Au revoir, France!

Well, time to check off two more "countries" on my trip. I've spent the last few days in Nice, which as we all know (right? ;) is at the Cote d'Azure in France. And it is very aptly named, i.e. both the city (because it's really quite nice) and the beach (because it's pretty damn blue!).

The only miscalculation on my side I guess was the idea that I would escape the tourism of Barcelona, to arrive at a slightly less touristy spot. Well, once again not so! You walk around and think you might be somewhere in England, with all the British and American English around you. As a result, the local restaurants and cafes don't even bother answering a question you asked in French, it comes straight back in English. Bummer! It's one of the few countries where I actually have a chance to try the local language.

The beach is quite awesome I have to say. It's a pebble beach, but other than that the water is really quite something. And the surrounding scenery is astounding; just sitting in the train you never want to put down your camera (see pictures below!)

In case you were wondering why "countries" in quotes, I also did a half-day trip to Monaco which is just around the corner! Yeah, I know, principality schmincipality, it's almost a country. Well, to be perfectly honest, nothing special in my opinion. Lots of yachts really, and a big casino. It's probably better when you're rich. But to me the train ride there was better than the actual destination.

The hostel I'm staying a is sadly rather "eh". 12 people in a tiny room, and we've had a bad batch of Californian girls who've been getting smashed every single day (probably because they're still under-age in California), and last night they entertained everybody until 3am with their Californian uptalk. Supposedly my next hostel in Rome will have a 2-people room, so hopefully I can catch up on my sleep there.

BTW, I decided to change my schedule slightly and make a detour through Vienna before I go to Germany! Dream Theater is playing with their new drummer on the 27th there, so I'm cutting down on my Rome stay a bit and swinging by Vienna to see that. That way I will also escape the heat a bit earlier, which can be a bit much at times.

( direct album link )

Next stop, Rome!

Cheers,

Ralf