Nice.... its nice!

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Hello from tropical paradise! We have just spent four days in Nice, situated in the south of France right on the Mediterranean. We arrived to warm sun, a welcome change from the damp cold of the north. Our hostel turned out to be fantastica huge gongshow. We were impressed when they sent down a shuttle bus to take us up the hill with our heavy packs. They also had amazing dinners for cheap prices!

The first night we arrived in Nice was a bit of a bust as it was late. However, that did notmean it was not great. You see they are soccer crazy there and the local team OGC Nice was taking on the bottom feeder Sochaeux, and the whole city was in a bit of a frenzy. We tried to get a free view of the game which would have worked but tj wanted to be part of the obnoxious crowd. To his dismay there were no tickets left 😞 But being the charming fellow he is he was able to get a free ticket to the game where he sat in row 9 with nobody sitting in front of him. The chants were deafening and the locals threw bottles at the their own team even when they scored. Ridiculase. They drew 1-1 and tj got the hell out there before the crazies burned anything else.

The next day was warm and sunny, so we took the tram down to the Old Town to see the sights. We walked along the beach which was full of suntanners and swimmers... and many old topless women (!!) France is a bit odd. Next we walked up hundreds of steps to the top of a huge hill that was once the home of a fortified castle. Today it is just touristy and fun, with stunning panoramic views of Nice and the ocean. There is a beautiful waterfall, some cafes, and swings in the playground to entertain TJ. We also walked to the port and out along the wave breaker which was fun. Lunch was eaten in a little cafe by the flower market, and we enjoyed delicious omelets in the shade.

The following day we were escorted by our entourage to the Monaco casino as we are such high rollers,and need constant reassurance. Monaco is absolutely stunning! We spent about two hours gawking at the enormous yachts. We also visited the Monte Carlo casino but werent allowed in because we look like dirty backpackers. Instead we drooled over the numerous maseratis, lambourghinis, bentleys and ferraris that were parked outside. Good times. Finally we climbed up to the castle, observed the guards marching around in prissy white uniforms and enjoyed the botanical gardens before heading back to Nice again on the train.

On our final day in the city, there was a job action and none of the buses or trams were running. The trains leaving the city were also limited so to avoid the chaos of the train station we scrapped our plans to visit Cannes and spent the day lying on the beach instead. Teija got burned. It was wonderful. October sunburns are much better than the regular summer kind!

We have now arrived in Florence after a grueling 10 hours in transit from France. You see trains do notrun on time in Italy....they need Mussolini back. So far we are enjoying Italy and have avoided pickpockets and perverts! More stories to come soon!

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