French Rivera fun

We left for Nice, France around 7 on Thursday night from Florence by bus.  For this trip, we were traveling with Euroadventures (a travel agency type thing) so they get us there and set up our hotel and some tours for us.  Of course, Kaylen and I were the LAST ones to the train station, and the bus left right after we got on! We stopped for dinner at a gas station type thing on the way and arrived in Nice around 1 am.  Unfortunately, although we had all signed up for 4 person rooms, they put us in a 12 person bunk house. This wouldn't be bad except that it had one bathroom with one toilet and one mirror for 12 girls... not the best combination! We made it work though!

Friday: We slept in and took a train to Monte Carlo, about 20 mins from Nice, around 11.  Upon arrival, our Euroadventures guides walked us around the town, which is pretty small, and showed us the major sites.  Being in Monte Carlo felt like being in one of the fake cities in Disney World because it was so manicured, clean and colorful.  Seriously, it was so beautiful! We saw the royal palace, and the flag was raised which meant the Prince was home!  Unfortunately though, no Blair Waldorf moment for me! Besides, they just had their own royal wedding about a month after Prince William and Kate Middleton, so hes taken! Darn!

too big to get all in one picture! 

We also saw Grace Kelly's tomb (in the church where she was married), and then went to the world famous Monte Carlo Aquarium!  I hadn't heard of it before, but apparently it is on the travel channel etc. a lot!  It was a very cool aquarium positioned on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, but I wouldn't call it a must see. Maybe its the best aquarium in Monaco, but if you know how small Monaco is, you know thats not saying much! Regardless, I got some cool pictures, and had fun seeing the fish! 

church where Grace Kelly was married/ is buried  

jellyfish!

After the aquarium, we walked around Monte Carlo for a while longer and just enjoyed the city. Its seriously, the most perfect place you can imagine, and I can't even imagine how people live there!  The view isn't too shabby either!

bought a yacht with the credit card... that qualifies as an emergency right?

overcast day, but still gorgeous! 

We got back into Nice in time for dinner, and headed down the main street in search of seafood! The first place we found was way too overpriced, but the second restaurant turned out to be really great! We couldn't tell if the waiter liked us or thought we were completely obnoxious (his mood seemed to shift between every course), but the food was great! Also, they brought us as much bread and tap water as we could eat/drink which was such a treat! After dinner we went to a champaign party that Euroadventures was throwing for us in the hotel which was pretty fun, and then out to a bar that was just awkward.  We only lasted for about 30 mins at the bar, and then were too exhausted and headed back! 

at the champaign party 

Saturday, We took a train into Cannes, the city where they host the famous film festival every year.  It was a much nicer day (the sun was out!) and I barely needed a jacket! We took pictures on the beach, and then started wondering around the city and window shopping.  They had so many cool designer stores/ vintage shops/ boutiques/ chocolate stores etc. that we had more than enough to fill the time.  After a while, Nicole, Sam, Kaylen and I picked up some chocolate and wine and headed back to the beach.  We found some lawn chair type things and sat on the beach for about 2 hours drinking wine, eating chocolate and chatting. Definitely a highlight of the trip! 

stole these from Sam, her camera is amazing!

After a while we started getting cold, and realized we really needed a bathroom! Unfortunately, unlike in America, public restrooms are not really a common thing, and we had to get creative! We started walking into stores and asking for the restroom, but boutiques and stores don't have them (or if they did, the weren't telling us).  At this point, it was reaching emergency level, and Kaylen distracted a waiter while I used the restroom at a restaurant.  We realized that the restaurant was closing, and the waiter really wanted us to go to their other restaurant to eat (which is how Kaylen distracted him) so he took us to the other restaurant, where we again pretended to be interested in eating so the other 3 girls could use the restroom! Seriously, that is one thing I definitely miss about America! Even at McDonald's, you have to type in a code from your receipt to open the door to the bathroom.... sometimes I really don't understand Europe! 

Sorry if that was too much information, I swear I won't talk about bathrooms again... or at least on this post! We headed back to Nice after that, and got ready for Audrey's birthday dinner! We went to a hibachi grill which was entertaining, but the food was very different from American hibachi food.  I got chicken teriyaki which was more like fried chicken in a weird sauce type thing... America definitely wins in the Chinese food category! 

Happy Birthday Audrey!

After dinner went went and checked out Carnival! Unfortunately we missed the main parade, but we caught the tail end where they do an encore.  The crowds had thinned a lot by then which was both good and bad.  We still had a blast seeing all the floats and throwing confetti on each other though! After seeing the floats, we road the ferris wheel and saw an amazing view of Nice from the top... also I remembered how terrified of ferris wheels I am.    

After making it alive off of the ferris wheel (it was definitely debatable... seriously so it was so tall!), we headed to a bar and caught a live concert! Unfortunately, they were on their last three or so songs, but they were a really awesome cover band and played Nickleback and U2 songs.  It was at the back of the bar and so crowded and crazy! Definitely another trip highlight! 

Sunday: We spent the morning in Nice hanging out on the beach and walking around the city.  Nice is so beautiful and quirky in its own way... also they have really good McDonalds!  I have never been one to eat fast food, but when you are on a budget, it definitely comes in handy sometimes! The only downside to French McDonalds is that they only give you 1 or 2 ketchup packets! They actually tried to charge us for extra packets, like seriously? Just another time when I'm reminded that I am not in Texas anymore! 

macaroons... yum!

Beach in Nice

Around 2, we got on the bus and headed to Eze, an old Roman city.  It is built up a hillside and is absolutely beautiful! The buildings are all only a few hundred years old, but the walkways etc. were built by the Romans.  Its such a charming little town, and the view is seriously out of this world!

After Eze, we took a tour of a perfume factory which was pretty cool, but my nose definitely felt like it was going to explode after a while! Then just a 5 or so hour bus ride home to Florence! As always, it is so nice to be home after a weekend away! Tomorrow I am meeting up with my parents in Berlin, which I could not be more excited about!  They are on their way to the airport now, and I am so glad that it is them and not me who has to travel for the next 15+ hours!  I'll update yall again soon! Until then, hope all of yall have a great rest of the week/weekend... continue to keep me updated on yalls lives!! 

XOXO