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Nice, France

Every trip has a ‘worst night ever’ experience, this was ours. Dave has been up since 3am sick in Morocco with food or water poisoning. To ensure he experienced the wrath of his 24 hour bug, by the time our flight landed and we arrived to our hotel it was 3am in France. I’m unsure what was more frustrating, a taxi from airport to hotel being $100, or just missing the once every 2 hour bus and waiting in the cold for the next one. Oh I know what’s worse; finally arriving to Marseille city by bus at 3am and then realising there’s no taxis so we have to walk to the hotel, to be then standing outside a locked ’24hour’ hotel in a dark alleyway and have 5 dodgy boys hanging around us until enough shaking on the door woke the hotel owner up in his pjs, who then proceeded to shout at us in French. I’m glad he understood the concept of a 24 hour hotel for $75!
24 hours of hell didn’t seem long enough so we stretched it out to 36 hours. I think the conversations we had with the rail ticket office, the hotel reception the next morning and the post office to send a parcel back home ($150) would have been better with a brick wall. At least that way we wouldn’t have been shouted at in French by all those listed above. Marseille, farewell to you!

A new city and new day. Regardless of what Nice is like as a city, the people are so welcoming and friendly…. and nice (ha ha, had to say it!). They realise a smile goes a long way. The French in the north weren’t familiar with what the English call the French Riviera. They know it as Côte d’Azur.
A few weeks ago we met a couple of backpackers who looked at us strangely when we said we’re backpackers that have never stayed in a backpackers dorm room. After three days in Nice we’re loving the hostels. I love the fact there’s cooking facilities and they offer a free wine and nibbles evening.

Our first day trip from Nice was to Cannes. Although no signs of a film festival, it does have a great feeling about it. Out of the 5 beaches we found along the French Riviera, the water was the clearest in Cannes. Overall the Mediterranean waters have been the clearest I’ve ever seen in my life. Unlike Cannes’s sandy beaches, Nice’s beach has pebbles. We couldn’t justify the $30 to hire a bed so we lay on those hard pebbles. We paid the price though, with red round pebble marks all over our backs. The most beautiful of the beaches was Ville France, about two train stops from Nice. No Riviera trip would be complete without a trip to the ever so glamorous Monte Carlo. We had many people tell us it’s overrated, and that is probably the case, however the day we went was the start of the super yacht show. I have never seen so many 4 and 5 storey floating mansions in one spot in my life. I imagine the way we felt being surrounded by people who live their life in a different world would be similar to a refugee coming to Australia. It’s putting things into perspective. The wealth of those people is beyond comprehension. Of course the boats that were parked in and around the marina have owners who drive the fanciest cars we have ever seen. There were no stock standard Porches, Lamborghini or Bentleys, they were the models that you see on the movies not in real life. I have never in my life seen so much money in such a small space. With no airport, therefore no private planes allowed in Monaco, the only way the rich and famous can access Monaco from the sky is by private helicopter. During the week there’s only an interval of 20min between flights. The ocean is a car parking lot for super yachts with helicopter pads. The actual car parks have enough wealth to solve a third world country’s poverty issues.
Monaco is the world’s second smallest country at only 2km sq. It’s known for the Monaco Grand Prix and that famous casino which had 3 Bond films shot there. The 32,000 citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble, or even visit the casino but they do have a tax free lifestyle.
Dave was in awe as he got to walk around the Grand Turismo track. It was weird that he knew the streets and where to go without looking at the GPS. The one other thing about Monte Carlo that’s worth a mention is the McDonalds. The maccas is 3 floors up, waterfront views and inside only. BUT there is no advertising to even know its a McDonalds, not even one sign will indicate what it is from the outside. See picture below

On our newly created bucket list is a sailing trip on the Med. It’s such a beautiful place in the world. I can only imagine how magnificent it would be from the water. It’s free to write lists and dream!

Dave is still extremely ill from Morocco (4 days ago), so he could only manage to be out and about for a few hours each day. Unfortunately we didn’t see as much as we’d have liked but I think that’s what happens when you go go go everyday without a break. I say that as in the next 48 hours we have 16 hours on 8 trains. Oh well, onwards and upwards!

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