Nice and Eze

Ever heard that quote...nice and eze? well they beautiful cities. We actually didn't go to eze but drove through it to get to monaco. Our trip to monaco today consisted of a gorgeous bus drive along the mountain coast, a spectacle at the palace, and big money gambling. We got to the palace in monaco about an hour before the changing of the guard, so we walked around the little streets and shops and went inside the cathedral there. at 11:55 the changing of the guards took place which was really fun to see--they're so synchronized and formal. they processed in behind drummers and did fun gun tricks when the commander shouted orders. After that we walked through the market and around the bay to monte carlo where we wound up and down the gardens in front of the monte carlo casino. at 2 they opened the doors to let the public in but we only got to see the entrance area (which was very pretty and ornately decorated) because it was 10 euro to go inside. I think this is the casino in casino royal and oceans 12. we took the bus back to nice and bought food to make a pasta dinner back at the hostel. We also decided to try a 1.85euro bottle of french wine from the store whose cork crumbled into pieces as soon as i put the corkscrew in, and after 10 min of trying to pry it out of the neck of the bottle it popped through the other side into the wine. needless to say, it was not very good wine.

Yesterday was our first day in Nice and we spent the day exploring the city. we went up the street right next to our hostel that led up to a really cool cemetary. all of the graves were above ground and were decorated with marble stones, sculptures, monuments, and flowers. i've never seen anything like it. we also saw the headstone of emile mercedes whose thing said he was the pioneer of the automobile. inventor of the mercedes maybe? after that we climbed up the mountain to what used to be a fortress on the very top of the hill. there was a grand waterfall on one face of the mountain and breathtaking views of the city and ocean from the top. this has been one of my favorite experiences, and some of the most beautiful sites. Along the promenade we watched people skate by and strolled all the way down to where the big hotels are. we saw the hotel negresco which gustav eiffel built the dome for and also walked down to the water. Stepping through the rocks (not sand) we got just close enough to touch the waves as they came in--so now i've touched the mediterranean sea! it's been somewhat cold and windy but the sun warms us up. We found an adorable little restaurant in an open area right off the promenade where we ate lunch then went back for dessert last night. it's called comfortable food restaurant...kinda funny...but they had the best food and the nicest owner/manager who made us feel very special. i had a praline chocolate truffle dessert and emily had an apple tart and cappuchino. We enjoy lounging at restaurants taking our time to relax and talk.

France has been a wonderful place to explore and i'm glad we'll get to come back when we go to Paris. French is for some reason incredibly hard for me to speak any words of, and i just find myself nodding andpointing alot. The gelato is amazing here and i think we've made it a habit to try some almost every day. we take a train to florence tomorrow morning where we get to meet up with jen forbes and jen griffeth--two of our friends from westmont who are traveling in europe for spring break. it will be fun to see familiar faces.