Lazy in the Riviera

We arrived in Nice one day, early in the afternoon with no plans or thoughts in our head. That was how our day was started. Apparently on the 14th of July that is a holiday in France called Bastille day and it is like the independence day. So being Bastille day and all, half the train station was closed. We had to find a place to stay because we had no reservations due to the fact that the place we originally were going to stay at didn't let us bump the reservation a day back. Oh well things worked out fine and we just went to the Tourist info desk and found a really nice (haha)  hotel for cheap and close to the beach. Set our stuff down and off we were to the beach. The entire plan for Nice was just to bum on the beach and get a tan. The beach in Nice is a bit different because the entire beach is huge river rocks. Very wierd. The water was cool & clear which was perfect cause it was hot and we layed out for a bit but . . . . . . .  only on one side. We fell asleep tanning but not too long, but long enough that I have a line down my thigh that seperates the white from the red.  I sunburned of course and also tanned.  After all the sun worshipping we were tired and went back to the hotel took showers and got ready for the night. We just walked back down to the beach had dinner, and then at about 10:30 there was a spectacular fireworks display and lots of entertainment for all the people on the boardwalk.  I was so happy to see fireworks because we didn't get our 4th of july but it was like we almost did in a wierd frenchy sort of way. As Jessica says "people in Nice are a lot nicer because they actually get sun here," which I agree with totally. There was also a concert going on down a bit that was for free and everybody just danced in the streets and had a good old time. We sang all the songs they sang in English at the top of our lungs because we wanted everybody to know that " Yes we are AMERICAN, PEOPLE!" After all that excitement we walked down further on the boardwalk got an ice cream and  went and sat on the beach. Good end to a really fun night.
 
Part II: Marseille
Another fun arrival that was very unexpected. We arrived in Marseille at about 7:00pm again with no reservations and just looking to lay on the beach all day and bum around. Things started to get a little bumpy when we asked for the tourist info place and uh . . . . . . . . it was closed. So we walked out of the train station and i swear to you nothing reminded me more of Algeria than Marseille did at this particular point of time. I shall call Marseille from now on "Little Algeria" cause that is exactly what it is.  Continuing on, we were looking for a hotel to stay at and we had no clue which way the beach was. So we walked into a few hotels and they were ridiculously cheap and kinda of scary too . . . . . .  so those were definitely not an option. We sat down at a cafe and had to come up with a game plan. I knew i could call my dad or my uncles and find somebody we know here so that is exactly what i proposed to do. Jessica was patient and sat in the cafe with the luggage while i ran down a mountain, got a phone card and called my dad. He called my uncle and he told us to go to the Vieux-Port and to stay at the hotel he stays at called Hotel Alize. Turned out prefect and im so happy we stayed there because if Marseille was like it was by the train station we would have left. So the night turn out good and we had dinner and i tried the famous soup they are known for here called Bouillebaisse.  We sat and talked forever and had a nice relaxing night after all the confusion earlier that night. Next day i called my uncle and asked him what we should do in Marseille because i had no clue and all i knew is that we wanted to find a good beach because we were definitely nowhere near one, and we didnt want to swim in the port. He told us to go to Corniche because there was a beautiful beach there. So we took his advice and decided to try and walk to there  . . . .  . . . 1 1/2 hours later we were there. We walked for an hour, took a bus for 15 mins and finally we arrived. The beach was just beautiful and ice cold! We swam for a bit , tanned for a bit (on the other side) and then swam a bit more. I love the sea and i love swimming in it so i was in heaven. We couldn't have been in a more beautiful area with mountains surrounding us and a sea in front. It reminded me of Tipaza in Algeria and then i came to the conclusion that maybe everything by the Mediterranean Sea looks like this lol . . . . .  i know sometimes i surprise myself too. Next we are off to Barcelona!!!!!!!!! We are very excited for it and hope to go to the beach there as well. Im glad we are almost at the end of our journey but i'm so excited for Barcelona! I can't wait and i just want to eat all the good food there, dance, and see beautiful Spanish men . . . . . . .  but of course mom . . . . . .  No touchy. LoL. I miss everybody as usual and i can't wait to get home. I cant fit anything in my bag and it just keeps getting heavier. I haven't done laundry in almost 1 1/2 weeks and stuff is starting to stink lol. I'm a true backpacker now. Will be writing again soon . . . . . . . .  BARCELONA here we come ! By Erin and i hope you have fun in MN. Can't wait to see you at Christmas......... i can't believe we are going to college. I will miss you.

Rome(ing) Through Italy

So sorry to everybody for making you wait for my next posting. I thought all the pictures would hold you off but i guess i thought wrong. Anyways, Rome is amazing there is no other word to describe it. We got here on Thursday at around 12 pm: The train was delayed 2 hours and for what reason i do not know. We came to the hostel and found our way just fine left our stuff in the hostel and started to Rome around. We walked upon a little garden that was completely hidden and sat down and just breathed becuase it was so FREAKING hot that day. Rome is like Florida just a little less humid. That night we signed up for a "night" tour and it was really cool. We saw the Trini fountain, Spainish steps, the parliment buildings, and alot of other stuff i cant remember because it all mushes in my head. So the next day after sweating all the water i have in body out, we got ready and went on the Vatican Tour that is through our hostel. Best thing we ever did. Cheap and really good tour to go on for kids our age. The Vatican was just incredible, the tour guid decided that we were going to start the tour as if we were beginning the pilgrimage as the Catholics do. We walked on the bridge of angels which to me were hardly angels at all. They all held something that had to do with the killing of jesus. One angel had the crown of thorns and so on. It was very interesting. SO we walked all around and went into St. Peters basilica and it was just HUGE. I couldnt believe. It was just all done in gold and brass and all these marble statues around. The estimated worth of it was 1.2 trillion dollars. That is just crazy. We continued our tour there and saw were the popes office is, the swiss guards, and the Pieta that Michangelo sculpted when he was just 24 and wasnt a well known artist. After the basilica it was off to the museums those were interesting ill save the storys for when i come home. lol. But at the very end of musuems was the Sistine Chapel. There are no words to describes this because it just awes you as soon as u walk in. I really wish there werent that many people around because i think that would have made it more enjoyable but still. You arent allowed to talk when you walk in there and you arent allowed to take pictures which i found odd , because apparently when they restored the Sistine Chapel they had the Japanese commission it and now they have the copyrights to all photos taken until 2007. DAMN IT! But anyways after that it was still worth seeing. When we were walking home i started to feel very sick and i didnt know what was happening. We got back to the hostel and then it hit me. I got heat exhaustion and i didnt get up for 2 more days. I was very sick and Jessica took care of me. Finally i got over being sick and had and energy to do anything we went to the Colosseum. WOO hooo. That was really fun. We walked around it and just observed how old it was and saw were the gladiators fought. Scary stuff. Walked to a little park in the back and just sat and cooled off. Great time. On Monday we went to the Pantheon. Now i know some people might say that we are doing this backwards because the Pantheon is the oldest building in Rome but still we went. It was more than i expected and i will never forget it. The oculus was cool to look there and they say god is looking through it at you so i stood there and waited lol. Couldnt do much else because half of it was getting restored. I still enjoyed it and never expected Rome to be like this. Tonight we leave for Nice and im glad to go just to go to the beach and bum around getting a tan. WOO Hoo. Cant wait to come home though, very home sick and i want some Cheetos and MEXICAN FOOD. They dont know what they are talking about here when you ask for mexican food. Miss you all and the count down is 10 days!!!