day 42 & day 43

Day 42: Friday, May 1, 2009: Today was really fun! We all got to sleep late. My family was really tired after the time change. Today, we decided to stay in Nice and explore the old city. We started by walking to the top of the mountain where we could see the whole city. There used to be an old military fort there that protected the port but it was destroyed by Louis XVI. There is also an artificial waterfall.

Today, my friends arrived. They called and said that they were going to the beach. Even though the beach is rocky, there was excellent weather and they got to lie out. After we were done at the mountain, we walked down and met my friends on the beach so my family could meet them. I changed my clothes and stayed with them on the beach while my family found a grocery store; our hotel room has a kitchenette with a fridge, hotplates, and a sink.

After a couple of hours, we all went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We all ate together. It was really fun. I had a Nicoise Salad and it was excellent! After dinner, we ot the best ice cream known to Nice – Finacchio. After that, we went back to the hotel to enjoy some wine before my friends and I went out for another drink.



Day 43: Saturday, May 2, 2009: Today, we went to Monte-Carlo, Monaco! It was really excellent! We woke up and took the TER train to Monaco. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Monaco. Monaco is a principality of France, meaning that the citizens have dual citizenship. Basically, they are French and have a Prince of Monaco and the President of France.

After we saw the changing of the guard, we were able to see the view of the port. There are so many huge yachts! Money is everything in Monte-Carlo; I loved it! We saw a huge yacht with a helicopter parked on the stern and a Rolls Royce parked right on the dock – this is the life!

So we walked to the harbor and took a ferryboat to the other side where we were able to walk up and see the famous Casino of Monte-Carlo. Naturally, when in Monte-Carlo, one has to gamble a little bit. And so I did. We all did except for my mom. Outside the Casino, there are so many nice Mercedes, Porches, BMWs, Bentleys, Mazaraettis, etc.

We had a light lunch and went looking in a few stores on our way back to the train station. We went in Zara, but I didn’t find anything that I had to have. We took the TER back to Nice and met up with my friends to go to dinner again. Afterwards, we had excellent ice cream again. It was a really fun day!