Day Fifty Three

Nice is nice.
This morning we woke up to our weirdie roommate who we think slept naked and snored a lot getting all his stuff together (empty wine bottle included) and telling us checkout was in 20 minutes. We all got out of bed, said farewell to Vertigo, grabbed some French pastries, and headed to the train station. Oh pastries.... they're delicious, cheaper here than in Spain, and the perfect breakfast. After stuffing ourselves, we made our way to St. Charles station where we thought we would be able to just jump on a train to Nice pretty quick. Yep, we were wrong.
French people fit the stereotype well. Our conversation at the train station today while we were attempting to validate our Eurail passes went like this: The French lady says "bonjour" and smiles, we say "bonjour.... do you speak English?" and then all of a sudden the French lady turns into a beezy and hates us all. Yep, the rumors are true. French people hate Americans. Like I said yesterday, its a really weird feeling not being able to understand anything in another country! When we finally got our tickets and found WiFi we hit up wordreference.com for a little help, decifering what the strange words on the tickets meant, and then after a little wandering we finally even got to the right train! It was supposed to leave at 12:09, but they said a lot of stuff in French over the loudspeaker, and the train didn't leave until after 1. Thanks a lot, France!
The trip to Nice wasn't too bad, despite the fact that it took forever because France has been flooding lately, so the trains have to go extra slow in some parts. The views were breathtaking though, as much of it was along the Mediterranean, and Dan and I had some good conversation, so the three hour ride that should only have taken about an hour and a half was just fine.
After we pulled into the station, found a good map, and oriented ourselves, it was off to find our hostel. None of us could really remember the name, just the street number, so we wandered around until we found it... and let me just say that what a memorable moment that was. "Pink Lady's Hostel" is what it is called, and well, we will forever hold fond memories of this little "abode". As we walked by, unsure as to whether we were in the right place or not, we were beckoned inside by an old decrepit woman into her living room/sewing room/restaurant under the glow of pink neon lights. In mostly French she asked my name and found our reservation, and made me and Britt sit and told all the guys they had to stand. Another lady came into the room, and suddenly we knew why this place had the name it did... and like a bolt of lightning I remembered reading about this hostel online. Everyone had something to say about the eccentric and very very old owner. "The Pink Lady" is not just her name, but her lifestyle too, as we came to find. Her entire outfit was pink, right down to her sequinned and see throughsheer top... and when I say see through I mean we could see everything. As we tried to come up with our deposit, we all just stared at her and ateach other... and I just laughed hysterically. Now THIS was a story. Half scared, half confused, nobody even knew what to say. "...Alyssa, WHAT did you book us?!" Casey asked. I told them about the reviews, how it was all coming back to me not, and how they should just be happy I'd found them a place for just 15 euros a night! Next, Pink Lady took us up to our room. Not going to lie, it's pretty cute and quaint. She showed us around, French flying the whole time, and the best part was when she made Cade go out into the hall with her so she could show him where to find the "hidden key" in case we get locked out. Well, it's right on top of the lightswitch, so unless you're over 5 feet tall it's not really that hidden.
Sorry, Pink Lady.
After our good laugh we realized how hungry we were. We went out into the city for food, and decided on more street food: kebaps, pizza, and fruit stand food. Ah how good it was to eat! Next we wandered down to the beach, which isn't sandy at all. The beaches are all small rocks which definitely don't look that comfy to lay on, but evidentally people do, maybe because the water and scenery is just so breathtaking! Too bad it was kind of late and cloudy.... no swimming today!
After the beach we wandered around the Old City, where there were tons of good smelling restaurants, artisan fairs, and French language we didn't really understand. We did a lot of wandering, a lot of "hey, let's go look at that cool thing!" sight seeing, and then ended our night with an ice cream cone "glace" from Old Town, and then a stroll around the fountains in the square. It was great- Nice is MUCH better than Marseille.
Tonight when we got back to our hostel, our roommates had just gotten there. They are 5 Chilean, Brazillian, and Peruvian girls who just got done studying abroad in Paris, and they speak Spanish... oh how I thought I would never be so happy to hear some words I understand! These girls are hardcore- they've been in Paris since January, and are traveling through Europe now until mid September. ... maybe I should see if they want an extra friend to tag along? We've had a good time talking to them tonight- the hostel experience is one that everyone should take advantage of a couple of times in life... especially an experience like that of the Pink Lady. We are just wondering what she'll wear tomorrow!!
Speaking of tomorrow, it's looking like Old Town, Monaco beaches, and real food, since we haven't really eaten much lately. Bonsoir! (that means good night... I'm a fast learner, right?)