Reflecting on the Past few days

So to try and compare Nice to Paris is very difficult. In terms of jaw-droppage, Paris hits you so hard that you just walk around for the entire trip with your mouth hanging open, where as Nice is a little more coquettish, giving you just enough time for the amazement to wear off before getting you again with something to be in awe of.

Nice also has a kind of sensory overload effect. You can immediately get the sense that there have been a lot of influences on Nice's culture from throughout the Mediterranean, especially Italy, whereas Paris is almost "pure, concentrated France." Nice is very bustle-y, teeming with people, vehicles, shops. The people are all dressed differently, some in a "high-fashion" Paris kind of look, others in Italian Guido, while one can also see Muslim women in more traditional dress (head coverings, etc).

I've enjoyed it here because I've felt I got a little more of a raw experience. There aren't really a ton of sights to see and all, so I've gotten the chance to pretend I'm just a Nicois, going about his daily business. At the beach I saw students just doing there reading while catching some sun; going shopping a fair ways away from the beach and old town has given me a chance to go where the locals go for wine, bread, etc. I also don't stand out so much in my jeans, t-shirt, and sandals.

The hostel experience here has been awesome. The Villa St. Exupery is one of "Europe's Famous Hostels," a marketing ploy that has given me mixed results. I stayed at the "famous hostel" in Salzburg and while it was nice, I was not really impressed. These places seem to run at least $30, so I've usually been at cheaper places, but both here and in Salzburg there weren't a lot of really cheap options. Not that I've been looking for a famous hostel, I've just ended up at two of them for other reasons. But it's really big, has a great common room/internet/kitchen/bar area with a stained glass window. One of my biggest regrets this whole trip was not going on their "Canyoning" day trip to the french Alps. The Canadians who have befriended me all went and though it was 50 euros, it sounded like it was well worth it.

There are six canadians, two groups of three. Mark, Drew and "Poncho" are from the Toronto area while Jennie, Brittany and Emilie are from British Columbia. I started playing cards with the girls the first night, then we joined the guys game of quarters and we've been hanging out intermittently since then. I ran into the girls at a beach on the day I went to Monaco and this afternoon I'm going to go try to find the guys on the Nice beach to play some volleyball. Through quarters, Asshole, 7-11-doubles and a night out at Wayne's bar, I've begun to grow accustomed to their company; these next few nights in Paris are probably going to be a bit lonely.

There have been a few weirdos here too. The girls were having a small bit of trouble with a guy from the hostel who had either stalked them or ran into them at a beach and took pictures of them in their bathing suits. He sat down at our table the first night we played cards and I unknowingly invited their least favorite person to join our game. There was also this one girl who was a runner and is currently in a one-month break from training because her body fat percentage had gotten too low. She didn't say it, but from years of experience I know that this also means she stopped having her period (when the body senses it can't support a child, the reproductive system kind of shuts off). This is one of the biggest red-flags in my book for "hot issues". Lots of brow wipes on this one. Also, within 15 minutes she started telling Poncho about her friend who was pregnant and trying to leave her boyfriend by going to another country, but hadn't told him about this. From this girls account, it seemed like the guy had been a saint with all the parents-to-be stuff, but still this girl was intent on packing up and leaving South Africa. Issues, baby, issues.

On a happier note, this little trip to the Rivera has worked out swimmingly. I didn't expect to see the Cote d'Azur, but I've fallen in love with this sunny paradise. Definitely put it on your itinerary if you're going to France, unless you don't like fun, sun or life in general.

A night train to Paris, two days, and a Eurostar trip are all that are left before I hit my last stop and get to see a collection of both my oldest and newest friends!