well, "ugh" again. it wasn't until i was on the train to albi that i noticed that the toulouse-lautrec museum isn't open on tuesday!!!!!!!!!! i'm quite upset, as i am a fan of the silly little man's posters. (if anyone ever saw my living room in cambridge...)

so i got there and walked around a bit and not even the tourist office was open during lunch, so without a map i parked it on some bench and ate my lunch. (brown bagging it for a few days after my expensive misunderstanding meal yesterday).

when things finally started to open a bit after 2 i realized the only other thing i wanted to see in albi was the cathedrale de st..... st somebody, can't remember. but it was absolutely magnificent (i'm not being facetius, i just can't remember the name of the saint) the stonework was so unbelievable, extremely delicate, it looked almost like silk in some places, and of course beaucoup de gargoyles, which i loved. the inside was pretty cool as well, there are some amazing paintings on the walls, the big one at the altar (no, that's no the right word.... is it? you know what i mean) depicted the last judgement, which was quite cool. talk about trying to scare people out of sinning... how catholic. ;P

so after that i really had nothing else to do in albi and caught the early train back here. but the sun is shining finally, which is great.

so time to pop into the grocery store for another loaf of bread and maybe some sort of vegetable (in an attempt to be healthy). tomorrow i'm planning a lovely day in toulouse, and possibly treating myself to a movie, in version originale, chicago! v. exciting.

what could have been a great day has not really been.

i'm spending the day in carcassonne today, which is this amazing walled castle - story book kind of city. it really is amazing. but it's also raining. and so exploring the city and soaking up the beauty of it all on a park bench are not what they could be. also my travel umbrella is of a low quality and so after too much time in the rain it starts to seep through to the underneath part and drip onto my head and shoulders. no fun. the parks in this city are so nice and filled with flowers and beautiful fountains and stuff, i would have loved to spend the afternoon there. but no, but no.

also i wanted to get cassoulet while i was here, it's the local speciality. basically it's a stew with white beans, sausage and duck. so i found a restaurant with an 11 euro menu which included a salad, the cassoulet, and a dessert. but there was some confusion about the dessert bit, i wanted fromage blanc (which i wrote about a few days ago) but somehow it wasn't an option or i was misunderstood and instead had a plate of different cheeses, more like a cheese tray, that put an extra 4 euros on my bloody bill. so was feeling a bit cheated. c'est la vie.

did have a pretty pleasant sunday for once, despite the rain (it is always bad weather on sunday, i don't understand). found a small family run kind of grocery store and was able to pick up some wine and cookies to go with my sandwich and spent a pleasant evening in a warm room (the whole hostel in arles was quite chilly) reading.

i think the rain is finally supposed to let up tomorrow, and i'll be going to albi for the day, which was the home of toulouse lautrec before he ran off to paris to poster the moulin rouge. should be good.

seems like i've had a very long day traveling... and it's only 3pm! my train left arles at 10 and by 1:30 i was in toulouse. there was a breif period of sun while i was on the train, so i had hopes of heading into sunnier territory. but no. it's is raining here.

despite the rain, my first impression of toulouse is that i think i'll like it here. i was able to find my hotel without much trouble. though my room is pretty hilarious. it is a single room (not a dorm) so there's a little single bed, a sink, a table and chair, and a closet. with about 3 square feet of carpet in the middle. but i'm not complaining, it's only 17.50 *and* it has a window. (the window looks over the "hall" which seems that it was previously a courtyard which is now covered on the top). the hotel itself is quite neat, little hallways leading all around and lots of stairs leading every which way. and even more i'm thrilled to not have a lockout during the day! that is truly miserable when it rains and you have to stay out until 5pm.

so i've walked around some, found the internet at what i think is quite cheap prices. it is filled with pre-adolescents playing 1st person shooters, but at least they're not taking up the entire place like in nimes.

would love to find an open grocery store so i could get a few supplies (wine, bread, cheese, some sort of cookies...) but i'm pretty sure no grocery stores are open in france on sunday, so i'll have to settle for a sandwich from a street vendor. i'll live, though.

tomorrow my plan is to go to carcassonne, which is a city with a castle at it's center, surrounded by a fortress. should be fun. hope it doesn't rain!!!!

sur le pont d'avignon, l'on y danse, l'on y danse....

am in avignon today which is really great. it's completely walled in with little entrances all over the city. saw the famous bridge, though decided against going on it, which cost 3 euros. i just took some photos from the river bank. it actually doesn't go all the way across the river anymore, and they still charge you 3 euros! at least your $2 on the tobin lets you go all the way across!

also visited the palais de papes, which is where the papacy was run from for like a hundred years in the 14th century and they built a gigantic palace. quite an amazing place. there's also tons of little museums here.... but i'm not in a museum mood today, it's sunny out. and even now i'm sitting in a sunny window looking out onto a "place" filled with people.

and all this is a vast improvement over yesterday, when i visited nimes. it rained _all day_. and i was so miserable. i decided to treat myself to a *real* lunch at an actual restaurant with wine and dessert. i'm not normally a big dessert person, but they have this thing in like every restaurant in france which is called "fromage blanc" (means "white chees") which is essentially a cheese with the consistency of yogurt, and they put a fruit sauce on it (everytime i've had it, it's been raspberry) and it is so good.... like dannon (or whatever yogurt that is... maybe yoplait?) it is sooo goooood....

was unable to kill time during the day of rain in the internet cafe in nimes, because it was filled with teenage boys playing QUAKE!!!! i was so angry. stupid boys. ended up spending a lot of time at the train station waiting for my train....

today is a much nicer day, and i don't mind just sitting outside and people watching.

slow, boring day tomorrow, my last day in arles and it is also going to be laundry day. then sunday morning i'll head off to toulouse. so until sunday... :)

it was a very long day yesterday, killing time until 5pm. sat for a very long time in a cafe. first had a coffee and sat for a while (that in itself earns me the right to sit there all afternoon). but i was hungry and it was lunchtime so a little later i had a croque monsieur and salad (to counteract the croque monsieur - which for those who don't know is like a grilled ham & cheese, but with cheese also melted all over the outside - to be eaten with fork and knife. this one was especially cheezy, with an almost welsh rabbit-y sauce under the outer cheese.). then a little while later, another coffee.

after that it was a little harder to kill time with my giant bag. didn't want to go in any shops (too bulky) and it was a little chilly out.... so sitting outside was not as nice as it could have been. eventually took a walk to see where exactly the hostel was, and then time how long it took me to walk to the train station from there (about 25 minutes with a full pack).

it was eventually time and i could put down my bag. sigh of relief. wandered off feeling 50 lbs. lighter (well, let's be honest - at start the bag was 13 lbs, can't have put too much more in there.... some papers, one new sweater - that's all). got myself a sandwich and went back to the hostel to tuck in for the night.

today i had my very first FREE breakfast (it's included in the price of this hostel) which was fantastic. my first breakfast to include something besides coffee in weeks. :) plus, not only a coffee, but a big cup which i could refill. the bottomless cup of coffee is unheard of in france.

have been seeing the sights in arles today, it has quite a lot of roman ruins and some museums, also the hospital that van gogh was put in after he cut off his ear (like mental hospital).

tomorrow i'll make a day trip to nimes, which also has some roman ruins. i might get roman ruin-ed out by the time i really get to rome, eh? well, probably not. i imagine the colleseum will blow away what is left over in france.

till tomorrow.

a sad end to my sad sunday (when i last posted). i wanted so badly to get some chinese take-away to soothe my crappy afternoon, which i have been able to find in every city so far. but not in marseille. instead i ate at MCDONALDS and had "le chicken mcnuggets" and "frites". was comforting at any rate.

yesterday spent the day in aix-en-provence, which restored my hopes for provence in general. it was charming and quaint and clean (well, apart from the obvious dog doo and cigarettes that are everywhere, but no real trash like marseille) and i was able to get chinese take-away before i went back to marseille. mmmm..... made me quite happy.

and i finally sent my film in! though i think i must have air-mailed it or something... was a little more expensive than i imagined. so soon (depending on when it arrives in the US) i'll have some pictures to share.

was up very early this morning to catch a 8:48 train to arles. so i am here now. but i'll have to lug my big bag all over this city with me today, as the hostel i plan to stay at is closed from 10-5. blah, i hate lock-outs! but it's nearly lunch time now, and it's sunny out and not too cold, so i'll have some lunch and maybe find a place to park myself near the river and read for a little bit. i picked up a new book in aix yesterday "angle of repose" by wallace stegner, something i meant to read ages ago when i was thinking of being part of an online reading group but didn't.

alas, i don't know how much this is costing me here, but hopefully not too much. i'll be 4 nights here in arles, which is home to some of the best preserverd roman ruins in france.

j'ai arrivee en marseille hier.

and apart from being quite expensive to stay here (25 euros a night) i do have my own room, which is an exciting change. even my own shower (which was cold this morning) and sink. toilet is down the hall. still it's kind of nice to be lazy and just kind of lounging around with no one to bother me....

oh, don't think i wrote about the crazy inconsiderate girls in cannes - was finally asleep the first night of my wretched cold when at about 12:30 these two girls came into the room and clambered up into their beds and continued to chit chat as if they were still at the pub, and their mobile phones buzzing with text messages..... and the same in the morning, at 7:30 when they got up, no thought for the three other people who didn't want or need to be awake at that time. oy vay. actually talked to them on my last night in cannes, they were sort of crashing the 3GSM World Congress and trying to sell their business idea.

spent the afternoon yesterday cruising around the port in marseille and enjoying the sunshine. am thinking of trying out my wedding band here, there seem to be a lot of guys who think if a girl is sitting/walking/standing alone that she wants to be picked up. it's a little annoying. was sitting on a bench yesterday when some guy started to chat with me, so i made an attempt, he didn't really speak english, i was trying to speak some french. then he said i had a nice smile, and could he see my eyes? he wanted to see the color... (danto: a bit like those crazy egyptians) which i declined.

today saw a couple of the sights (the ones that interested me) and then was going to walk around in "le panier" which is a section of marseille that's supposed to be quaint and cute streets and shops and such... not so much. i've seen cute and quaint. this was just a little grungy. and marseille on the whole is sort of a dirty place. but the port is nice.

anyhoo- tomorrow i'll go to aix-en-provence for the day, which is a small town, and hopefully a little cleaner than marseille.

have finished enough film to send in to the developer, but haven't been able to find an envelope to mail it in (and "la poste" is closed today). but soon, hopefully, i'll have some pictures!

bonjour tout le monde!

yes, i haven't written for a while... cannes has been a little wierd and hectic - PLUS i've come down with a miserable cold.

first of all, wasn't able to find any cyber cafes with english keyboards (on french keyboards, the letters and punctuation are mostly in different places) and it was very, very frustrating, but today someone showed me that i can change the language of the keyboard - which of course only works if you can type without actually looking at the keys - so i'd like to thank my crazy high school typing teacher....

second - SICK. yuck. nose was running out of control and i was sneezy and miserable. luckily had befriended a german girl in my hostel, who was working in france and could speak french very well, so she could explain to the pharmacy chic what i needed. of course what i really *wanted* was dayquil, that stuff is the best ever, but you can't just peruse the shelves in france, you have to ask for the hard stuff (like cold medicine). but anyway, am starting to feel better.

not really enjoying cannes as much as the other cities i've been to so far, but the hostel has a kitchen, so i can like heat up some soup to go with my sandwich and open a bottle of wine with the hostel corkscrew. so had a lovely dinner last night.

went to grasse yesterday, the perfume capital of the world, which was nice (though not as nice as it could have been if my nose wasn't running the whole time). i bought myself a fancy-shmancy french "parfum". :) which the woman told me would last for 3 months "if i use it every day, as i should" don't think i'll do that. but also, they put the stuff in aluminum bottles, which along with being safer and lighter for me to travel with, actually keeps the perfume potent for 7 years, unlike glass bottles which only keep it fresh for like a year.

today i'm catching up on bunches of e-mail and posting here for the first time in days. then i'll wander around cannes for a bit and take the ferry to ile st. marguerite, which is where the "man in the iron mask" was imprisoned. it's also supposed to be a lovely place to walk around.

tomorrow i leave the cote d'azur for provence, my first stop is marseille.

my last day in antibes... and not a very interesting day.

went in search of a laundrymat, it's been two weeks now, it's time. the one listed in my guide book was closed, so i wandered around and eventually found another one. quite boring.

had a lovely sandwich for lunch, goat chees with tomato, lettuce and olive oil. yum... sandwich... tonight is 1 euro curry night, which i'm very excited about.

sat in the courtyard for a while today to try to soak up some sun while avoiding the wind, not easy to do and i wasn't very successful. i've finished reading "the celestine prophecy" which i thought was amazing and i highly reccomend. i've traded in my copy at the hotels book exchange for something called "sushi for beginners", a sort of comedic novel, i gather. been reading a lot in antibes, which is strange. not something i usually have a whole lot of time for.

a lot of chit-chat today with various residents here, which i quite enjoy. it is still a little early for most of them to have secured work yet, so there's a lot of people hanging around. i feel that i might be getting a little comfortable here, it's time to move on.

tomorrow morning i leave for cannes.

quite a late night at the pub on friday night.... got home around 4 am. people here are content to go from place to place as things close down until the morning - don't think i'm quite that dedicated...

slept in a bit on saturday and decided to take a walk around cap d'antibes, the bit of antibes that sort of juts into the mediterranean. it was absolutely stunning, there's a railing set up along a path right on the cliffs. eventually the path was increasingly difficult to find.... and did a bit of rock climbing in my 3 inch heels. was quite tired when i finally got back to antibes and decided to pick up some potato salad from the super market for dinner. it was "pomme de terre aux harengs" i didn't know what 'hareng' was, but it looked ok. not until i got back to the room and opened it did i realize it was herring. hareng = herring. yuck. so went out to get a sandwich instead.

today slept even later than usual - didn't get up until 11:30!!! it's freezing today. went out and got some fried rice and chicken satay from a little asian place - my first non-sandwich meal in a while - which was yummy. then took a walk to juan-les-pins, which is about a 20 minute walk from here. not very exciting, it's mainly a beach place, so obviously there's not a lot of people there now.

i think another slow night tonight, one girl in my room has a laptop and i think we're going to rent a dvd to watch. and probably sandwiches from the shop around the corner. ;P i don't mind, the bread and cheese here is fantastic.

hopefully tomorrow will be a little sunnier, my last full day in antibes, and i think - laundry day.

slept late this morning, till about 9:30 at which point one my current roomates, helen, says "there's free coffee for guests downstairs before 10". so needless to say i inquired about this while i was paying for my next night's bill, but i was told no, it was before 9. *sigh* perhaps a way to convince myself to get out of bed a little earlier. we'll see.

this morning had helen show me around the city a little while she did a few errands. then we went to the picasso museum, which was nice. much smaller than i imagined and not containing quite as many of the types of work i recognize, a lot of ceramic plates with child-like drawings of faces on them.

after being terribly warm all morning and carrying my coat around, i decided i would go sit on the beach a little after lunch and read. well, when i got to the beach i had about 10 minutes of wonderful warm sunshine before the sun slipped behind a massively huge cloud, where it never came out from, and me without my coat got very cold. so i walked into the english bookstore and looked around a bit (i've just finished my current book "island" by aldous huxley). needless to say it was not a whole lot warmer in the shop. in fact in the basement where the used books were, there was a small machine blowing out cold air! blah. but have chosen my next book: "the celestine prophecy" by somebody-or-other.

tomorrow i'm planning on a walk to juan-les-pins, which is essentially the same town as antibes, but they have separate train stations, post offices and tourist offices. supposedly it's a little bit younger, a little bit hipper.

did not go out to the pub last night, instead walked with my other current roomate, selina, to get a pizza, which we brought back to the room and ate while i read a found copy of october 2002 british marie claire. lovely evening. though helen was astonished that i didn't go out on my first night in antibes, i think we'll be going out tonight.

and it's terribly cold!!! i'll definitely be wearing my coat!

today i moved camp to antibes.

was able to easily find and get a room at my first choice hotel, the crew house, which also has and internet cafe connected! how convenient. there are lots of people here looking for work on yachts, and there are lots of yachts, but i've read that there's just too many people looking for that sort of thing... at any rate, i'm not strapped for cash... yet.

walked around the city a bit today, which is a little more condensed than nice and a little less touristy. it's nice. (but then again nice is nice as well, didn't i say). tomorrow i'll go to the picasso museum, apparently he stayed here (in antibes) for a few months and they were very productive months, and so now there's a lovely museum.

walked down to the water and the wind was so brutal that i thought i would die of cold. bought a new, cheap sweater today (10 euros) to keep me warm. am going to break out the mittens again. hopefully it gets a little bit warmer.

there seemed to be some talk about "the pub" so i may be doing that tonight.

cheers!

have been contemplating all the dog doo on the sidewalks.

what do they feed these animals? it seems that 2 out of 3 piles of dog doo are diarhea. must be all the foie gras. or something, it must be something....

a little cool out today, and it looks to be like that for a while. i guess i'll live, at least it's not snowing. took my last day trip from nice today to menton. it was just okay, that secret riviera stuff is a bunch of crap. (says me). menton is home to the (a?) jean cocteau museum, which was pretty interesting. his art is sort of crazy picasso line-ish stuff in strange colors. i liked it.

had a difficult time finding a good place for lunch. i walked around the pedestrian zone for a while, peeking in shops and checking out where other people were eating (usually a good indicator). so i decided on a place and i sat down at an outdoor table (in general, you just sit wherever you want and a waiter comes up and asks you what you want, no "hostess") and started to look at a menu that was on the table next to mine. and i waited. i decided to get a pizza (menton is very close to italy) and a glass of wine. and i continued to wait. and wait. the people who were there started leaving. so i left. i walked around and tried to find somewhere similar, but couldn't. finally just picked a place with people and when i looked at the menu all they had was drinks and ice cream and a couple of snacky type things. so i settled for "croque-monsieur" (essentially grilled ham and cheese with cheese on the outside of the bread as well) and a beer.

walked around the city some after lunch and decided to walk the "chemin du rosaire" which is this path that leads up to this hillside church that some princess of monaco built when some saint cured her leopracy (or something). supposedly it was decorated with like some human bones or something. well, if it was, i didn't see them. and it was a very long, uphill walk to this place. great view of the city though.

now i've picked up some groceries for my dinner and a french vogue and i'm ready to go back to my hotel and put up my feet. :)

i once read somewhere: "a day without wine is like a day without sunshine". how true!

this morning i got up early and was out and about by 9 am (hey - that's early - i'm on vacation here!) had a coffee and did some people watching at a cafe and then went to find the museum i couldn't find the other day. well, i found it this time. a small museum, but interesting, had some cool paintings by some Dufy guy, who is from nice or something. also had "le baiser" (the kiss), the sculpture by rodin.

took a walk to the outdoor market and found a sunny little cafe to have lunch at. i kind of like having my big meal at lunchtime. i can sit alone and people watch while working on my tan and not have to count on someone wanting to go to dinner from the hotel in the evening. and it's an excuse to drink wine, which along with the sunshine makes for a wonderful afternoon. had some prawns or shrimps or something that not only had their shells still on (which i dislike, though i know it's a somewhat posh thing for restaurants to do - i just think it's lazy) but they also had their heads still on. with their big black eyes staring at me. yuck. and since i was given a little hand wipey i assumed that i didn't have to eat in a civilized manner. and it was so messy. and despite all the work (and they eyes) it was tasty. sat on the beach for a little while before heading back to the hotel for a little laundry. i'm starting to look a little sun-kissed on the cheeks and nose, which is very exciting.

did a little shopping, grocery shopping too, which was an experience. i had bought some bread, goat cheese and apples yesterday to have a couple of cheap meals. well today i decided to pick up a tomato to throw into the sandwich, which i didn't realize i was supposed to weigh before i went up to the cashier. so i had to run back to the vegetable section and weigh it, get my little sticker and run back to the cashier. just another lesson learned i suppose (like you need your london subway ticket to get out of the station as well as in).

tomorrow i'm planning a day trip to menton, "the secret riviera" (according to my guidebook). we'll see about that. :)

hooray!! no rain today, as forecasted - in fact it was a beautiful day.

took a trip to monaco today, and walked around the entire country (it's not that big). lots and lots of walking..... i'm very tired and very much looking forward to a)laying on my bed with my feet up and b)taking it easy tomorrow. hopefully it will be nice enough to sit on the beach.

saw prince rainiers palace and the place where princess grace is buried (along with dozens of other dead monacan royalty). there was a desert garden on a hillside (waaaay up the hill) that i almost died trying to reach. i almost considered forgetting about being economical and take a bus or something. then went to the casino in monte-carlo, didn't actually gamble or anything, mostly sat by the water trying to recover from my walk. then there was a lovely japanese garden.... it was all very lovely, including the million dollar yachts in the harbor - wow.

so yeah, ready for some rest....

thought i would get up a little earlier today, before 9 instead of before 10 (i'm still on vacation, before 9 is early) so i started to walk around and noticed that not many things were open yet, so i'm thinking "this place is exactly my speed, no need to get up too early". but it wasn't until much later when i was going to write in my journal that it occurred to me that it was sunday. and in the end only about half of the cafes and none of the shops opened. *sigh*

today was also a rather yucky day. very cloudy and very windy, which made it quite cold. i sat on the beach for about an hour (maybe less) it was all i could stand. looks like rain tomorrow which is no fun for walking around in (i do have an umbrella). my plan tomorrow is to take the train to monaco, but we'll see how much i really do there if it's raining.

have been feeling very tired today, even after a mid-afternoon siesta (i think that's more a spanish tradition than a french one, but oh well) but i guess i've had a busy week, i'm entitled to feeling a little tuckered out. it's not even 5 o'clock and i'm thinking of picking up a sandwich for later and heading back to the hotel. such a lazy day.

have just arrived back from a day in Villefranche-sur-mer, which was stunning. everywhere i go seems to be more beautiful. OH! and i'm at my original cheaper internet cafe. found it again, apparently i didn't look very hard yesterday, or i was just too tired from walking around all day.

today was a very relaxing day, i slept till about 9:30 and then got a coffee near the train station and after standing around staring at the list of departures for a while i figured out which train i was supposed to take. villefranche is a beautiful little town that surrounds a bay and it is all on the cliffside, so the very narrow streets weave back and forth, some with barely enough room for one car, and there are stairs running straight up the hillside. i wandered through the streets for a while and eventually figured out how to get the the town center where they had maps. and then did some planned wandering, down some very old streets and through some hillside gardens.

for lunch i ate at a little cafe right by the bay, my very first solo restaurant meal. it was good, i had the plat du jour, "lapin a la nicoise" that is rabbit in the style of nice, sort of a tomato-y sauce with garlic and i think some black olives. i also ordered some rose wine, but with no size request. well, despite the fact that i was dining alone, the waiter brought out a half liter carafe - i didn't drink it all (i mean, it was only lunchtime) but i did have like 4 glasses. and it was super cheap - the half liter was about $5.

for the rest of the afternoon i sat on the beach and soaked up some sun - IN MY TANK TOP!! very excited, it was quite warm in the sun, though sitting in the shadows at the train station i had to put my coat back on. was doubly pleased to notice this morning in the mirror that i already have a little color on my face (except where my sunglasses were, the only way i could tell, i'm still not "tan") so perhaps i will come home with a lovely riviera bronze after all!

tomorrow i plan to spend the day in nice again, which will most definitely mean more time on the beach. :) now have 2 rolls of finished film, which i'll mail off to snapfish once i have two more - so i'll have some pictures online - everything is soooo beautiful here. i feel very in my element.

talked to my mom today, and she said it snowed all day yesterday - so i am thinking of you all as i sit on the beach!

until tomorrow!

bonsoir everyone! it's quarter to six now, and i've settled for using this more expensive internet cafe, as i couldn't find the one i was at yesterday......

another lovely day in nice, though no beach today. sat on the beach almost all afternoon yesterday (in my winter coat, alas) which was nice. went out to a small brasserie around the corner from the hotel with a couple of boys from my room, one dutch and one british. was a very local kind of place, which was fun. and there was just too much food - i couldn't finish (could've been the big sandwich i had at 3pm....) i'll have to learn how to say "i'm full" or something. i think the waiter thought i didn't like it. i felt rude...

today walked through the old part of town "vieux nice" and went to the fruit and vegetable market where i bought half a loaf of bread and an apple. (it was all i could manage) then i walked up about a million stairs (felt like) to "le chateau" the site of some old chateau and there was a battle.... anyways, beautiful views. i feel like every picture i take could be a postcard, it is so beautiful here.

everywhere i look there are little dogs, i love it! except for the pooping on the sidewalk part. i've only stepped in dog doo once so far, and after that i started watching the ground a little more. ooh, but they are sooo cute. and so well behaved, half of them aren't on leashes, they just follow behind there masters through busy sidewalks and across streets.... didn't think dogs were like that.

today managed to figure out the bus system and went to the Matisse museum and a museum of a 13th century fransiscan monastary, which had some beautiful gardens. although i think i was supposed to validate the ticket on the bus or something.... after i paid the driver.... so confusing. perhaps am not as deft at bus-use as i thought...

anyway. tomorrow i'm going to take a little day trip villefranche-sur-mer, which is supposed to be stunning and coastal and such.

time to head back to the hotel and rest my feet a little before dinner. alas, it is not carnivale as i thought (and i'm sure i read it somewhere) but they are setting up for carnivale, which will be nearer to the end of the month. oh well. am enjoying myself anyways. nice is very much my speed, very casual, sitting on the beach, people watching, getting a coffee at a cafe, sun, etc.

a demain!

arrived in nice this afternoon. it is sunny and almost too warm for my coat! :)

the play last night was wonderful, gillian is the fifth famous person i've ever been that close to (after all the members of U2) - i was in the second row. my plan to walk around yesterday instead of the tube was a bad idea. all i ended up doing was getting lost and making my feet hurt. after i found a tube station again i bought a day pass so i wouldn't have to worry.

thought i might be late for my flight, but i managed to get there in enough time (just enough) even though i missed the gatwick express train i thought i should take (luckily the next one left 15 minutes later, instead of 30 minutes later like i thought). at security i was thoroughly felt up and down and then they took my corkscrew, even though it had no blade on it. they were convinced that it had some sort of knife thing within the body of the corkscrew, so i had to let it go. ah bon. i'm sure they have corkscrews in france, and i won't be flying again until the end of my trip when i can just get rid of it.

my flight to nice was short (so short! compared to my flight to england) and as i usually order the vegetarian meal, because it's usually safer, i missed out on bacon sandwiches... :( instead i had a plate of fruit, some of it not very good. and i napped a little on the plane and then chit-chatted with a little old english woman.

and i managed to not only find my first choice hotel, but i was able to get a bed for 18 euro a night (about $19.50). that was actually my biggest fear, not being able to find somewhere to stay! and now that i've accomplished that and i've done some e-mail i think it's time to get some sun on my pasty self.

well here i am - in london in a small cafe around the corner from my hostel sipping a coffee and trying to pretend like it's morning, though it feels like about 4am.

i've got some nerves again. i had been feeling alternately nervous and fine about every thing for a couple of weeks before, and then the day of my flight (yesterday) i was really nervous sitting around the house waiting for it to be time, then at the airport i felt fine about everything (though i thought i would cry when i hugged my mom goodbye) and on the plane, and in heathrow and taking the tube to the hostel. but then checking in, all the nerves came back.

it's strange to think this is only the beginning... at home 2 1/2 months seemed like nothing...

tonight i see "what the night is for" starring gillian anderson. the radio blaring into the cafe is saying there's a couple of tube stations shutdown because of overcrowding, so perhaps i'll get a map and try to walk to piccadilly circus.

tomorrow i fly to nice and then the real challange begins - SPEAKING FRENCH!