Okay, seriously the people that live in Nice must get so tired of hearing that. I was sick of it after being there for four days! But wait- rewind..
Marie and I went from Venice to Cinque Terre, with big expectations because of all the hype about how beautiful it is. Before making it to Cinque Terre though, we had a day full of riding on trains to see the infamous leaning tower of Pisa. We must have been traveling for 12 hours on trains in total (five different trains). We spent an hour in Pisa. Ha ha, it was cool though. Took the classic ´pretend-you´re-trying-to-hold-the-building-up´ picture. And then jumped on the train.
We immediately loved Cinque Terre. It was exactly how people had described it- quaint and scenic, right on the ocean, and a nice break from all of the big cities in Italy. We were pretty exhausted, and even more hungry, so we went for dinner at oneof the reccommended places for some seafood pasta. It didn´t disappoint. Yum! Proud moment - I had stuffed mussels, a big step for me in the world of adventurous eating. Even more impressive - I loved them!
The next day we got up early to go in the much talked about hike from Monterosso (where we were staying) through the five towns of Cinque Terre to Riomaggiore. We hiked through vineyards the grew up steep sides of the hills, through the ´jungle´region of the vegetation, and on trails that bordered the ocean´s edge. It was absolutely beautiful- and the best workout we had had since we left Vancouver! We stopped in each little town for a visit. We checked out the various swimming holes naturally created among the rocky cliffs of the trail (didn´t bring our bathing suits though -dammit!). It was absolute paradise, and such a perfect way for Marie and I to end our trip together. How romantic! Ha ha. We went for dinner at the same place we´d eaten the previous night because it was just that good.
Marie left the following morning *sigh*
I spent another night in Cinque Terre, which was extremely quiet and a little boring. Still, I slept most of the day (because it seems I´ve been fighting a cold for weeks) and spent the rest of the day at the beach. By the time I left Cinque Terre, I was looking forward to Nice and a hostel filled with lots of people for me to chat with.
I got exactly that in Nice! I met people on the bus before I even got to the hostel. It was a huge place with tons of friendly backpackers and a giant common area for everyone to gather and socialize (aka drink). I met some girls from Australia and visited with them for most of the first night, along with a giant group of others. I think in my excitement to socialize and ´make friends´I drank a little (or a lot) too much wine and found myself in extremely rough shape in the morning. What an idiot! I wasted most of my highly anticipated beach day in bed, not making it to the beach until about 3. Oh well, lesson learned!
Nice was beautiful, though I think a lot of my experience of the city was shaped by the people I met. I spent the days checking out the beaches in the surrounding area of Nice. At night a group of us headed down to ´Old Town´Nice to hit up a bar where we danced on the tables until closing. SO fun! I got my dancing fix for the next little while. I hung out with some Edmonton boys for a lot of the time I was there. We checked out Monte Carlo, Monaco, the swankiest city and country I´ve ever seen. They appreciated the millions of dollars worth of cars more than I did, though it was still pretty amazing to see a place so obviously ooozing in wealth. When my time was up I was sad to leave Nice, but looking forward to Portugal too ...
Next stop -Lisbon! Well, no. Actually, from Nice to Barcelona, Barcelona to Madrid, Madrid to Lisbon. It took me two days to get there.. ugh, I can´t tell you how much I miss my car and how badly I never want to see a train again!
Okay, I´m going to stop here because it´s beach time and that takes priority over pretty much everything these days. However, I´m in Lagos, Portugal and just extended my stay here by another night because i LOVE it! The hostel is amazing with an unbelievable 360 degree rooftop terrace (an actual nice one though, Marie, not like ROme!) and awesome people! Tonight we´re going in on a barbeque steak and lobster dinner. I think I might be in charge of dessert. I´m having a blast but looking more and more forward to heading home. Living out of a backpack is only fun for so long.. haha no I´m loving every minute!
Love to all back home, hope your summer are awesome!
Laur
Marie and I went from Venice to Cinque Terre, with big expectations because of all the hype about how beautiful it is. Before making it to Cinque Terre though, we had a day full of riding on trains to see the infamous leaning tower of Pisa. We must have been traveling for 12 hours on trains in total (five different trains). We spent an hour in Pisa. Ha ha, it was cool though. Took the classic ´pretend-you´re-trying-to-hold-the-building-up´ picture. And then jumped on the train.
We immediately loved Cinque Terre. It was exactly how people had described it- quaint and scenic, right on the ocean, and a nice break from all of the big cities in Italy. We were pretty exhausted, and even more hungry, so we went for dinner at oneof the reccommended places for some seafood pasta. It didn´t disappoint. Yum! Proud moment - I had stuffed mussels, a big step for me in the world of adventurous eating. Even more impressive - I loved them!
The next day we got up early to go in the much talked about hike from Monterosso (where we were staying) through the five towns of Cinque Terre to Riomaggiore. We hiked through vineyards the grew up steep sides of the hills, through the ´jungle´region of the vegetation, and on trails that bordered the ocean´s edge. It was absolutely beautiful- and the best workout we had had since we left Vancouver! We stopped in each little town for a visit. We checked out the various swimming holes naturally created among the rocky cliffs of the trail (didn´t bring our bathing suits though -dammit!). It was absolute paradise, and such a perfect way for Marie and I to end our trip together. How romantic! Ha ha. We went for dinner at the same place we´d eaten the previous night because it was just that good.
Marie left the following morning *sigh*
I spent another night in Cinque Terre, which was extremely quiet and a little boring. Still, I slept most of the day (because it seems I´ve been fighting a cold for weeks) and spent the rest of the day at the beach. By the time I left Cinque Terre, I was looking forward to Nice and a hostel filled with lots of people for me to chat with.
I got exactly that in Nice! I met people on the bus before I even got to the hostel. It was a huge place with tons of friendly backpackers and a giant common area for everyone to gather and socialize (aka drink). I met some girls from Australia and visited with them for most of the first night, along with a giant group of others. I think in my excitement to socialize and ´make friends´I drank a little (or a lot) too much wine and found myself in extremely rough shape in the morning. What an idiot! I wasted most of my highly anticipated beach day in bed, not making it to the beach until about 3. Oh well, lesson learned!
Nice was beautiful, though I think a lot of my experience of the city was shaped by the people I met. I spent the days checking out the beaches in the surrounding area of Nice. At night a group of us headed down to ´Old Town´Nice to hit up a bar where we danced on the tables until closing. SO fun! I got my dancing fix for the next little while. I hung out with some Edmonton boys for a lot of the time I was there. We checked out Monte Carlo, Monaco, the swankiest city and country I´ve ever seen. They appreciated the millions of dollars worth of cars more than I did, though it was still pretty amazing to see a place so obviously ooozing in wealth. When my time was up I was sad to leave Nice, but looking forward to Portugal too ...
Next stop -Lisbon! Well, no. Actually, from Nice to Barcelona, Barcelona to Madrid, Madrid to Lisbon. It took me two days to get there.. ugh, I can´t tell you how much I miss my car and how badly I never want to see a train again!
Okay, I´m going to stop here because it´s beach time and that takes priority over pretty much everything these days. However, I´m in Lagos, Portugal and just extended my stay here by another night because i LOVE it! The hostel is amazing with an unbelievable 360 degree rooftop terrace (an actual nice one though, Marie, not like ROme!) and awesome people! Tonight we´re going in on a barbeque steak and lobster dinner. I think I might be in charge of dessert. I´m having a blast but looking more and more forward to heading home. Living out of a backpack is only fun for so long.. haha no I´m loving every minute!
Love to all back home, hope your summer are awesome!
Laur
Corniglia, one of the towns on our hike through Cinque Terre.
Marie and I sitting on a bench on 'Via dell' Amore' -aka the 'Walk of Love'. Haha, this is the kissing bench. We never cease to find the most romantic spots! 
A view of Monterosso, the town in Cinque Terre that I stayed in for three nights (Marie for 2).
This is a beach just outside of Nice called Cap D'Ail, a small, more isolated beach with more sand and less rocks than the beaches of Nice. You'll notice there are a lot fewer pictures with me in them during the portion of the trip where I am travelling solo. Some beautiful places though!
This is me in front of the Monte Carlo casino, one of the swankiest places I've ever seen. The Edmonton boys said that there are millions of dollars worth of cars in front of the building. I mean, I could've have told someone that, but they had much more of an appreciation for the cars than I could share. Still, pretty sweet!
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