Cheltenham to Nice

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Right, I shall attempt to keep up with this blog as a record of my attempted flightless trip from Britain to Egypt, and wherever I get to beyond that.

Day1:
I took a bus just after 9am from Cheltenham to London, and then another bus to Dover which arrived just before 3pm. These bus trips cost a total of 10 pounds, which is cheap for Britain! I found a ferry which was cheaper than I had expected, 12 pounds with Sea France, and by 6.45 French time I was in not-beautiful, not-warm Calais.
One of the three other foot passengers was Juan from north-west Spain near Bilbao. I had hoped that there might be a train to Nice through the night, but there was not. Juan was trying to get a train to Biarritz and then another into Spain, but that was not possible through the night either. We decided that Calais was not a good place to spend the night as there are a lot of itinerants; asylum seekers who have been unable to get across to Britain, so we both took a train to Lille. That being as far as we could get that day, we considered sleeping in the station there as Juan would take a train very early in the morning and was reluctant to pay for a bed for the night if he was going to spend only a very few hours in it. However, the station was closed at midnight and it was far too cold outside to sleep anywhere, so we gave up our ideals and found the cheapest hotel we could with a twin room. At 55 Euros, that was 27.50 each which is maybe double the cost of a hostel, had there been one, but I felt that this was justified as it was a one off, and it should only get cheaper from here on.
I was really tired, but needed food, so we went out for our first food in France: a kebab! This was followed by a beer at a bar with a live band. Fifty-year-olds playing rock! We heard the likes of AC-DC and Black Sabbath while we sank Belgian beers. This was no archetypal French experience! Juan was really enjoying himself and didn't want to leave, although I reminded him that he had just paid for a hotel and would be getting up at 5am, but he didn't care any more. 'That money is gone now' he said. We finally left the bar at 2.30,- madness!

Day 2:
Having been woken at an un-Godly hour by Juan, I booked my train to Nice, which went via a place called Paris. I met a large Spanish family on the train who I began talking to in French, but transferred to English when they discovered my nationality and wanted the practise. They were very enthusiastic and funny.
With over an hour and a half to spare in Paris I had a rapid look around by bus, seeing the Louvre (only outside) and its adjoining gardens, a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomph and the Pompidou Centre, as well as the Notre Dame alongside the Seine. I had to do something with the time.
Looking out of the window on the second train I was soon passing through France's large open fields devoid of hedgerows. Going south the thin patches of snow increased until everything in site was white, and then disappeared altogether as we neared the noticably sunnier and clearer Mediterranean. It already felt good to be back there.
I arrived in Nice at 7.20pm and found the locations of a couple of hostels I knew of on a city map displayed in the station foyer. Ten minutes later I was in one of them and was talking to three girls; Jackie, an Aussie (no surprise there, though unusually she spoke some French); Viena, yet another Spaniard; and Victoria, a Russian (which is unusual). We were soonafter joined by two lads; Brian, from Texas and Jan, from Finland. Apart from the Victoria we all went out for drinks in the Vieux Ville (Old Town) where we found a place selling spicy hot wine.
On the way to another bar Viena and I became embroiled in lively conversation with a group of local youths who we'd asked for guidance on Nice nightlife. We began in French, as usual, but were soon alternating with English and Spanish as various members of the group wanted to practise either one or the other language, and they all wanted to speak at once. The other three from the hostel became bored and went to a bar, but Viena and I talked and joked with the group for ages.
After sharing a bottle of wine back at the hostel we turned out the light on another late night.

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