Up at 6AM to catch my 7AM cab to the train station. I’ve had the front desk arrange for the taxi in advance, so there should be no problems, right? Not for me, never for me…the driver starts driving me to Gambro. Which is in the wrong direction…takes me a few minutes to explain that I want to go to the train station, not the office. So I finally get to the train station around ten after seven, which still gives me plenty of time. I leave Mirandola at 7:30, transfer at Bologna (without incident for once) and get to Milan, albeit a half hour late, wiping out the time I had there for lunch. My stomach really isn’t liking me now. A quick stop to grab a chocolate bar and a Coke. Back on the train, and I finally get to Nice around 5PM after a longer than expected 7 hour train ride (just this last leg). All in all, a long day without, especially without air conditioning on the last train (keep in mind that I'm in a suit in preparation for the casino in Monte Carlo, and I don't want it wrinkled) and food (no stop long enough to eat). So by the time I get there, I'm ready to drop. I get a map, find the hotel after a bit of searching (who knew the damn sign would be that small), check in and look for a restaurant. As per usual, my style of restaurant finding is a bit random…I walk around until I find either a) a place with hot waitresses or b) a menu with fries. So when I walked out of the hotel, I had my eyes open, looking around. I made it about 20 feet, and what do I see? A giant comic book shop, complete with action figures displayed in the windows. And not just a small shop, this sucker had 2 floors (that I could see). I swear, these places find me, not the other way around. I finally find a place (good potatoes), grab a bite, and go to get a train ticket to Monaco. Problems, though, are that the automatic ticket window doesn’t accept any of my credit cards, nor does it give out enough change for any of the bills I’m carrying (ie. I have a 20 and the most change it gives on a 7 euro ticket is 5 euro). After waiting a while in line to see a ticket agent, I find out that they are all sold out for Friday night. Damn. So I pick up a return ticket for Saturday, just to get some use out of the trip. Back to the hotel, out of the suit, into shorts, and off to see Nice.
All I can say of the rest of the night was that I’m glad the train was full. Wow, what a beach (all pebbly though, which sucked), lots of hot chicks wearing next to nothing, and a huge boardwalk to rollerblade on. Talk about awesome. I'm not looking for a huge adventure this first night, just going to walk around a bit (my foot was sore from something, not sure what), so I head off down the beach. Problem is, the beach keeps going, and the town gets more and more fun the further I get (more bars, more people). I finally make it down to a point where the shore curls around, and on top of a cliff is this cool waterfall. Damn it, it looked awesome, and I knew I was going to have to climb the thing the next day. I end up spending a little more time wandering around the coast, then down head into a market/downtown area. Bars everywhere, hot chicks everywhere...talk about heaven. All sorts of stores that are still open too, offering plenty to distract and drain the wallet. I wander into a neat little pub (they had this cool traffic light on the ceiling - green = bar open, yellow = last call, red = bar closed), order potato skins (best meal I've had in Europe) and a vodka. The waitress even spoke English and chatted it up with me. Made me wish I didn't look like a bum, and that I wasn't dead tired and needing sleep. I should have stayed, but really did need to get back to the hotel (loser speak, I know). For trips like this, I really do need to bring someone to help draw out the social side in me.
Next day, more of the same. All day is wandering around town, swimming in the sea, and getting a good sunburn. I manage to see the waterfall thing (cool view of the town), take some pictures, and have a good time. That evening, off to Monaco. More sweating, more standing around in the suit, and finally I get to Monaco. My entire reason for going to Monaco is to check out the casino, and pick up a deck of cards for Jenn's mom (she loves gambling, so I thought it would be a neat gift). Problem is, it turns out that the casino doesn't give out cards, they all get destroyed. Wow, what a waste of time. And I couldn't even play any games as the only casino game I play is blackjack, and with a 200 euro minimum, I can't quite afford it. So I wander around downtown Monaco for a bit, then catch a train back to Nice. Wander around Nice for a bit (sweating my nuts off in this damn suit the entire time), and head back to the hotel. Only to find out that the hotel has been having power troubles all day, and that the a/c is out. I finally manage to fall asleep around 1, get up at 8, and head back to Italy, after another 10 hours on trains.
No comments:
Post a Comment