Nice, France

We started the day in Nice by dropping our bags off at the hostel.  Unfortunately our room did not have a window to the outdoors, only to the hallway, and broken air conditioning making it our worst hostel yet.  We made it work though and asked for a fan from reception to keep it at a comfortable 75 degrees.  Luckily the city was beautiful and the weather was warm so we minimized our time in the room.  Pictured above is the Place Massena, the town square several blocks over from our hostel. 

We then wandered over to the Promenade des Anglais, the famous 3 mile walkway along the beach.   I believe that I've snagged a picture of a musician in every city :)

Nearby we found the Cours Saleya Flower Market, a local market that sells produce and flowers with the exception of antiques on Mondays. 

Erica and I decided to purchase salami, cheese, a baguette, and some strawberries for a classic French lunch that we then ate sea side.

While we ate our lunch, or what the boys deemed "snack-worthy", they amused themselves by skipping rocks off the beach into the water.

Erica, Matt, and I then passed out on the beach for an hour long nap while Ryan and Rob went to get more substantial food at a nearby restaurant for lunch.  Laying on the rocky beach was a bit uncomfortable until you wiggled the rocks to fit your body.  We all joked that it was similar to how a dog or cat scratches at a blanket to get it perfectly fitted to their bodies.  However, it didn't even matter because we were all so exhausted and quickly fell asleep, sleeping long enough to give me a sunburn.  Surprise, surprise.

We then climbed the hill to the old chateau that you can see in the distance of the musician picture.  While the chateau had been destroyed long ago, the view was still gorgeous!

At the top of the hill was also this beautiful waterfall.  If you stoof close enough, you could feel a refreshing mist that was very refreshing in the hot, sunny day.

We made our way down the hill and explored the port of Nice.  After freshening up at the hostel, we returned to the Flower market and ate dinner at a restaurant featuring its produce.  That meal left us all stuffed to the brim with three courses, including creme brulee!

The following day, we hopped on a bus and made our way to the Principality of Monaco.  This was the best part of the day in my opinion because it was winding through the hills along the oceanside for breathtaking views.  This is one of them that I snapped from the bus window.

The bus dropped us off at the Monte Carlo casino, which you may recognize from the movie Casino Royale.  It took us quite some time to get away from this building because the boys were literally drooling over cars parked out front.  If I had to describe their faces, it would be one of an Acme cartoon when the male character sees a girl he likes and his mouth hits the floor and eyes bulge out.

I was more impressed by the gardens and fountains out front :)

We then had lunch at this restaurant with a gorgeous view of the harbor!

We finished our afternoon in Monaco by climbing the hill to see the royal palace.  This was one of the views on our way up.

This is a picture of the castle in the distance through the gardens was we walked up the hill.  Somehow we missed the escalators that take you up the hill and had to walk the whole way?  I suppose we should have anyways because we have all eaten at least one pastry and/or one ice cream cone every day of this trip.  For me, it's been both!

This is a statue of the first member of the current royal family.  In 1297, Grimaldi and a group of his followers approached the royal palace dressed as monks.  They had been unsuccessful taking over the castle in the past, but were unrecognized and allowed in the fortress because they looked like peaceful, religious figures.  They then attacked and conquered the royal family and have been ruling ever since.

After taking a nap on the bus ride back and grabbing food and a bottle of wine to go, we ate our last dinner in Nice on the beach and watched the sun go down.  Nice was such a beautiful place and I definitely hope to go back there some day.