Day 7: Lyon to Nice

We awoke from a wonderful night's sleep in our wonderful hotel...gotta love the Hiltons! Since our train from Lyon to Nice wasn't until a little after 1, we were able to take our time getting packed & checked out. We took the bus to the train station, but accidentally got off at the mall stop...I can't help it! It's like a magnetic attraction, me and those malls! But, since we were lugging 40 pound suitcases around, we walked across the street to our intended destination.

Since we wouldn't be arriving to Nice until the evening, we feasted on a ham baguette (me) and a sausagey-cheesy hot dog thing (Kyle). We also decided to try these pretty colored cookie things, which we learned from our Georgia friends at the Eiffel Tower are called macaroons and supposedly tasted really good. I think we could have done without it, but we were glad to have at least tried yet another French pastry!

Our train to Nice had a layover in Marseille, where we snacked on McDonalds french fries and peanut M&M's (don't read this, Mom!). I told Kyle that I had eaten food from McDonalds more in 6 days that I had in the last year...and that was only our 2nd time!

We thought the train from Marseille to Nice was going to be not so great considering we had to sit near a lady who brought her doggy on the train, but I'm telling you, dogs in France are perfect! They don't bark, they don't sniff at at you, they don't run or jump, and they obey! It was like the pup wasn't even there! I told Kyle that if we ever get a dog, it will have to be from France! The lady ended up being pretty entertaining. She was a little bit of a diva and got into a yelling match with the train attendant! It's so different here because the attendant actually yelled back, which would never happen in our "the customer is always right" America. And, just as I was wishing that I knew what on Earth they were arguing about, she turns to us, and asks if we "understand" the problem and proceeds to inform us that the train just goes SOOOO slow EVERY time and was SO hot! That was about the extent of her English, but I was just grateful to be filled in on the drama!

And then we were in Nice! Nice was like a breath of fresh air to us! With it's gorgeous coastline and lively streets, I couldn't help singing to myself, "Nice is nice (translation- neece is nice!)" We took a taxi to our hotel, which is conveniently located in the center of Nice! A five minute walk to anywhere we wanted to go! The Mercure Hotel was very cozy feeling, and everyone that we have encountered has been so friendly (and have spoken English!), further prompting my song about how nice Nice is! The receptionist recommended an Italian restaurant to us called Ville D'este, and we walked 5 steps and were seated! Their dishes were even bigger than Maggiano's, and we enjoyed Gnocci and Penne with Tomatoes and Mozzerella. So yummy! And of course, let's not forget about dessert...we didn't know what it was when we ordered it, but we were so glad we did! Profilerat au chocolat (not sure if the P word is the right word), but basically it was like a brownie sundae, but instead of brownies, it was some sweet bread pastry! Again, absolutely delicious!

Following dinner we strolled over to the market, which was still lively despite how late it was, where we were tempted with all kinds of beautiful jewelry and other goodies. Note, Kyle wants to state that he was not tempted by any jewelry :) We scoped out restaurants for the next night and continued our walk on the Promenade des Anglais, which was a walkway bordering the beautiful water with a gorgeous view of the hillside town of Cannes all lit up!

We finally tore ourselves away from the gorgeous city and retired to our hotel to get sleep for our full day ahead (1 day in Nice just doesn't seem like it's going to be enough!) Luckily, we have Italy to look forward to!

-Laura

Lessons learned:

1) Drop what you're doing and head to Nice...immediately!

2) Buy your puppies in France...I have literally not heard a single dog bark here!

3) A less than 2 mile cab right can cost you a good 15 euros...hence why we are running out of money!