Nice, Monaco & Barcelona

The day that we left Italy was probably the worst weather we’d come across so far; we had to walk a half mile in a severe downpour. It was rough, but we were glad to be moving on. As soon as our train crossed into France, everything seemed to be much better. The weather was clear and our train was running either right along the coast or through the rural countryside. Everything we thought Italy was going to be (but wasn’t) turned out to be exactly how France is. The French Riviera is so beautiful and picturesque. We had considered just passing through the area and not spending much time, but we realized that we would really be missing out if we did so. Our only inconvenience was the unpredictable train schedules due to the pension reform strikes all throughout France.


Our first strike-related experience was at the border station between Italy and France where our train was canceled. Thankfully there was a line that travels to Nice every hour, so we weren’t set back too much. We arrived in Nice late in the day and our only goal was to make it to the hotel and plan for our days in the Riviera. We didn’t plan on spending too much time there, which we now know was unfortunate. Our first full day was spent in fabulous Monaco, the world’s second smallest country. Known for lavish lifestyles and high-rollers, Monaco is nestled between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea and is less than a half hour train ride from Nice. We certainly felt a bit out of place strolling along the waterfront near all the docked yachts and the super sports cars buzzing by on the road. We made our way up the hill to Monaco-Ville to see the Prince’s Palace. After taking in the panoramic views overlooking Monte Carlo on one side and Fontvieille on the other, we decided to make our way to a casino. Now, we’re not big gamblers. Sure, we’ll buy a scratch ticket once in a while, but we’re not keen on risking a lot of money. But we figured, we’re in Monte Carlo so why not? Along the way we passed by an unexpected carnival with clunky old rides and chance games for toys. It seemed more out of place than we did, but we passed through and enjoyed the sights and smells of the fair. When we finally found a casino, we had to choose between two: the infamous Casino Monte Carlo or the lesser-known Café de Paris Casino across the street. Our first clue that we were not welcome to go inside the Casino Monte Carlo was the array of luxury cars parked out front; cars that you almost never see driving on the road outside of Pebble Beach or swanky parts of LA. Plus there were doormen ensuring riff-raff like us don’t make it inside. I later found out that they charge you simply to walk into the casino, and there’s a strict dress code. So, Café Paris Casino it was! We decided on slot machines, since they are easy and low-pressure. We went in with twenty euros and were out with zero in just under an hour. Penny slots are misleading! We knew we weren’t going to win it big, and for the most part we didn’t win anything the whole time. But we enjoyed our gambling adventure, and now we can say we gambled in Monte Carlo. I’m sure we would have done better if we’d found a casino that had games like “guess which hand” or “war.”


We had a half day to spend in Nice before we continued on toward Spain. We decided to head to the beach since it was a clear and sunny morning. We were surprised to find that the beach did not have sand but instead had large flat stones. This, I’m sure, makes for uncomfortable sunbathing. It was still a lovely beach, despite the rocks. We were looking forward to taking off our shoes and strolling along the sandy beach, but that would have to wait. Thankfully there was a paved sidewalk for pedestrians that ran alongside the beach. Nice is a pleasant city, fairly modern and generally bustling at all hours. We could have stayed longer, but we just didn’t have enough time. We would consider returning to the area, but mostly to visit some of the smaller cities along the coast.


To get to Barcelona from Nice, we had to stay the night in a town between the two cities. Otherwise we would have been on a train for almost twelve hours, which was impossible at that time because the strikes were constantly delaying or canceling trains. We stayed the night in Avignon and departed early for Marseille in the morning. We didn’t have much trouble in Marseille, aside from seeing strike protests outside of the station. We had to switch trains in Montpellier and catch a direct train to Barcelona from there. Unfortunately, all trains to Spain were canceled that day. In addition, we were met with several heavily armed military guards at the station, and a massive strike march taking place outside. We tried to get onto a bus that was going directly to Barcelona, but there were a lot of people that were in our position that got there earlier. We even tried to rent a car, but no rental place had any available. Our only option was to take another train to Perpignan and hope for the best. When we arrived, there were busses organized by the rail system waiting to take anyone trying to get to Spain to the nearest boarder station at Figueres. The bus ride was just over an hour, and we were able to board a Spanish train toward Barcelona. The whole trip from Avignon to Barcelona was fourteen hours, when it should have only been about six hours total. Although our trip there was unpleasant, we were glad to finally be in Barcelona. It was almost midnight and we were starving. The only places to eat that were open were tapas restaurants. I know tapas are not real food, but we were pretty desperate. Since it’s geared toward tourists, the portions are smaller than they are back home and twice as much. Let’s just say we decided not to have another tapas experience while in town. We had better luck finding reasonably priced and portioned food the following day. We decided to walk the city center to see as much as we could. Our hostel was not far from La Rambla, a long tree-lined pedestrian walkway. Along the sides are various booths selling tourist fare and “actors” dressed up in a wide range of costumes so as to have passersby pay to have their pictures taken with them. It’s all a bit silly, but some of them had interesting costumes on. We found the St. Josep Mercat, a huge open market, off to the side of La Rambla and decided to wander through. Produce and seafood are the highlights of the market, but there are a few places that offer food ready to eat. Continuing down La Rambla, we made our way to the ocean and then head towards the Barri Gotic, the gothic quarter. Along the way we passed beneath a statue of a large bronze prawn, and not far an abstract statue of a woman’s face. Barcelona is full of these sorts of strange pieces of art. It’s almost as though the city doesn’t have a singular identity, like a monument or structure that represents the city, but rather is made up of a very recent patchwork of different ideas and styles. It’s a bit strange, but I suppose that’s the way they like it. On our list of places to go was the Picasso Museum, which celebrates the artist’s time living in Barcelona. It was really interesting to see how he originated as a pretty standard artist, painting portraits and landscapes, on to the more abstract style he is now famously known for. To our dismay, his more famous abstract works were not featured in this museum. After the museum, we walked around the old city area until we were too tired to continue on. We had become so exhausted in the past few weeks that we decided to take a bus tour the next day instead of walking. Barcelona is a huge city and it’s impossible to see everything on foot with only a few days to spare. We did what we tried so hard to avoid in every other large city, buy tickets for a “hop-on, hop-off” tour bus. The weather was good and we didn’t have to fight too much to get on the top floor of the bus. Our first stop was at one of the iconic Gaudi buildings, the Casa Batlló. Structures by Gaudi are all over the city, with the Sagrada Família church being the largest and most outlandish of them all. The church began construction in the 1880’s and is not scheduled to be complete until about 2026. All of his buildings look like they would be well suited in a fish tank. Our tour took us to several sites all over the city. We didn’t “hop-off” as much as we probably should have, but we were content to see the sites from the bus. The final stop for us was at the Barceloneta beach, which has sand! We walked along the beach then sat in the sand for a while, until we noticed a storm coming in, which was a cue to exit. I suppose we had higher expectations for Barcelona, and it’s not that they weren’t met but that they were different from what we were hoping. Still, we enjoyed the city and would like to see other parts of Spain in the future.


Continuing on to: “la Ville Lumière,” also known as Paris


Nice and Monaco:

Barcelona: