Nice – A nice place to go.

I rolled into Nice and 30’ heat after a long day on the bus which included a stop in Lake Como on the way from Lauterbrunnen. My first impressions of Nice were not great, as I had decided not to stay at the drop off point, instead going to The Villa Saint Exupery, a hostel which has been voted in the top 5 hostels in the world every year for the last 5 years. This hostel is a little out of the city and hence I had to catch a tram out to the burbs and then get picked up by the Hostel shuttle. While on the tram on the way out, the driver announced something in French, everyone groaned, and then half the passengers got off the bus. I had no idea what was going on, as I don’t speak French, and therefore just stood dumbly in the tram for half an hour before it started moving again. I finally got to my hostel, checked in and then had to come straight back into town for a dinner which I would not have bothered going to, had I not already paid for it on the bus.

The next morning I headed into Nice to go to the beach and walk along the boardwalk. It was hot and sunny, so I can definitely see why it is such a huge holiday destination; however their beaches pale in comparison to Australia’s. As far as I’m concerned it you don’t have sand, and you don’t have waves, then it’s not a beach. It’s a big, uncomfortable pool! I walked down the boardwalk, talking in the sights, the beautiful women and more than a few leathery old men. Later that afternoon I met up with Hannah, and some of her friends that she had made on the Southern Loop through Italy, and we all made our way down to the beach at Cap d’Ail.

Cap d’Ail is just before Monaco, and is a very small, secluded beach. It’s still pretty touristy, but nowhere near as much as nice or Monaco. It is also nearly a sand beach, as in the pebbles are quite small. We stayed there for a bit, with the girls choosing not to go for a swim due to a few clouds in the sky and them being typical women who go to the beach with no intention of getting in the water. After a few hours at Cap d’Ail we caught the train back to Nice, having plans to go out that night, however after a day in the sun, sand and sea, I decided that I’d just have a few drinks at the hostel.

Tuesday morning was the big trip to St Tropez; hangout, harbor, and hometown of the famous and obscenely wealthy. I started the day with a quick trip to the Museum of Modern Art, where I was blown away by some of the pieces, whereas others confirmed my hatred of any art that is more about what it is supposed to represent rather than any artistic ability of skill in its creation. The St Tropez trip started with a 2 hour bus ride and then a few hours free time in Port Grimaud. Port Grimaud is basically a gated community where there are more boats than cars and has been created to look old and historic. It’s not old and historic. It’s fake and soulless, and the best part of my time there was falling asleep on the beach.

After an hour and a half at Port Grimaud, we boarded the bus again and went to the harbor, where we got on a boat for our 90 minute cruise to St Tropez going by celebrities mansions and hearing stories of their escapades. At St Tropez, Jarrad, Erin, Kate and I went for some incredibly expensive pizza, and then made our way around the old town area of St Tropez, making our own fun with photos and jumping into the ocean. When we got back to the boat we found out that we had missed out on spotting celebrities Sting, Shakira and Karl Lagerfeld. None of which I care deeply about, although Sting is cool.

Wednesday was a few hours old before I finally made my way out to Monaco to have a look around and lay on the beach. The beach itself was nearly sand, but absolutely packed and the water did not seem terribly clean. I took a few pics near the F1 track and walked around the Monte-Carlo casino. The amount of money in that place is absolutely mind boggling. I’ve seen Ferrari’s, Aston-Martins and Lamborghini’s before, but in Monaco you see these supercars with the regularity that you see Toyota Camrys in Perth. After an hour’s walking around in the glaring heat, I spent the next few hours lying on the beach, swimming and reading my book before bussing back to Nice and meeting up with Erin and Kate for dinner. After dinner we all headed into Nice, taking some photos, getting lost in old town and watching the B-Boy crews perform their break-dance routines for the many people out on the street that night. Nice is a very lively place out on the street at night, but there isn’t much in the way of nightlife, hence we were back at the hostel and the night was over by 2am.

Friday was my last day in Nice, so I walked up to the top of the hill overlooking Nice to take some photos. It was quite an amazing view over the old town, beaches and out to the Mediterranean. I then met up with Erin and Kate at the beach for a few hours before some massive (1foot) waves signaled it was time to go back to the hostel and get ready for the big night in Cannes.

We got to Cannes, tickets in hand for the outdoor festival gig that was being headlined by Sinden, a DJ I had seen open the Villa nightclub in Perth not 3 months earlier. After finding the festival grounds, Kate, Erin and I then searched around for a supermarket and purchased a bottle of vodka and some lemonade. We polished the bottle off in a park just outside the gig, then went inside and tore it up with Frenchy and tourist alike, having a fantastic, silly time. The last time I saw Sinden, I was with Sara at the opening of Villa nightclub, and more than once I wished she was with me in Cannes also. Next year I guess.

The last train back to Nice left at midnight so we had to leave the gig an hour before it finished in order to get home. We travelled back in first class, rightly assuming that nobody would be checking our tickets on a midnight train, and reach Nice at about 12:30am. I got myself a Royale with cheese at McDonalds, before going back to my hotel and into the sauna that was my room, getting maybe 2 hours of sleep before I got up at 6:30am for the bus to Barcelona, where I would meet up with many of my friends I had met over the last 2 months as we all congregate once again for the craziness that will be La Tomatina.