Nice

Well, I’ve found out that I’m not a fan of the traveling days. Being at the destination is great, but getting there really blows. By the time I reached Nice, it was nearing 9 pm and I still needed to find my hostel from the train station. Luckily, Hotel Pastoral is only a 5 minute walk from the station, if that, and finding it was easy. As soon as I checked in, I walked to my door, unlocked it, and broke the handle. To my own credit (and not my superhuman strength, as the night shift guy was convinced) the knob was already pretty shifty and was on its way out regardless. After comments about easing up on the weightlifting, the knob was fixed easily, and I began planning out my next two full days in Nice.
I began my first day in Nice walking through the Cours Selaya produce Market. In an effort to eat cheap, I decided to purchase all of my dining needs here, so that I could throw together lunch and dinner myself from all the fresh veggies and fruit I was about to buy. Ultimately, I’m not too sure how much money I ended up spending, so I don’t really know how cost effective it was, but I did buy all the supplies to make some delicious Bocadilla sandwiches like the ones Caitie showed Liz and I in Spain. Next I hurried off to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, where the works of Yves Klein are on permanent display.
This particular museum was the highlight of Nice for me (well, with great exception to the beach... more on that later). I was able to see a lot of the artists that Rohrer and Heather James display back at home; its always great to make these connections. I only wish that Emily was there to experience it with me and be my guide.
I was back to the hostel next to make my lunch and change for the beach. Little known fact (or maybe I should have just done my research) the beaches in Nice don’t have sand, they have pebbles. Also, the beaches are packed to the shore line—its hard to tell one party from the next. I didn’t let this get me down, rather, I found an inch of beach space, laid out my towel, dropped the rest of my stuff, and jumped into the water. Being at the beach, I was of course reminded of home and how I need to go to the beach more often. Swimming in the warm Mediterranean waters with beautiful people surrounding you on all sides is a very enjoyable experience. Being the most tan I’ve ever been is a huge plus too.
Soon after, I headed back to my room where my roommates (two Canadian women and an English guy) and I would continue to have conversation after conversation about the London Olympics, the English economy, traveling, English and American television, and whatever else you could think of. Hopefully, I’ll have a place to stay for the 2012 London Olympics!! Overall, it is just really nice to talk to people and have a little human interaction through all this solo traveling.
The next day was a lot of the same, I hit the beach, did a little shopping, saw the Chagall Museum (not a highlight, hard to appreciate something you know nothing about), and walked around a lot. Another great day in Nice, I hope to go back soon!