MONACO. Stopped over at Monte Carlo, thanks to the flexibility that Eurail offered. The station is really grand and it takes just one look to know it's a rich city-state (apparently one of the three existing city-states: Singapore being another, and Vatican City). A really nice but small place. Expensive cars that zoomed the cities were not the highest status of wealth when there's a few rows of private yacht docked at the berths. Even the houses looked like a higher-class cinque terre. Casino was up the steep slope (why is there so many slope in Europe?!!) and with all the barang barangs with us, we decided against going to the front door. Got a nice photo and off we go in one hour. Oh, and we ate tissue paper with their gelato.
NICE! Omg just unexpected; it's really just as its name suggests: nice (English pronunciation)! Train stopped at the station and I was impressed by how modern it is (Milan was the direct opposite). Stepped out of the station and I was impressed by how clean and safe-looking the city is (once again, Milan was the direct opposite; there was dog poop everywhere though, damn the French dogs). Hostel was a 2 minutes walk away and reaching its front door, I was impressed by how the name Hotel Antare reflected the place to really looks like a hotel (in fact, every other hostel looks equally impressive along this street). Entering the room, I was impressed by the aircon: our first one in Europe. Though it was supposed to be a six bed mixed dorm yet turned out to be a eight bed one, but there weren't much of a difference for us. Most importantly, we met another nice German "couple" (they are siblings! Older sister who's entering university and younger brother who's only 17! And whuttt, travelling all by themselves!). Went out for a walk with them and had a nice chat before we head back to the hostel cos everyone was tired.
I expected Nice to be a quiet place, but I was utterly wrong; it's the direct opposite: lively even late in the night (and there was supposed to be some international party at midnight by the beach! Of course, we didn't go)
Next morning was super nice to sleep cos it actually rained!! We didn't have a choice but to check out and went out in the drizzle. It then turned into rain and we decided to have some McWrap and use their wifi (for a good 1.5 hour) before we decided that the rain is light enough for us to go. Walked down main shopping street and the promenade before we reach the beach. Took photos with a sad face and cloudy sky before we decided to walk to the old town. Brought our postcards and roamed the flower market before the sky decided to take pity on us and brightened up. So off we went to the beach!!! Swam in beautiful Côte d'Azur and gulped one mouth of their salty water. Some sun tanning before we pack up for lunch. Must be the sea salt or the sun but suddenly had the cravings for oyster/seafood so... Mixed platter and 1kg worth of mussels! Really the best pot of mussels I've ever eaten by any standard (since I normally don't really like them). There was prawn, scallop, some other mussels and even raw escargot (not very nice though), but most importantly, oyster cravings satisfied.
Rushed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and went to the station. Waited for our train's platform to appear and it came on late! Went to the platform and waited for another half an hour before a train arrive. We checked and the number was wrong, but decided to ask a guy on the train whether it goes to Marseilles and he said yes. But nope, not the case when I checked my Eurail app but it was too late. We got scammed. And got on the wrong train. And we weren't using Eurail pass this time round cos we've already brought the tickets. So no choice, we wasted that ticket, and used our rail pass (luckily, some error meant we have one extra day to spare! Minimized the loss, in a sense). So we alighted at Antibes (nicer than Cannes I think, but only from the station) and waited for the next train that goes to Marseille to come. And here I am typing on the train. Was supposed to reach at 7.30, but now it's gonna be 8.30 with a dark sky and we're unsure of the directions to the next accommodation. Good luck to us!
Ps: we're here after much hiatus!
