Day 13, Lucerne to Nice

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Day 13: Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Lucerne, Switzerland to Nice, France.

Another long driving day full of many many mountains. We get into Nice and, at first, I am not impressed. We must have come in thru the bad part of town though because when we got to our hotel (Hotel Albert 1 right by the Promenade) it was beautiful again. We stopped at the hotel for about an hour and a half and then we got back on the bus and headed to Monte Carlo, Monaco which was about 40 minutes away. By the time we got there, it was dark but we did a quick stroll thru the area that has the palace. Tonight's excursion was a restaurant and I can't remember what I had, but it didn't disagree with me so I was happy. However, the waiters were ready for our group to leave the moment we got in- we had plates snatched away and new ones set down before we had a chance to say "I'm done".

After the restaurant, we hopped back in the bus and drove 10 minutes away to the casino. We walked past some hairpin turn that anyone who is a fan of F1 racing would recognize from the big race. I'm not a big fan and in fact i know nothing at all about car racing, so I had to have it pointed out to me. Fear not you racing fans, I took a picture. We stood outside the Monte Carlo Casino for a bit and people took pictures of the cars that were there- again, that was wasted on me. We then had the option to go into the famous Monte Carlo Casino (where you have to pay 10 Euro to enter) or go down a level to another Casino for free. Free won us over!

Once inside, myself, Teryn and Lauren hunted down the bathroom where Amanda committed her first crime of her adult life. I must, humbly, admit that I did steal a tootsie roll from a grocery store when I was about 6. Or, I tried. Mom caught me and had me do the walk of shame back into the grocery store where, while crying, I handed it back to the store manager. Sorry Mom, I've gone down the wrong path again- though I'm pretty sure this time you would have gone down that path as well. So, in the bathroom it was all pretty and fancy and instead of having hand dryers or paper towels to dry your hands with, they had small, rolled up towels that were really just washcloths. Now, another slightly annoying aspect about European hotels is that they don't provide you with washcloths but they do provide you with bath gel. So, you basically rub slime all over your body in the shower and act like you feel clean. I was tired of being slimed and I saw a solution to the problem, so I grabbed one of the towels (which were all clean and pretty and rolled into a pyramid tower) and stuffed it in my pocket. Problem solved and now I am all clean and pretty, except for my soul which I'm sure is now tarnished.

We head out to the Casino floor and Natasha is the only one with guts enough to play at a table and plays Roulette and wins! I tell the guys how I use to work in a Casino and all I know how to play are slots and promptly prove myself wrong by losing 20 Euro in under a minute because I really don't understand the "bet on multiple lines" aspect of slot machines. By that time, it's time to hop back on the bus and head back to Nice.

Back at the hotel, we have the option of calling it a night or heading out to a local bar with Dave and some others. Ashton and Kent call it a night as does Teryn, but the rest of us head out. We go to a bar called "Wayne's". This was the third "English" named bar or restaurant we had been taken to on our tour and we were beginning to find it funny. They usher us, about 14 people, into the back room where a rock band is playing. We order some drinks (Pepsi for me, I'm boring) and soon tables are being pushed back so that a dance floor can be created. That was pointless because everyone seemed to then jump up on the tables and dance on them. One guy started messing with the disco ball that was hanging from the ceiling prompting the DJ (the band finished soon after we got there) who was the owner of the ball, to threaten to grab the perpetrators ball the next time he grabbed the disco ball. He didn't follow thru with his threat but he did remove the disco ball from the ceiling and hide it behind the set.

So, everyone was dancing. Everyone but me. I. Will. Not. Dance. I'll do karaoke, I'll tell inappropriate jokes, but I will not draw attention to myself by dancing. I have too many ubber white genes floating thru me, it's not a comfortable situation. So, I hid in the back until some of the others admit they're ready to go then I sprint for freedom and bed.

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Photos

Everyone taking a picture of something while I take a picture of them.
Profound, no?

Comments

[Chris]

You stole an Aston Martin Vanquish and went joy riding through the streets?
Try taking that turn as fast as you can run!!