calling from some city...

So today was in actuality our first day in Nice. I got a decent night’s sleep, but my cold kept me up at times and the room was very cold. I love sleeping in the air-conditioning, but I wish the hostel would then provide a blanket. But oh well, a cold room is better than a room without air conditioning. We got up around 9:30 or so, and then got our free cereal and juice at the hostel. They have an outside sitting area, so we had our breakfast out there. After breakfast, we discussed our options for the day. We decided to go to Monaco for the day. One of the great things about this hostel is the staff is really helpful with directions and how to get to other places nearby. We got on the tram and then got on the bus for a 45 minute ride. Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (Vatican City is the smallest), with an area of only 0.7 square miles, and is well known as being a hot spot for rich people and celebrities. It’s also home to the famous Monte Carlo casino. Anyways the ride there was beautiful. Like other coastlines we’ve seen, the French Riviera is stunning. Again. the sea was a brilliant and clear blue-aqua-green color, and dramatic cliffs rose up from sea level. Unlike other coasts, however, the houses and apartments built into the French Riviera were far taller, larger, and more luxorious. Thus, the coastline looked more modern and perhaps less unique or dramatic, but still equally beautiful. From the brief glance of France I’ve seen thus far, it definitely seems more like the US than either Greece or Italy did.
Anyways we got to Monaco and walked to Monte Carlo to see the famous casino. So many ridiculously expensive cars were parked nearby- it was quite impressive. It would have been awesome to actually go into Monte Carlo and take a look around, but you had to be dressed up just to enter and pay an entrance fee, so clearly it was serious gamblers only. After, we started to walk down towards the port to gawk at the yachts. Some of them were really impressive (though to be honest I think I would prefer to spend my money on a huge house rather than a boat, but they were gorgeous nonetheless). I grabbed a kebab sandwich along the pier that was yummy (though Sara and Scott felt sick after theirs, but I enjoyed mine). After, we went to the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium! I was so excited for this visit because I LOVE water animals and think sea life is absolutely fascinating. So I really enjoyed looking at the different types of fishes, sharks, algae, and other animal life. I especially thought the octopus was cool. There were no penguins though which was disappointing because I love penguins and really wanted to see one.
Anyways after we walked to the palace to take a look at that. It was nice looking, but again really modern so it wasn’t as impressive as the others we have seen on this trip. We didn’t go inside though and instead  shopped around a bit. We decided we had seen enough of Monaco so we headed back to the bus.
On the way back we decided to stop at Eze, a medieval village. We walked around for about an hour and a half and the town was very funky and cool. There is supposed to be awesome panoramic view of the Riviera from the top of the village but after wandering around in a circle we didn’t find it. The views we did find were incredibly beautiful anyways. We each got crepes that were delicious as well.
We returned to the hostel and ate dinner at the restaurant there. We had some drinks at the hostel bar again before calling it a night. We also officially extended out stay in Nice, so we will be here until Friday!