Just turned twenty-five and realized I have so much to see. I Looked into an around the world ticket... hoping to leave in August 2007.
French Riviera
FRANCE | Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | Views [283] | Comments [1]
Marseilles- For some reason we neglected to book a hostel in Marseilles. We met some boys in the train station who recommended hostel Vertigo, which was walking distance away.... so we went. The part of Marseilles we were satying in was sort of like a Moroccan-Tunisian ghetto. Nasir, a sweet Moroccan who ran the place booked us in. We had a lovely en suite room to ourselves. The hostel was really cute, but a bit pricey. J went to bed and I stayed up talking to a few people that were staying... one of the girls offered some wine and we listened to music. I started to mention how my ipod seized and a German guy, Max, offered to try and fix it.. he did! But in the process all my songs were wiped....noooooo. He offered to put his music on. I thankfully accepted. It is a lovely mix of Portuguese dub, French Rap, The Beatles, Lauryn Hill, and I don't even know what. I miss my Elliot smith and everything else! The next day I was feeling like quite the adventurer and I set off on a ten mile journey... Five miles to the Notre Dame of the South and five back. I hiked up a million stairs, but the view and sunset made it all worth while. For dinner I made a yummy soup and spent a mellow evening chatting with Max and writing in my journal. The next day we headed out around noon. I bought a small rolly bag with wheels to put my toiletries and camera in... my pack was getting too heavy and I wanted to save my back a bit. Having wheels does slow me down, but I think it's better in the end. Our next train was to Nice.
Nice- We were told to call the hostel after we got off the train to pick us up next to the casino... Oh oh... gambling problems? Nope, just the name of their supermarket. This hostel was really really nice. We met our roomies, two nineteen year old American boys from South Carolina. They were bicycling around Europe. Brave brave boys. Dylan had a book collection as big as mine and we traded and swapped and talked story. It was a fantastic afternoon. J and I set out to see then town ... we ended up fighting and walked away from each other... she had the map and the number for the hostel pick up service. Damn. The walk back was actually really nice. I met four Aussie boys who were checking in, and then happened to be in the same room. The next day we walked to the castle and I told J I'd meet her at the top, but I saw this lady struggling to get to the sidewalk, so I helped her. Madame Papillion....really. She was in her eighties and underestimated how far the market was from her house and was struggling. I offered to help her. She lived far! Wow! During our walk I noticed she had a clubbed foot and one heel was much larger than the other. I spoke in broken French and she gave me a history of Nice. By the time we reached her home she offered me a pear and mandarin as a thank you. I gratefully accepted and went on my way with a wonderful bear hug from her. I met J at the top of the castle and told her the story... we headed back to the hostel and made dinner. I made the best french toast I have ever made in my life haha. The two America boys joined in and we had a small feast of french toast, cheese and crackers and chocolate and wine. perfect. We ended up playing cards with the Aussie boys. I was really attracted to one... he has a girlfriend of course. The next day we went to Monaco-Monte Carlo and checked out the sights and casino. I lost thirty cents and gave up. Jaymie won five euro... not bad. we spent way too much money on a good but simple dinner and then headed back to Nice. We spent one more night in Nice just hanging out with the hostellers and packed up to leave for Milan.
Tags: Sightseeing
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