Nice, not just nice.

We had arrived back from our winter vacation for a full 18hours before we looked into where we could go next. Some of our friends had headed down to Nice for their winter vacation and we were just dying to see the sun. Sold. Let’s go!

We left on Tuesday the 24th. The further we got, the more sunshine there was and the warmer the weather. It’s just a beautiful thing. An added bonus was that we arrived on the day of Carnival, Mardi Gras or Pancake Tuesday. The entire town was decorated in celebration. It was totally different than the Mardi Gras than the one in New Orleans. It was completely kid friendly with silly string and confetti being sold on every corner, along with a little bit of candy. There was a huge parade that took about 2.5 hours with the biggest floats that I have ever seen in my life! We caved in and bought a ride on the ferris wheel and some cotton candy (which the French call “la barbe de papa” = dad’s beard).

The next day, we rented bikes. It was so much fun. There are bike rental systems all over Paris and Lyon, but we never had the time to do so. We spent a big part of the day just biking up and down the coast line – there is a foot path that is almost 50’ wide, for walkers, runners, roller bladers, and the tourists – with a bike lane. We’d bike a little, lay on the beach a while, bike further, take a nap, and bike through the harbour. When our butts couldn’t handle anymore of the painful seats, we parked the bikes, bought gelato and climbed up the mini mountain where there was an old castle and a beautiful park.

We went out for dinner to a nice place to try some Nicois specialties. It was delicious. We even splurged on a bottle of wine, which makes everything that much better.

The Thursday, we bought train tickets and went into Monaco. We were excited, it being a whole new country and all, but we were sorely disappointed. We got off the train, emerged from the centre of the mountain, and descended to the shore line where there were $8 million yachts. It was crazy! Some of them even had a garage for their speed boats! We found the one little area of beach and proceeded to get sunburnt (well at least I did ;) It was great. We then walked across the entire country. It’s only 2km, so not really that far. After having the let old people pass us on the way up the mountain towards the castle, we had had enough, back to Nice.

Due to our complete lack of energy (after having not seen the sun for 6 months straight, it just drains you) we headed to the McDo for dinner and to sit and write letters and postcards. It was an early night.

Friday was another beach bum day. Just perfect. We bought sandwiches and fresh strawberries at the grocery store, and headed back to the hostel early to indulge in long, hot showers. That night we caught a movie – Ce Que Pensent les Hommes – He’s Just Not That Into You – definitely a good chick flick.

Saturday, we headed back to St. Étienne, that joyous place we call home. After 7 hours on the train, we arrived to a grey sky, coldness and general unhappiness. Where to next???