[pic: the view from the hostel of Nice]
Have been meeting a few hard case people in the dorm rooms. Probably the funniest was an Irish-man called Jay. I met Jay at the worst possible time, I had decided to have a night off drinking, but he, being the stereotypical Irishman (ie, drinks like a fish, foulmouthed (but because of his accent no-one takes offence) and good fun) managed to talk me out of it. Needless to say it was a big night, probably most memorable because Jay kept introducing himself to new comers, putting on an Australian accent and saying: "Oi! Do yoouuu like Ostraaaalia? 'Cos if yooouu don't yoouu can get the f**k ouuuutttt!" Then laughed hysterically.
Something about the Irish...I was horrified when he did it the first time, but everyone thought it was hilarious, even if about half thought he actually was from Australia, and not one person took offence to it!
Been having a few day trips here. Went to Villefranche the first day which was terrific. It was there that I discovered the secret to getting into and out of the pebble beaches: you go in up to your shins, then emerce yourself in the water as best you can and crawl out to sea. Not only does this ensure that you dont break your ankle, it looks graceful as well (haha...yeah right!) When I did it the first time I was mocked by all but by the end of the day we were all doing it!
[pic: Villefranche]
I also decided that when I'm a billionaire I will be buying a house in Villefranche, its beyond awesome.
And speaking of billionaires the next day I went to Monaco. The amount of money that's there is ridiculous. Lets just say that if you drive round in Monaco in anything less than a Bentley you'd be considered poor. I went for a stroll down by the port and saw row after row of super yachts. Perhaps just as impressive was the sort of cars in the carpark. Within 35 meters I saw a Maclaren Mercedes SLR and 3 Ferrari's (including a Ferrari Enzo). Wow.
[pic: one of the ports at Monaco. Trust me, the super yachts were a lot bigger than they look in this picture!]
[pic: the view from the steps of the Casino in Monaco]
To be honest though I'm not that big a fan of Monaco. Its cool, but its a bit stupid at the same time (you got the impression that the billionaires that lived there just wanted to have the huge super yacht and fast car to show off a bit). I far preferred Villefranche or Nice.
I also went to Cannes and loved that place as well. Perhaps the most impressive part of Cannes was the beach, which, shockingly, had sand on it! Was a welcome change.
[pic: OMG a sandy beach! Its a miracle!]
Today I just had a wonder around Nice. Again I really enjoyed it. However, I did notice that the guys who ask for tickets on the trams are on a bit of a power trip. They're all militant looking types, dressed in combat boots and white polo shirts. They also have pepper spray and all of them seem to have army style haircuts. You get the impression that they'd really love to be in Stazi or something...If you're caught on the tram without a validated ticket they go a bit mental. We witnessed one kid yesterday who got on their bad side and was pined up against the wall by four of them and forced to pay the 43 Euro fine (and just so you know the price of a ticket is 1 Euro). Admittedly this kid was an idiot and tried to act all tough, but you still don't need four militants to pin one 15 year old skinny kid up against the wall...
I saw them again today, acting all macho and tough, but then they greated each other by kissing on both cheeks!
I know its a European thing but it still cracked me up.
Off to Milan tomorrow for 4 nights, so will be in touch soon.
Anthony
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