An Eventful Night & A Lazy Day

The night train left Paris last night at 10 pm and arrived in Nice at 11:00 am this morning (2 hours late). This train ride has been one of the highlights of the trip. As we were boarding the train, I heard and understood a very familiar language--Finnish. It sounded like the most glorious music to my deprived ears. Fortunately, we sat about 5 rows in front of some of the coolest Finns I've ever met, so I was able to whip out my rusty Finnish. It felt so good to speak Finnish again (understatement) to complete strangers. All my Finnish friends in the states seem to be more American than Finnish now. As I took my seat next to Nick, he leaned over and pointing to the old man in front of us, he whispered, "We're in for a long night!"

This man was very drunk and very loud. The French girl sitting across the aisle was told by a couple ambulance workers to take care of the drunk man on his way throughout the night. It's disgusting what alcohol does to the body and mind. He and I spoke for about an hour with help from the French girl, Quitterie, who translated for both of us. He shook my hand about a dozen times telling me about his time in the war. It turned out that this man was 90 years old. Eventually he got up and we all (including Quitterie) pretended to be asleep. It miraculously worked! While the train grew quiet, Quitterie and I chatted for another 2 hours or so. For those who know me well, know I do not know how to whisper. Quitterie laughed when Nick kept expressing his frustration at wanting to go to sleep. She poked fun of him a little, calling him "papy", which means grandpa. I had a good laugh about that one. Nick gave up trying to sleep and joined our conversation for about an hour. I asked Quitterie if she had any "bon bon" (French candy). I regretted asking because she then forced a sandwich and cookies into my arms and wouldn't let me return them. Then the kid sitting next to her gave us potato chips. French people are soo kind!

Nick asleep on the night train to Nice, France.

Despite sitting up in a chair, I slept very well. I awoke around 10 am wondering why we hadn't arrived to Nice yet. Quitterie, who had stayed up the entire night, told us that a man tried to commit suicide during the night by jumping in front of the tracks. This is why we arrived 2 hours later than expected--13 hours all together! The Finns were on their way to Rome, so I gave them my contact information and asked them to shoot me an email when they found a good place to stay. We'll likely be in Rome next Monday and/or Tuesday. Quitterie gave us her contact email/number and invited us to hang out with her in Cannes tomorrow. She got off the train a couple stops before we did.

One of the busy walkways in Nice, France.

Once off the train, we didn't know where our hostel was. Although we had made a reservation the day prior, we had forgotten to write down the name and address. However, I had a nearby office look up the hostel online and give us directions. She was a bit a rude about helping us but I was grateful. We took a metro and then the complimentary hostel shuttle picked us up. The Villa Saint Exupery is a hostel like no other. It's been ranked as the #1 hostel in the world. It definitely attracts a different crowd than we are use to rooming with.

Main beach in Nice, France.

Once situated at the hostel, Nick and I spent a lazy day on the beach. It was a rocky beach but I slept like a rock for a good hour. The water hear reminds me of the Caribbean--a gorgeous light blue color. I bought some cookies and Nutella for dinner (I need to do a better job staying away from the chocolate).

French Riviera

We're hanging out with Quitterie tomorrow in Cannes, so we'll take the train tomorrow morning from Nice to Cannes. It'll help to have a local, who knows the language, show us around Cannes. I'm stoked.