The hostel was great- clean, safe, and in the perfect location. We unpacked and got changed and went down to the bar to wait for the rest of our group and meet some other people staying in the hostel. There were a lot of Americans and English speakers. After the other 3 in our group arrived we went to check out the local nightlife recommended by the young guy at the front desk. We went to an Irish pub and a bar named Wayne's. Per usual, I was the only one to get carded upon entry into Wayne's since I can't even pass as an 18 year old. I had to spent a few minutes trying to communicate that he had just let all my friends into the bar before I was allowed. The bar was alright, a little too crowded and expensive for my taste. We headed back to the hostel relatively early after a long day of traveling.
The next morning (8/28) we hopped on a train to go to Monaco. The receptionist at the hostel had told us that there was a great beach there...which we were never able to find. We walked along the cliff side next to the water for a mile or so before giving up on finding this supposed beach and deciding to claim our solitary spot on the rocks. All the guys jumped in, at first I was freaked out by the waves that were crashing into the rocks but eventually I gave in. It was an absolutely gorgeous view and it was really cool to have our own little spot instead of being at a crowded beach. We got back to Nice late afternoon and went to check out the local beaches. I've never been on a rocky beach before and definitely wasn't accustomed to how painful it is to walk on. I had to admit I definitely prefer sandy beaches, even though the water was gorgeous. We went back to the hostel to get cleaned up for the night. While waiting downstairs I met a girl named Jessica from Canada who had been working abroad and was doing some traveling before heading home. She came out to dinner with us that evening, and it was handy having someone with us that spoke French. After dinner we went to a bar to meet up with the girls from Riva that had also gone to Nice but were staying in a different hostel. We tried to get into a club but decided not to go after we learned about the pricey entrance fee (and I got carded there as well). We ended up going to a sport bar and then sitting out on the beach until late.
Monaco, France
On 8/29, we went to Cannes with the other girls. We started the day off with a tour of Museo de le Castle, it was a fortress back in the day. We climbed to the top of the tower where we had an amazing view of all of Cannes. The rest of the museum was filled with neat artifacts from the Mayans and other groups. My favorite portion of the museum were the weapons and musical instruments displays, it was interesting to see how they've evolved over time. After walking around the museum and taking some fabulous pictures from the tower, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant. Everyone enjoyed their food and the prices weren't bad. Later we went to the beach, it was great to go to a sandy beach after laying out on rocks the day before. The group split up and three of us stayed behind to enjoy the beach in Cannes a little longer while the rest headed to Antibes. After a few more hours on the beach, we headed to Antibes as well. It was impossible to meet up since the town is pretty big, and also very confusing to navigate. We had the most difficult time trying to find the water and eventually gave up. We walked up and down narrow streets lined on either side by old fashioned, tall apartment buildings. The bright colors of the buildings made it such a pretty sight. We walked around not really sure where we were going and stumbled upon a bunch of cute shops with homemade trinkets. After exploring we were hungry again. We found the most amazing, hole in the wall restaurant buried away. We walked down the stairs and the inside stone walls made it look like a cave. About half an hour after we arrived, about a dozen French families and couples arrived. We've learned in class about European customs regarding meal times, but it was interesting to see for my self. Plus, after the locals arrived we knew we had picked a great restaurant. It was pitch black after we left and it took us quite a while to find the train station. The guys went out but I was exhausted after such a long day that I decided to call it a night.
We got up early the next morning (8/30) to catch our train to Genova. We missed our first train after struggling to get out of the hostel on time. We arrived in the city around 3 PM and checked into our hotel before walking around some. The hotel wasn't near as nice as the first one, it was a small family owned hotel with only a few rooms and it didn't appear to have any other guests at the time. We went to the dock and walked around to see what there was to do. The city seemed almost deserted, a lot of the shops had bars covering the windows and the city just seemed dead. The dock by the water was really pretty, we got dinner there but it wasn't much to speak off. The guys had some sort of mystery meat and I had a veggie sandwich that the man prepared with his bare hands...kind of grossed me out. We went back to the hotel, all exhausted from our trip so far, and tried to brainstorm what to do. We contemplated walking to bars where Americans supposedly went, but after our initial assessment of the city, it didn't seem like a safe idea. We tried to find a bar close to the hotel and failed, instead we sat outside of a kabob shop and got a snack. We all went to bed early so we'd be rested for more touring of the city the next day.
City Center in Genova, Italy
On our last day in Genova, we decided we must check out the aquarium. It was definitely my favorite part of Genova. They had sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, sting rays, manatees, etc...I was glad we went. After spending a few hours at the aquarium we went to lunch at a little cafe and got gelato. We finally found the main shopping area we had missed the day before, they had a few good stores but nothing fantastic. We tried to find a park that was listed on the map. We found the park, but not what we expected, the fountain was empty and there were several homeless people sleeping on the benches. We kept walking to try to find something worth seeing in the city. After walking around for hours and exploring almost every inch of the city, there was still nothing that took our breath away. I had to be honest and admit that I will never return to Genova. The city was scary and dirty, where I used to live in Manila, Philippines put Genova to shame. Exhausted, we caught our train back to Riva at night. It was such a fun weekend, but I was definitely glad to get a good night's sleep.
Piranhas at the aquarium in Genova
In Nice we stayed in Hotel Saint Exupery Beach- absolutely amazing location, about a 15 minute walk from the train station and close to the beach, bars, and tram. I would highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment