With my stay in Paris quickly coming to a close, I felt I needed to get away from the Ville de Lumière one more time and see a part of France that was completely different from any French region I had seen so far. What’s more, I needed a vacation. Last week’s escapade in London was eye-opening but admittedly exhausting. So, the choice was simple: I wanted to see the glittering blue waters of the Mediterranean on the shores of Nice and Monaco!
After a short flight from Paris (about 90 minutes), I walked out of the airport and was greeted with a blast of hot, humid air. My spirits were high; I was definitely far, far away from Paris.
We took a bus to the SNCF station in Nice, where the Hotel Pastoral was only a 5 minute walk away. The friendly Algerian working at the hostel’s reception desk informed me that my friend had already arrived, and sure enough, I found Hamza, my good friend from Montreal, in my room. It’s really quite something, seeing a familiar face in a foreign country after being away from home for so long!
The weather was hot and cloudless, so we headed out to a café for lunch. Along with my chicken panini, I tried my first taste of typical Niçois cuisine: socca, tasty pieces of crepe-like cornbread. It was a tasty, cheap snack that I now wish I can eat more of! Afterward, we followed the tram tracks to the center of the city, a large square with a fountain. Walking east, we cut our way through narrow streets of Vieux Nice to get our first glimpse of the Mediterranean. While the beach doesn’t have sand (instead, the coast is covered with flat round stones), it was packed with people (some topless, I might add) lazing in the afternoon sun. The shimmering blue sea reminded me of the beautiful colour of the ocean in Australia went I snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef.
Continuing on our trek, we found steps that led up a tall hill that overlooks the city of Nice. Along the way we passed by a beautiful water cascade and were treated to a stunning view of the red clay rooftops of the city and the neighboring azure of the sea. We also found the ruins of a medieval castle scattered about the hill.
We ended our walk by taking another scenic route down the hill back into Vieux Nice, where we explored the pedestrian streets lined with bars, cafes, shops, and glaciers. I’ve never been to Italy, but the old city looks similar to some photos I’ve seen. The old buildings are brightly colored in orange, red, and yellow. Locals hang their laundry across windows and leisurely stare down at the streets below. It was a very charming place to explore.
We found one of the most famous gelato glaciers in all of France, Fenocchio. This place is incredible. They had a whopping 100 flavors, which included licorice, rose, tomatoes and basil, avocado, lavender, and even beer! I had such a hard time debating which flavors I should try, and I wish I could have stayed longer just to try them all! In the end I enjoyed rhubarb, mojito, cactus (SO GOOD!), and Baileys flavors. Definitely a highlight of the weekend!
The rest of the evening was spent at the Hotel Baccarat, where we enjoyed free champagne and wine and met other backpackers travelling through France. It was a great way to end the evening, until an “unfortunate” altercation with a bouncer in front of a bar. Not a big deal though.
The next day we somehow woke up surprisingly early (around 8:30AM!) to catch a bus to the second smallest country in the world: Monaco. The bus ride along the Cote d’Azur was a 35 minute joyride with splendid views of the seafront. We arrived at the base of the Old City and leisurely explored the sights, palace, and views of the city from up high. Monaco has been built along rising cliffs and steep hills, which is pretty impressive to see. The city itself is really nice and you can definitely feel a sense of wealth everywhere. Hamza and I stopped to relax in one of the thin alleys for an espresso.
We then trekked down to the port, where we could see ridiculously lavish and huge yachts, with massive cruise ships in the distance. From here we entered the Gare de Monaco and took a series of escalators to the top of the city, where we eventually found the famous and exclusive Monte Carlo Casino. There’s no doubt that the rich hung out here; there were Ferraris and Aston Martins everywhere! Unfortunately we couldn’t enter because we were too early, and besides, “appropriate formal attire” was required to get in. I don’t think shorts and a t-shirt would have been allowed... :P
After a lunch of pan bagnat (pretty much a big tuna sandwich) we jumped on the train to go to Villefranche-sur-mer, where we found a quaint ocean-front town and a pebbly beach where we could enjoy the warm waters of the Mediterranean for the last time. The weather was sweltering and very humid, so a dip in the sea was appreciated!
We pretty much enjoyed relaxing and baking on the beach for the rest of the afternoon, which felt amazing and was the closest I had come to a vacation for a long time. When we eventually left, we headed back to Nice to wash up and head out exploring Vieux Nice as the sun set. I tried more typical Niçois cuisine for dinner, which included pissaladière (a deep-dish pizza-like meal topped with loads of onions, anchovies, and olives and without cheese) and beignets d’aubergine (eggplant fried in a corn dough batter). We walked the narrow streets crowded with hundreds of tourists and locals alike, until we eventually found our way to the rocky beach. Scattered groups of teens and twenty-somethings sat with bonfires, wine bottles, and even Chinese lanterns along the water. We skipped stones (my high score was 6 skips!) and sat and contemplated the beauty of the dark black sea, as distant lights of boats drifted by.
Nice was without a doubt my favourite weekend in France, if only to get the chance to relax, forget sight-seeing for a while, and enjoy the seaside. Fantastic.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
"Mind the Gap!" My Adventures in London
What comes to mind when you think of England, and in particular, London? Fish and chips. Football. The royal family. Shakespeare. Big Ben. Knights. Harry Potter.
With all these things floating around my head, I was incredibly excited to visit the capital of England for the first time. And seeing as the country is really one of the closest you can visit from Paris, it was a must-see for me! So with a rare three-day weekend opportunity smack in the middle of high season, there was no question that I would be headed off to London.
Thankfully the riots had stopped in the city, and the heavy police presence in many parts of the city kept things pretty safe. The English seem to be a little paranoid, though. There are CCTV cameras everywhere, watching your every move. Orwell, anyone?
The trip started off with an exhausting overnight coach ride from Paris to London. I wouldn’t particularly recommend this means of transportation; you can’t sleep for more than 90 minutes at a time, since the bus keeps stopping and forcing all the passengers to get up for customs and the ferry ride. I guess you get what you pay for! A return trip with the Eurolines coach was only €91, while the Eurostar high-speed train from London to Paris on the holiday weekend would have cost me over €230! Still, I had to get a little creative to try to be comfortable enough to sleep…
I arrived in London with two other friends at about 6:30AM Saturday morning, famished and willing to eat almost anything (which ultimately ended up being pancakes at McD’s). I then bought my Oyster pass (same as Opus or Navigo cards but with a much uglier name) and took my first tube ride to Camden, north of London. The tube is probably the best underground subway I’ve used so far: it’s clean, it smells relatively okay, there’s absolutely no graffiti, and it’s much more high tech than most other metros. I have to admit though, the constant “Mind the gap!” warnings get annoying very quickly.
I was lucky enough to stay with a German friend who I had met in Australia. I even had a whole room to myself, as one of his roommates had moved out of the flat. He lived in a quiet but more or less central part of the city, which made my exploring very easy to do.
From then on, the rest of the weekend was an intense series of tours, visits, and moments of lost confusion. We started off with an excellent tour at Hyde Park Corner called Sandeman’s New Europe London Tour, which I would recommend to anyone who visits London for the first time. It’s a free tour run by very charismatic students, leading through the main parts of the city by foot and giving some entertaining historical commentary along the way. We walked though the royal gardens, past Buckingham Palace (I apparently pronounce that wrong, you don’t really emphasize the HAM), the Changing of the Guard, past Parliament, and eventually making our way to the gorgeous Westminster Abbey and the symbolic Big Ben (named after the fat guy who built the bell).
Interesting story: you can’t take close-up photos with the Queen’s Guard anymore because 2 years ago a Colombian tourist pissed off a guard so much that the guard lost his cool and attacked the tourist. (Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDPK1kPWj1E) Now the guards are roped off so you can’t toy with them anymore. How unfortunate.
A second tour in the afternoon took me into the older parts of London, from the city of Westminster to the old City of London. We got some Harry Potter fast facts along the way, for example: Gringotts bank was actually filmed at the Australian consulate, and they look pretty much the same! We also learned about the Great Fire in London in the 17th century and the history of the Monument, the Temple (ie. Knights Templar), London Bridge, and the Tower of London.
Unfortunately my plans to see a play or musical on Saturday night fell through (my one great regret on this trip), so we ended the evening with some cheap Chinese food, a nighttime stroll along the Thames River, and of course of few drinks at the pub!
Sunday morning started off early at the Camden market, a highly popular and “hip” place to find almost anything, such as food, souvenirs, trinkets, records, clothes, art, and even a massive multi-floored cybergoth shop! I loved this place, and I wish I had more time (and money) to fully enjoy the market all day.
Yet there were many other things to see and do. The Tower of London took up most of the afternoon. It’s a massive medieval fortress with exhibits and museums scattered around the grounds, including exhibits about torture, the armory, the royal menagerie, and the Crown Jewels. I even got to see a realistic swordfight on the moat outside the fortress walls! I’ve always been enthralled by the Middle Ages, and exploring a genuine castle was quite an experience.
I ended the day with my German friend searching for the hidden “gems” of London: Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross, Abbey Road, and 221B Baker Street. As touristy as these places are, it was cool to go on a little pilgrimage and see some of the most famous spots in the city. Just a head’s up: Platform 9¾ isn’t between Platforms 9 and 10, because there isn’t anything there! JK Rowling apparently confused King’s Cross with another station.
Monday was the last stretch of my tour of London, which included the majestic Westminster Abbey (where the royal coronations have always taken place, where Kate and Will’s wedding was held, and where centuries-old memorials tomb of famous Englishmen are placed), the Natural History Museum, and the British Museum. None of the three disappointed, and I just wish I had more time to explore them completely. Some of the highlights of the museums included an impressive dinosaur exhibit (with animatronics of course) and an exhibit of scientific tools used during the Renaissance. As you could imagine, this was probably the most exhausting of the three days!
London was fantastic, and held up to my expectations. I had a great weekend exploring the city. Three days aren’t nearly enough to really get to know London. I’ll have to return again one day!
With all these things floating around my head, I was incredibly excited to visit the capital of England for the first time. And seeing as the country is really one of the closest you can visit from Paris, it was a must-see for me! So with a rare three-day weekend opportunity smack in the middle of high season, there was no question that I would be headed off to London.
Thankfully the riots had stopped in the city, and the heavy police presence in many parts of the city kept things pretty safe. The English seem to be a little paranoid, though. There are CCTV cameras everywhere, watching your every move. Orwell, anyone?
The trip started off with an exhausting overnight coach ride from Paris to London. I wouldn’t particularly recommend this means of transportation; you can’t sleep for more than 90 minutes at a time, since the bus keeps stopping and forcing all the passengers to get up for customs and the ferry ride. I guess you get what you pay for! A return trip with the Eurolines coach was only €91, while the Eurostar high-speed train from London to Paris on the holiday weekend would have cost me over €230! Still, I had to get a little creative to try to be comfortable enough to sleep…
I arrived in London with two other friends at about 6:30AM Saturday morning, famished and willing to eat almost anything (which ultimately ended up being pancakes at McD’s). I then bought my Oyster pass (same as Opus or Navigo cards but with a much uglier name) and took my first tube ride to Camden, north of London. The tube is probably the best underground subway I’ve used so far: it’s clean, it smells relatively okay, there’s absolutely no graffiti, and it’s much more high tech than most other metros. I have to admit though, the constant “Mind the gap!” warnings get annoying very quickly.
I was lucky enough to stay with a German friend who I had met in Australia. I even had a whole room to myself, as one of his roommates had moved out of the flat. He lived in a quiet but more or less central part of the city, which made my exploring very easy to do.
From then on, the rest of the weekend was an intense series of tours, visits, and moments of lost confusion. We started off with an excellent tour at Hyde Park Corner called Sandeman’s New Europe London Tour, which I would recommend to anyone who visits London for the first time. It’s a free tour run by very charismatic students, leading through the main parts of the city by foot and giving some entertaining historical commentary along the way. We walked though the royal gardens, past Buckingham Palace (I apparently pronounce that wrong, you don’t really emphasize the HAM), the Changing of the Guard, past Parliament, and eventually making our way to the gorgeous Westminster Abbey and the symbolic Big Ben (named after the fat guy who built the bell).
Interesting story: you can’t take close-up photos with the Queen’s Guard anymore because 2 years ago a Colombian tourist pissed off a guard so much that the guard lost his cool and attacked the tourist. (Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDPK1kPWj1E) Now the guards are roped off so you can’t toy with them anymore. How unfortunate.
A second tour in the afternoon took me into the older parts of London, from the city of Westminster to the old City of London. We got some Harry Potter fast facts along the way, for example: Gringotts bank was actually filmed at the Australian consulate, and they look pretty much the same! We also learned about the Great Fire in London in the 17th century and the history of the Monument, the Temple (ie. Knights Templar), London Bridge, and the Tower of London.
Unfortunately my plans to see a play or musical on Saturday night fell through (my one great regret on this trip), so we ended the evening with some cheap Chinese food, a nighttime stroll along the Thames River, and of course of few drinks at the pub!
Sunday morning started off early at the Camden market, a highly popular and “hip” place to find almost anything, such as food, souvenirs, trinkets, records, clothes, art, and even a massive multi-floored cybergoth shop! I loved this place, and I wish I had more time (and money) to fully enjoy the market all day.
Yet there were many other things to see and do. The Tower of London took up most of the afternoon. It’s a massive medieval fortress with exhibits and museums scattered around the grounds, including exhibits about torture, the armory, the royal menagerie, and the Crown Jewels. I even got to see a realistic swordfight on the moat outside the fortress walls! I’ve always been enthralled by the Middle Ages, and exploring a genuine castle was quite an experience.
I ended the day with my German friend searching for the hidden “gems” of London: Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross, Abbey Road, and 221B Baker Street. As touristy as these places are, it was cool to go on a little pilgrimage and see some of the most famous spots in the city. Just a head’s up: Platform 9¾ isn’t between Platforms 9 and 10, because there isn’t anything there! JK Rowling apparently confused King’s Cross with another station.
Monday was the last stretch of my tour of London, which included the majestic Westminster Abbey (where the royal coronations have always taken place, where Kate and Will’s wedding was held, and where centuries-old memorials tomb of famous Englishmen are placed), the Natural History Museum, and the British Museum. None of the three disappointed, and I just wish I had more time to explore them completely. Some of the highlights of the museums included an impressive dinosaur exhibit (with animatronics of course) and an exhibit of scientific tools used during the Renaissance. As you could imagine, this was probably the most exhausting of the three days!
London was fantastic, and held up to my expectations. I had a great weekend exploring the city. Three days aren’t nearly enough to really get to know London. I’ll have to return again one day!
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