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April 28th 2011

Published: April 28th 2011

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a good easter holiday, or for those lucky people still enjoying your holiday!

Before I tell you about where I am now, I feel like I need to finish off Scotland first.

After my wee tour I spent a couple of days hanging around Fiona's house not doing a whole lot. On Good Friday I did go into the city and go on a hop on/hop off bus tour. The weather was pretty rubbish. The whole city was covered in a fog that didnt lift for the entire day. I was very lucky that Scotish people dont really celebrate Easter because absolutely everything was open all through the holidays. On saturday Fiona and I took the bus from the top of her road to Glasgow. This was my first day of rain for the entire time I had been in Scotland. Because of that I couldnt really complain. Instead of walking around Glasgow seeing the buildings and getting wet we decided to walk around shopping centres instead! Lucky for us Glasgow has some fantastic shops so we kept ourselves entertained all day!

We made it back to Fiona's house around 6pm and we both needed a sleep. After a quick nap we got ready and headed to a French restaurant for tea. After tea we went to a bar for a quick drink before going home. This however changed when Fiona's friend decided to come and join us. We ended up in a Latin night club which was awesome. We stayed there until closing at 3.00am. Now Im not sure if it was the alcohol or the fact I had never walked on cobble stone streets in heels, but I did end up falling over and hurting my ankle!! Didnt really worry about it that night cause I was really tired, but I woke up on sunday with a slightly swollen and bruised foot 😞 It is ok now but it did take a couple of days to be able to walk on it properly again. All part of the story!

So easter Sunday was pretty much a right off. We didnt get out of our pj's until about 3pm. I did manage to do some washing but that was all. We went out for well not afternoon tea cause it was 5pm, but it wasnt tea either, with Fiona's parents. We went to this little Italian wine bar and had ham and cheeses with a glass of wine. The ham and cheeses were great, but I dont think Fiona and I needed another glass of wine!

We decided to go upstairs to the restaurant attached to the wine bar for tea. It was really nice. After tea we went back to Fiona's house and sadly watch "William and Kate the Movie". It was rubbish.

Monday Fiona and I wondered (well i hobbled) around Edinburgh. I know I have said this before but it is such a nice city. We left the house around lunch time dressed for winter as there was fog around. By the end of lunch we were down to our t-shirts, the sun had come out and it was pretty hot.

We went to Fiona's parents house for tea. I was able to use their internet to book the rest of my trip. It took me 4 hours but I finally have the next 4 weeks planned and booked. Did get a bit stressful for a little while when the flights were not working out.

On Tuesday I packed my bag and said a sad farewell to Fiona and went to the airport. Cheap airlines over here are really enforce the baggae limit. If you are half a kilo over they will make you pay extra. I freaked out a little about this as I didnt know how much I bag weighed. So I went a brought a box and sent home my winter clothing hoping I wouldnt need them for the rest of my trip[. I did keep my rain jacket just incase!! The box ended up weighing 8kgs...I wont even tell you how much that cost to post home. I got to the airport and checked my bag in and it weighed 20.01kgs and I had a 210kg limit! Thats not including my hand luggae which i swear weighs about 8 kgs alone. So no problem checking in and then waited for my flight. I was flying from Edinburgh to Nice in the South of France. Another thing about cheap airlines is that you dont have an allocated seat its first on best seat. I was really luck and got a window seat and was able to look at the South of France from it as we flew in.

I didnt arrive in Nice until 5pm. I took the bus from the airport into the centre and then a tram to my hostel. I didnt really know what to expect from the hostel, but i have to say I love it. Im in a 13 bed female only dorm. The room is seperated into two sections one with 6 beds then the bathroom and the other side with 7 beds. I have a bottom bunk with no one on the top bunk so far. I had tea at the hostel that night and just randomly sat at this table. Everyone started talking and we all ended staying up till past midnight drinking and chatting.

Yesterday (wednesday 27.4) I took a train to Menton and Monaco with a girl I had met the night before at the hostel. We were just chatting and realised we wanted to go to the same places so we decided to spend the day together.

Menton is the last town in France before you reach Italy. It is situated on the water. It does have an italian influence in the buildings. The water looked amazing, the sky was blue and it was beautiful. After Menton we took the bus back down the coast to Monaco/Monte Carlo.

Some interesting facts about Monaco; It is its own country, however they do speak French. They are not part of the EU but use the Euro for its currency. It is the smallest country apart from the Vatican but it holds major sporting events including the Grand Prix which is at the end of may. and they have their own Monarchy.

The Monte Carlo casino is impressive. We were not allowed inside due to our dress and lack of money but the outside was just as impressive. The road was lined with sporting cars including a Jaguar, Farari and Bently right next to each other. I was going to get a picture of this but my camera was having a moment and didnt work.

We walked up to the Palace which was at the top of the hill. Got to the top and it was under rennovation so you couldnt see the building!! We ended up at the aquarium which the guys at the hostel had reccommended. Have to say it was a bit of a let down, but the building which it is in was pretty amazing.

After that we took the bus back to Nice and arrived at the hostel at 7pm. Lets just say I was buggered. I had tea at the hostel again and had a quiet night chatting to a new group of people. I did meet someone who was from Tassie which was pretty fuuny. She grew up in Port Sorell until she was 14! Most of the people are Amercians but there are some Aussies here as well.

Today I had a bit of a sleep in and didnt get going until lunch time. I went to the train station to confirm my ticket to Paris on Saturday. Had a bit of trouble with the ticket and ended up having to pay 100 euros to go from Nice to Paris which sucks, as the only reason Im going to Paris is they were the only place that flies to Malaga in Spain. So my Saturday will consist of catching a train at 6.30am to Paris then waiting till 7pm to fly to Malaga. Not fun.

Anyway today after all that I took the train to Cannes to spend the day with the rich and famous. I was two weeks early as the Cannes film festival doesnt start till then. So as I didnt have any famous people to hang out with I went to the only sandy beach in the south of france and sat there for 3 hours reading my book. Bliss!!

I did a quick walk around Cannes but there really isnt much to see apart from lots of expensive shops that I would never be allowed in. I took the train back to Nice and came back to the hostel for a sleep!!

Im just about to head out to tea (this time outside the hostel) with people I have met staying here.

Tomorrow I am just going to hang around Nice chilling. On saturday I have my day of travel, but when I get to Malaga it should be great. I have 7 nights at a resort with a girl I met from my first top deck tour. I plan to do absolutely nothing. I will go to the pool, to the bar, back to the pool and back to the bar!! Our accommodation includes all food and alcohol so we wont have to pay for anything while we are there. It was actually a really good price. Im extremely excited.

I have to admit I am getting a little tired, so it will be nice to chill out for a little while. The way I have planned the next 4 weeks it will be a lot more relaxing compared to what I have been doing.

Well better go and get ready for tea.

Bye for now. Bec

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