paris et nice

the south of france is everything that i thought it could be, plus a load of beauty right on top of that. we arrived this morning, took the night train from paris. john-james and i booked cots to sleep on, in order to make the night train more bearable, which was a fantastic idea as i slept the entire way. there were six beds in the small space, occupied by four european middle aged men, j, and myself. the ridiculously small amount of space in the compartment cracked me up... reminded me of the cruise dad, michelle, the kids, and i went on years ago... our shared family bedroom was so small, we continually hit our heads on bunks and wooden beams jetting out. we awarded points based on hit and pain. i believe chad won, drawing blood. atomatic win.

today we walked around nice and explored some. i can't quite describe how beautiful it is, but i'll say i have never in my life seen water as clear and blue as this. it doesn't quite feel like france here, not the france i know, its tropical, full of palms, terra cota roof tops and people who don't seem to be in a hurry to do anything. i love both paris and nice, but they seem to be in different states of mind. here its beach and sun and lounging. down by the water you see all kinds: tourists from numerous homelands, french women so tanned their skin looks like leather, young women fishing while their children play nearby. everyone is happy.

paris was perfect. it rained or was cloudy the entire time, the clouds lifted the last day we were there, which was pretty hilarious. we went to the andy warhol exhibit which i really enjoyed. i wore a mustache for the occasion. pictures to follow. i can't upload here at the hostel. our apartment in paris was perfection and i wish i could have just brought it home with me. sadly i could not. it had exposed beams, mauk wood tile (looked like pental, dad & michelle), simple modern cabinetry.

currently we're at the best hostel in france (it was voted that err something...). its quite the step down but the location, price, people and feel, cannot be beat. i would strongly recommend it, if anyone ever needs a good hostel in nice.

i am excited to go out tomorrow and explore the nearby towns. there are beautiful beaches we hope to go to, the beaches right here in nice are rocky.. .and when they say rocky they mean it. HUGE ROCKS. also, the cannes film festival is happening, so that might be worth checking out....
so much to do, such little time....

overall: i am having a wonderful time. i love it here.

i will upload photos the beginning of next week when i return to chelsea's.
xoxoxoxoxo.