Le France

I spent one day in Aix-en-Pronvence, ate Pizza Capri per Noah’s suggestion, but it was so similar to Montpellier in some ways that I felt the traveler’s itch to move on. I did take the time to buy more presents for my family, at this street-side soap stand. 

I also went on a book buying spree at Book in Bar, because I think I will read a lot in Italy. 

When I couldn’t decide on one book, I bought three. The first is The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, which many people recommended to me in Berkeley. In the morning I hopped on the bus to Marseille with a bunch of lost American teenagers (I helped, like I have any clue).

So the first thing that happened to me in Nice was that I got conned by a guy at the tram platform. He did the whole “you speak English?” and then charged me 50 cents for showing me how to use the ticket machine. 

The same ticket machine I have successfully used several times a day since I came to France. 50 euro cents is not bad, but I hate getting conned out of anything. My mood changed when I got to the hostel, Villa St.-Exupery (like The Little Prince).  I immediately started chatting with my dormmates (Aussies and a cute British couple), running through all the traditional hostel questions (where ya from, where ya goin’).  The next morning I tagged along with Eddie and Mike (other hostel-dwellers) to Villefranche-sur-mer.  We got a bit lost, but eventually found: the beach. 

Why had I not been here all along? The beach in the south of France is exactly like a beach in Spain or Italy: Mediterranean blue waters and hot, hot sand. The reason why the south of France is so beautiful is really because of the houses on the Riviera.  I now understand why Santa Barbara is called the “Riviera of the West”.  The next morning, I did not want to leave, but I had Milan and Rocco waiting.