Back in Nice

Today, I woke up early, packed my things, got my last Italian coffee, and boarded the train. My first stop was in Genova and before I arrived I was able to wave goodbye to the Cinque Terre. The train followed the coastline up to Genova where I would stop for a couple of hours. I wondered the town, but there wasn't a whole lot to see. Nice enough place though. I headed back to the station and on my way I passed by this butcher. The smell of freshly cooked turkey and chicken caught my senses. So much so, that I had to turn around and walk in. Keep in mind that it's about 9:30am at this point in the day. I order a panini. I had to have one! I thought, I'll take it with me on the train and eat it for lunch. The sandwich came out and it looked fantastic. I just had to eat it! I did! It was so incredible! I decided to order another as long as I promised myself that I would eat it later for lunch. Two excellent sandwiches for a total of 5 Euros cannot be beat! I headed back to the station and boarded a train for Ventimiglia. That train would stop in Monaco before heading to my ultimate destination, "Nice". Now, I had been to Nice before when was I going into my Freshmen year in High School. It was one of my favorite towns on the trip. It sits right on the French Riviera where there are some spectacular views of the coastline. The weather for the next couple of days was going to be sunny and cool. However, Sunday through all next week rain is due.
Now, the hostel I booked was voted as the best Hostel in France in 2007, 2008, and 2010. So, I booked it because it was located in Nice and had a good reputation. What I realized after was how poor the location was. From the train station I had to walk to the tram platform (3 Min), take the tram about 7-8 stops (15 Min), wait outside Casino Supermarket (10 Min), hop in an unmarked white van (5 Min of hesitation and questioning), and then drive up to the Villa (8 Min). Okay, the directions I got were, "Take the tram to the Casino Supermarket and then we'll pick you up in a van." Yeah, didn't read the fine print on that one. So, waiting for this van I was a little apprehensive, but in the back of my mind. I was thinking, "Okay, they were voted Best Hostel....can't be too bad". It wasn't, I was greeted by an Aussie and she was cute and welcoming so no complaints. Now, the other thing.....YES, I said "Villa"! We arrive through the Villa's walled entrance and park the van. I made my way to the reception desk and got situated. The lady at the front desk said, "Do you need a towel" and I said, "No, I'm perfectly dry". The owners wife laughed. I didn't catch her name, but she was very nice and very well dressed. The Villa was nice, but it was still a hostel. She looked like she was dressed for a nice yacht cruise. I later found out that the owners, with their vast wealth, decided to run a classy hostel for travelers to Nice. They had a staff of about 25 each day which included shuttle drivers, front desk receptionists, laundry & room attendants, maintenance workers, kitchen staff, bartenders, and the Villa's chef. Nice place! The owner's wife showed me the main room which is called, "The Chapel".

The Chapel

The Chapel is the main common room where people go to access the internet, eat, have a drink, and sit on the couches and socialize. One wall is stained glass so hence the name. The place is very modern and you could tell that a lot of money went into it. Oh, and there was an outdoor patio, but it was closed for the winter. This Villa was the "life's work" of the owners as one employee told me. After, being shown the chapel I was escorted to my room. The room was tiny and nothing too exciting. The bathroom was nice and it had what is called a, "true window" which is a window peering into the inside of the wall to reveal what the insulation looks like. Thers things you'll find in sustainable buildings. In this case, the "true window" looked into a grass insulation. Considering that I saw a fair amount of hippies here I just assumed it was hash. Ha! There was also a sign over the toilet that read, "Please do not throw your condoms down the toilet". Yeah, you know your staying in a good place when you encounter that sign. Ha!
I got settled in and since this was a "travel day" I took the evening off. I headed to the chapel to do some research on what I wanted to do in Nice and just relaxed a bit. There was a girl sitting across from me when I sat down. We didn't talk to each other. After about 20-minutes of sitting there her boyfriend comes over and they begin to make-out in front of me. I look around the room as if to say, "Does, anyone else see this and find this disrespectful?" I'm about 4 feet away from them. Not to sound gross, but I'd like to word this in a way that reflects my emotions at that moment. Athem....they did not stop sucking face and swapping spit for over an hour. I just berried by face in the computer and tried not to look, but it's like a car accident. You just can't look away no matter how hard you try. I figured they would stop after a while, but then they just kept going. Now, I just wanted to pull out the old timer and just let-her-go. I even had a conversation with my mom on Skype while they were in front of me. Mom was asking, "Does the Villa have a nice view?" and I look up and say, "Well Ma, it's definitely a sight". Thankfully the love birds were done just before our call ended so I could show Ma the chapel room. The funny part, as I would later find out, was that the girl on the couch in front of me worked at the Villa. The French are crazy!
In the evening I came back to the chapel for dinner. The chef was making BBQ Ribs. The plate was elegant and full of food. A great deal at only 7 Euros. I walked around and the place was pretty full with people. I found a large table that had a group of people sitting there with an open seat. I ask to sit and they graciously let me join them. We got talking and I found out that they were all (for the most part) American students in the same study program in Switzerland. I asked them what their area of study was and they said, "Oh, Hospitality and Tourism". I said, "Boy did I sit at the wrong table!" Needless to say we had a lot to talk about. After talking all of dinner they asked me if I wanted to join them in town for drinks. It was already getting late and I knew the right answer was, "Matt, go to sleep", yet I had been staying by myself for the past three days so I thought it would be fun and a nice change of pace. We took the bus down to the tram and then took the tram into the New Town Area which I remember quite clearly from my first visit to Nice. I was surprised. Anyway, we found a little bar and walked in. We got this beer container that serves a ton of beer so we had fun having our own tap at the table.

The Nice I Remember

Me and the Beer

The bar had live music and it was some of the best live music I have heard in my life! They band was awesome! They are all French and live in Nice and they play cover band songs in English. They were crazy good! After a long while we headed down stairs were there was a club. Now, I hate clubs. I humored them and went down for a bit, but I didn't stay too long. One of the guys "Harry" and I left and went upstairs. We ended up having a beer at the bar and listened to the "GOOD" music. While we were sitting there we looked up to see a TV monitor. They had a camera in the club below and you could see everyone dancing. It was fun to watch! Harry and I were glad that we weren't the ones in front of it. When we regrouped we walked to a Kabob place and had some incredible food! We met a couple of really nice and humorous French guys in their 20's who were fun to joke around with. Once an old drunk Frenchman tried to join us we decided to call it a night. By this time it is well after 2am which was the last shuttle run to the Villa and all the trams have stopped for the night. I said jokingly, "I had to join you guys! I could be sleeping right now!" Earlier when I was debating whether or not to join them I had said, "No thanks, I'm going to watch Matlock and then go to bed" which was my way of saying, "I'm an old man and need my sleep". Sadly, I had to explain what Matlock to them....then I DID feel old. Anyway, I had suggested that we split a taxi since there were so many of us, but they were bound and determined to find the sister Hostel where we might be able to arrange a shuttle ride. After a night of walking around Nice we finally found a payphone and called our Hostel. They were doing another pick-up so we were in luck. We hopped in the unmarked white van with the other pick-up....a stoner hippie. The guy was out of it! So, in true Matt fashion I messed with the guy. I asked where he was from and he said in his thick British accent, "North of England" and I jokingly said, "Oh, Scotland!" The next 5-minutes was me just confusing the hell out of his. It was fun! When we arrived at the hostel I walked into my room extremely tired. I looked at my watch, "4:00am". To Kathleen, Ali, Lauren, Harry, and Chris: Thank you for a fun and enjoyable night in Nice!

The Hospitality Students