The train strike had backed up all the schedule trains to Paris. Now all the trains out of Nice had been booked until the following Wednesday. Luckily EasyJet had released several cheap flights and a ticket from Nice to Pari was 29€. However EasyJet does nickel and dime you with baggage fees and charges for using a credit card. So when it was all said and done the flight back to Paris came out to 36€, which is still a pretty good price.
Paris almost feels like home now. I have a grocery store, clothing store, haircut place and sporting goods store. I know how to get around by foot and rollerblade. It is a much more familiar experience than before. And now I even have local friends here. I met up with Cristina and Carolina on Saturday and we all went to the Hideout. I hadn't really been to any clubs or bars in Pars, so it was a pretty exciting time. This club is actually underground and almost feels like you're walking down into catacombs.
I went out with Caroline and Cristina's friends one night for sushi. We all met up at the Châtelet metro and when everyone arrived to took another metro ride over to the sushi location. This sushi restaurant has a 20€ all you can eat sushi. I told by our waiter that all the Japanese sushi, and Korean food restaurants were actually all owned by Chinese people. We were able to converse back in forth in Mandarin.
On Friday, Giang and I decided to do Roller Pari again. This time we both survived without falling. However I was able to witness 4 people falling. I skated towards the front of the pack this time and that group likes to play games throughout the entire course. For example first everyone will slow down and then a series of yells and screams will mean to skate as fast as you can to the next corner. It was usually during these bursts of speed that people's skates collided and bodies when down on the pavement. It was very entertaining.
Sacha and I had met up with the Americans the day before to grab some lunch. Aja, Drew, Daniella and Naomi were waiting for us by the time we arrived at the fountain. We quickly selected a restaurant with outdoor seating. We were given English menus and Sacha, Drew and I all ordered the salmon. I pointed and said salmon, Sacha and Drew said he would have the same thing as me. When the food came out we ended up with Sirloin instead. Apparently our waitress had miss-heard me and so Sacha and Drew all ended up with sirloin as well. Ever since then I had been craving Salmon.
Ever since we had met the group of Americans staying in Nice we always met up with them at the fountain at 10:30pm. More like 11ish with our trek to the city center. That night we were unable to make it there in time. We ended up drinking in the town center and eventually ran into Drew. Hung out for a little while and then said our goodbyes as it was their last night in Nice.
My last day in Nice was yet another beach day. The Canadians who were suppose to have left that morning ended up staying another night because of the French train strike. We ended up hanging out for another day with Cristina and Caroline, both from Paris. They were also leaving mid day so we all decided to hit up the last outdoor restaurant that Sacha and I got the sirloin at. This time we made sure that the waitress understood salmon and it paid off.
After seeing Cristina and Carolina off, we all hit the beach and relaxed. The waves were pretty strong that day and we all ended up getting tossed around in the rocks. I ended up with a couple of scrapes on my shoulder but all in all it was still a great time.
The village of Eze is located between Nice and Monaco and is again a 1€ bus ride over. It is a steep climb through a small village to get to the top. At the very top of Eze is an exotic garden which has some of the best views of southern France's coastline. The gardens require a entrance fee, but the views of the coastline below makes it well worth it.
Dan, who was staying in the same room in our hostel, worked in the film industry and was in town for the Cannes Film Festival. He was kind enough to drive us over the Cannes in his rental car. Julie (Canadian from our hostel), Stephanie and I got to Nice around 4:30pm, which meant that I was late in meeting up with Delan, a guy I met back in London. I walked over in front of the Carlton to see if he would still be there, while Dan showed Steph and Julie where they would most likely be able to see Antonio Banderas. For the first time I wish I had my cell phone again. I never did meet up with Delan that day, sorry bro.
I walked back to where the girls were standing and we decided that we should grab a quick bite to eat so that we could get a good spot near the red carpet. All the hotels are near the beach are fully booked and they all display large movie premiere posters. The big premieres all started around 7ish. Standing in line for a sandwich, I noticed a girl that looked a lot like Naomi, one of the American girls I met the night before. It was one of those I think I know you moments and then I noticed she was staring over as well. It turned out to be Naomi and she had been separated from her tour group. So she tagged along with us.
After getting a sandwich we started to head back to the red carpet area. Julie and Steph led the way as they knew the good spot to stand. The sidewalk traffic went up and there were tons of people walking around. Naomi and I were chit catting and suddenly we lost Julie and Steph in the crowd. After waiting around for a while we were still unable to find them. I wasn't really interested in the Hollywood's invasion to southern France, so Naomi and I headed to the village part of Cannes up the the hill.
There is a church that is up at the top of the hill which overlooks the entire coastline where the film festival takes place. On the way down there is an iron mask. Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask is said to be a mixture of fact and fiction. It is local folklore that this mask was his inspiration for that story. Near the bottom of hill by the bus stations there is a large mural that depicts all the the films that debuted at previous Cannes Film Festivals.
Naomi met back up with group later that night and I met some Korean girls that were waiting to see Jackie Chan. I joined in since there was nothing else to do. Jackie Chan did come out. He blew kisses and waved to the cheering crowds. It turned out that the Korean girls were staying in Nice at a different hostel, so we headed to the train station together. It turns out that they were all teachers in Korea and had just gotten done with college. So this trip was their vacation before becoming inducted to the real world.
The second time I returned to Cannes was with some Canadians I met at my hostel. Sacha, Tim, Jasen and Chad had been traveling Europe for a little over 2 months and now just happened to be in Nice. Dan drove us over again in the early afternoon. After departing ways with Dan, we ended up chilling at the beach most of the time. The beaches of Cannes are probably the nicest we've been to in Southern France. It is actually sandy and the waters are just as blue as Nice. On the last Cannes outing, Sacha and I were swimming and ran into a lot of jelly fish. They were purple and the largest one was about the size of a basketball. We were actually able to capture one of the smaller ones on a towel.
On our trek back to the train station we stopped by the red carpet to see if we could spot some stars. That night it happened to be a lot of them out. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Clint Eastwood, Sharon Stone, and Tim Robbins. Brad and Angelina even waved at us. It started to rain so we headed back to the train station and grabbed a free trip back.
Next to our hostel is smaller liquor store. The prices are about 1€ more than the Monoprix, but since the Monoprix closes early and these are actually cold it's well worth the price. Nice is one of those places where it feels perfectly normal to walk around with bottles or cans of beer in your hands. Kind of reminds of Vegas in that sense.
The walk from the hostel to the beach is about 15minutes and goes through the town center. There are large glowing human statues and fountains in the town center. The lights continually change colors. This location quickly became a marker for me to figure out where I was when I was lost. With its central location, we ended up making this spot where we would meet up with people because none of us had a cell phone.
Drinking along the beach seems to be the thing to do around here. That's what we did the first few nights. A group of people from the hostel would always head out there around 10-11pm after stocking up at the next door liquor store. We were able to run into a group of American college kids, a group of singing dancing Irish girls and a creepy old guy that followed us around trying to bum cigarettes and talk to the girls in our group. We also witnessed several fights along the beach as well. All in all it was a good time.
There are clubs and bars all around Nice. I wanted to stay away from the touristy ones at first. The first bar we went to was an outdoorsy one. It was near the beach in the market area. Drinks were about 5€. It was a nice chill time sitting outside enjoying the weather. The second night I met up with some people from another hostel and we ended up going to a club called Bodeguita. The music was live and the band was pretty good. They played hits from all over the world. The drinks there were pretty expensive at 10€ a pop. However the atmosphere and the good music more than made up for it. Sadly we had to leave early because one of the girls got really sick.
The next couple of places I went to several times. One was called Flashback which attracted the girls with free glass of champaign. It was convenient in that it was next to the town center and easy to find and figure out where you were. The prices weren't too bad, but it was hit or miss there. The other venue was near the market close to where I went the first night. It was smaller dance club and completely operated by the owner. I say completely because he not only served behind the bar, but also DJ'ed and was running the gig.
It's Sunday and like most places in France, everything is closed. The Monoprix (grocery store), H&M (clothing), and even the Kebab place where I get my lunches from are all closed. Sundays are for relaxing. Everyone heads for the beach and when in Nice, do as the... Nicians?
Today is also Giang's last day in Nice and since he is taking my roller blades back to Paris for me, I decided that I better make good use of my purchase in Paris. Giang and I strapped on our roller blades at the beach. Stephanie rented a pair of skates for something like 6€ for an hour and 12€ for the day. There is a wide sidewalk that runs up along the ocean side of the beach. A large portion of it is for walking while a narrower green two lane area is for bikes. The boardwalk is elevated above the rocky pebbles below and along side the road next to it. This boardwalk was used in chase scene from The Transporter. In fact Nice and Cannes were both used for the majority of the chase scenes.
The beach looks completely different than the first day. It is packed and there are tons of people walking along the sidewalk. Next to the sidewalk is a green path marked for bikes. So we cut in and out of that lane and through the crowds of people. The weather is great, sunny with a nice breeze. I forgot to put on sunscreen and in the short amount of time of roller blading in a tanktop I got some a nice burn going on my shoulders and neck.
Giang leaves after a while to visit Cannes on his way back to Paris. Stephanie and I decide to stay at the beach. I went for swim. The waters were cool and reminded me of California. Getting in and out of the waves barefoot was pretty difficult. The rocks tumbled around with the wake and stable footing was hard to maintain. We headed back to the hostel around 6pm.
A bus ride to Monaco is 1€ via bus and takes about 30minutes, just enough time to fall asleep to catch a power nap. Monaco is a sovereign state located along the Mediterranean just east of Nice. It is famous of racing and its congregation of tax-avoiding wealth. The next day Stephanie, Gene, Giang and I boarded a bus to Monaco. The weather called for cloudy rain so we figured it would be a good day to check out Monaco, rather than hitting the beach. I slept through most of the scenery, but woke up right before the final stop.
The streets of Monaco are narrower and remind me of what Europe should look like in mind. Souvenir stores line the corners of every street and all showcase items of bright red. From t-shirts to little replica racecars, its pretty clear what the main attraction of this town.
I ended up making several trips to Monaco and was able to see different aspects of the place each time. The first trip I found the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium at top of a hill. For 6€, I decided it was worth a look. Everyone else decided it wasn't and we all went our separate ways after discussing to meet back near the Aquarium by the yellow submarine.
The Aquarium was pretty impressive and the museum was showcasing an Antarctica exhibit. The highlight was obviously the aquariums. The first tank you see is huge and is at the bottom on a flight of stairs. When I first got there, it was not crowded but soon people flocked in and pretty much covered the entire viewing glass. There were several other windows on the other side as well. It show cased live coral, reef fish, and as well as larger species such as sharks, green turtles and rays.
Six large metal halide fixtures lit up the viewing area and the live coral all had vivid color. Artifical waves splashed against the top of the viewing window. Below are some pictures of the main tank.
There are tons of aquariums on the lower levels, but none that even compared in size to the first one. Each tank showcased a different time of aquatic life. Of course all the display signs were in French so I really didn't learn much about the sea creatures. There was one tank in particular that was I was really impressed with. It was a larger rectangular tank that housed hundreds of clown fish and anemones. The clown fish darted around and the movement of orange and white was spectacular. I will try to setup a similar tank when I get state-side. I have always wanted to setup a salt tank, but hesitated because it is notoriously difficult. After mastering a freshwater planted tank for 3 years, I think my next setup will be a salt.
We ate at a cafe in the touristy area. I ordered a Stephanie, named after the Princess of Monaco. It was suppose to be salmon and pasta. But when the plate finally came the salmon fillet that I was expected were merely little chunks. Ever since Belfast I've been crave a good fillet of fish. The quest continues.
My second trip to Monaco was with some Canadians that were staying at our hostel. We didn't stay that long, but we were able to walk around on the racetrack area. I believe there was an event that day, as everyone was setting up tents and lawn chairs. Near the race track we could see pit crews warming up tires. F1 tires are different than the Indy slicks that I'm use to in the states. Rather than the large flat slicks, F1 uses tires with thread which is suppose to be safer since it reduces racing speeds.
The racetrack is situated along the bay and boats that are docked near the track have a pretty good view. There are tons of yachts and boats here of all sizes, including a giant cruise ship docked a ways out. Since the track is on the bottom of several hills there are many places to see the race from. Many people had already setup lawn chairs and coolers along the many paths that go up and down the hill.
Both times that I went we ended up taking a train back. The train station was probably one of the nicer ones I've seen and it was super clean.
