Riviera Hopping

So I’m going to try my hardest now NOT to skip right ahead to Oktoberfest(I just got back from Munich this Sunday!...yes, I made it out ALIVE!)

My trip to the French Riviera is my first order of business…procrastination is really one of my strongest qualities so I’ve got to work on the whole “blogging about a trip RIGHT after I go on it” thing. I've got some catching up to do!

France was absolutely gorgeous. I had seen Paris several years ago on a trip that I took over the summer and although I loved every second of that Parisian adventure, I knew that if I ever made it back to France I would want to see a completely different side of the country-the French Riviera was just that!

There were no planes involved is this weekend getaway, just a lengthy 10 HOUR bus trip followed by a rainy 20 minutes waiting for a 5 minute shuttle bus ride up a steep hill to our hostel-oh did I mention this was at 3:45am?!?! After a TEN hour bus ride?!? Yes, this girl was tired, wet and ready to sleep horizontally. I had never been so happy to see a hostel bed before…I doubt this will be a common occurrence while I’m traveling.

The following morning everyone grabbed a quick breakfast at the hostel(15 different cereals…I was in HEAVEN!) and we were off. The Bus2alps agenda for the day was to first stop off at the small hilltop town of Eze, followed by Monaco. Carved into the mountain where Eze lies are small, cobblestone streets with picturesque shops and authentic French restaurants. At the top of Eze is the most beautiful botanical garden with views of all the neighboring coastal towns.

After some time to browse around the adorable shops we jetted off to Monaco. If you weren’t dressed to the nines and ready to shell over 10 euro just to enter the Monte Carlo casino, you weren’t even getting a glimpse. A few girls and I opted instead to scour the area for a decent cappuccino under 7 euro…yes 7 euro seems to be the base price for a cappuccino in this ritzy area!!! To put it all in perspective-that’s about 10 US dollars for a coffee!! After some searching and finally finding the gold, an AMAZING and CHEAP cappuccino in France, we stopped back to the front entrance of the Monte Carlo and enjoyed some serious "car-watching". People get valet in front of the casino to be seen-red ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls Royce, and anything else that screams millions. It was definitely an interesting crowd.

That night we went out to Wayne's Bar, a bar in Nice that our Bus2Alps tour guides recommended and led a group there. In the description online, Waynes mentions that it is a "table dancing bar"-something I never fully comprehended until I stepped foot inside. This is not a drunken, "I'm going to get up on this table and dance to Keisha" moment, but more like the dance floor is made up of a series of tables...No joke. It was insane. All fun and games until a lovely French man decided to grab my behind which just happened to be level with his face and follow that action with a thumbs up...I'm really thinking of starting a short tutorial for European men on "Attempting to Flirt with American Women 101"-I'll make millions :)

The following day we headed to Antibes, a small town known for its authentic sailboats and super SUPER yachts. This babies look like cruise ships. Antibes was a beautiful place to visit and I had a wonderful time just wandering around the streets and snapping some photos.

After Antibes, we headed over to Cannes-home of the Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately we were not there during the festival, so no George Clooney love affair for me :( Although it was a rainy afternoon, the visit started out perfectly with a nutella and banana crepe and I was ready to goooo! Although I am a fan of gelato, my love for crepes is much stronger-I could eat a crepe every day for the rest of my life and be happy...and very fat. I hope you all love me INSIDE and out :) yummmm

That night, my friend Amanda and I set out to treat ourselves to an authentic French dinner in Nice. The area is not the cheapest and definitely not an ideal hotspot for backpackers, but we wanted to indulge for a night. We headed to the promenade and stumbled upon this adorable square where we found a great outdoor restaurant where we treated ourselves to great wine, great food(3 courses!!) and great people watching.

The following morning we had a free day in Nice to explore until our bus left for Italy at 3pm. Amanda and I fit in a great deal that morning-climbed up this great hill with insane views of the city (check out below!), hit up an outdoor market for lunch, stopped in the beach and even fit in some shopping! Nice was truly beautiful during the day and I was so happy that I have some free time to see it all on Sunday.

The drive home actually went by a lot quicker, but I must say I need some time away from coach buses and long drives. The French Riviera was a wonderful weekend trip and a great opportunity to venture into a variety of small towns and cities in such a short span of time.

Ciao!