a huge fine for "attempting" to ride for free on this 'unplanned' portion of our trip. Regardless, the views were picturesque.
At that, we hustled to the door to get off at the next stop aka the 'middle of nowhere' at a deserted train station. Lucky for us, there was one more train going the correct direction to get us back on track. I never get too shook up about getting lost or missing transportation, as this is happens to me daily. I am literally known to people as "THE girl who is always lost." It's just fun to have someone with for the ride this time. I used the time to snap some photos, write in my journal, and to just shake my head and laugh out loud. It brought back several memories of my travel nurse days :)
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| Last train of the day: 5:00 "French Time" |
After we finally made it t our destination, we spent the rest of the day walking around Monaco taking in the sights. Stunningly beautiful--Take a look...
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| I just can't contain my giddiness!! |
Ok, just a few more as it truly is that breath-taking.
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| Some candid shots for my future card business :) |
AH...finished a bottle of wine on the beach right outside our hotel. I wish we could stay for a few more days, as I would LOVE to just sit on the beaches of France and daydream. I truly think I am a Midwestern girl that's been displaced from the beach since birth, as it is the only place in this life I find complete tranquility, peace, and happiness. Perhaps I shall move back.
It's midnight and I'm exhausted! Tonight is the first night we are sharing a room with ALL women... 4 to be exact, with only 1 bathroom. Ciao! Off to Rome tomorrow!!
