19th Sept (Sun) - Nice/ Monaco

Took an overnight train from Bordeaux to Nice Ville the night before and came across two very nice French people in my cabin who had voluntarily reminded me on when to get off the train - coz it was making a few pit stops along the way and I wouldn't want to end up missing my stop. Well, one of them, an old gentlemen was overly helpful. I was supposed to reach my stop around 8am but sensing that i might take some time to prepare myself, he woke me up at about 6.30am instead. Hahhaha. It didn't really make any difference to me coz i haven't been able to go into a deep sleep anyway - with all the din that went around at every pit stop and people getting up and down the train with their luggages.

And as the cabin was sooooooo dark that I couldn't even see my hands in front of me, and no one was occupying the bunk opposite me (I was on the upper bunk), I decided to change out of my jeans into my comfortable track pants under the blanket instead of venturing out to the toilet. And the same thing vice versa when I was about to reach my stop. :P Yup. Im a lazy bum. Too lazy to even climb down the narrow stairs and pass the narrow passage way to get to the toilet.

Upon reaching Nice, the first thing I did was to dump my backpack at the hostel and headed over to Monaco directly.



Honestly, there wasn't much to see or do at Monaco except for the sea view and sailing if you have a yacht or a boat. Or perhaps sun tanning at the beach. Otherwise, it could get rather boring easily.





The change of guards at 11.55pm daily at the Prince's Palace didn't really lift my spirits either. It was way to simplified and you would be way better off watching the change of guards at Buckingham Palace in London instead. Just spend half a day at Monaco will do.



And it's also way too easy to lose your way as well if you're first time there and trying to find your way out of the train station. That's what happened to me. I had headed for the Jardin Exotique exit thinking that it led to the main street but I was wrong and had to climb up and down, make several turns before getting to where I wanna go. You should just head to the opposite direction from Jardin Exotique instead (sorry, can't remember the name of the exit but it should lead you to the station ticketing office), and take the lift some distance from the ticketing office to get to the main street.

Luckily for me, I met two very lovely couples from China and we decided to tour Monaco togther. So all was well in the end - we got lost together, got into the tourist train together, took some pix together and etc :)





We went on separate ways just before lunch though (around 3pm) coz they wanted to go sun tanning whereas I was too tired and preferred to head back to the hostel for check in and to freshen up as well.

While waiting for the hourly train back to Nice, I had a ham & cheese sandwich and a coke at the station cafeteria. And it cost me freaking 7€! *Faint* Oh well, what to do... there wasn't any other eatery in sight and I was starving to death.



Back in Nice, after freshening up, I took the city bus tour to view the major attractions and up the steep slopes to see the breathtaking sights of Nice. But do note that the tour's freaking expensive - at 20€ for just one day. Oh well, I was only spending half a day there so no time to be picky and walk around. At least it's a hop on and hop off kind which I could take multiple times in a day.

Personally, I very much preferred Nice to Monaco. I could really feel the relaxing atmosphere in Nice, where couples strolled lesiurely along the beach stretch watching their kids ride their tricycles or play with the sand, people watching others (mainly the older and fatter women) skinny dipping at the beach, teenagers roller blading along the stretch, hunks with six packs jogging or blading along and a sweet scene of a mom holding onto her babe's hand as the little one tried to learn walking on the sandy beaches. Everything just fell nicely into place. And I could even imagine strolling along the stretch with you-should-know-who-you-are, taking time off and slowing down our hectic pace.













I would have gone for the water sports as well if I had brought my swimwear along and if I had friends for company too. Damn!

But still, I think a day or max 2 days in Nice for beach and water sports would be more than enough. Coz like Monaco, there's not a lot to see or do. But it did make me wanna be fit and exercise along the stretch as well. Hiak hiak hiak.

Oh! And just one side note, although there's a short shopping lane (where H&M is) just around the Nice Ville train station, the side lanes actually looked and felt really dodgy even in the day. So try to avoid that area as much as possible from the evenings on.