To say that the overnight trip from Munich to Paris was dreadful would be the most understated expression of how the trip actually went down. I think I was able to sleep for a total of 20 minutes. The all-too-frequent stopping and the fact that I was trying to sleep in an upright chair with hardly room to stretch any of limbs most certainly impact the length and quality of my sleep; both suffered tremendously that night! (For the record, beds were offered, but our budget's didn't like the cost that went with them so much so chairs it was!)
We left Munich at 10:40 p.m. and arrived at the Paris Nord Train Station around 9:45 a.m. We grabbed some breakfast grub and headed in the direction of Michelle's family friend's apartment. Once we reached the metro however we learned that the train we needed to take to their apartment was partly closed. After we (mostly Michelle in her very useful fluency in French) talked to many train personel we figured out an alternate route to our destination. Two hours later and we had finally arrived at their house and basically passed out right away. It was a Sunday and like most European countries, Sunday's lunch is usually bigger and much more celebrated if you will. Therefore after only 30 minutes of rest, they woke us from our slumber for a delicious Sunday lunch. Free food always manages to beat out sleep (and really anything for that matter)! We ate and then went out to discover more of the city. Since we had already been to Paris and saw the Louvre we didn't necessarily need to go back (even though there was so much we had not seen) so instead we walked around the city, later grabbing a snack at a cute French restuarant.
We didn't do much that day because of our depleted energy supply and the fact that we were to be back for dinner around 7p.m. (again, free meals) We had full intentiones to revert back to our tourist alter-egos the following day...
...which didn't happen necessarily. We had to wake up at the crack of dawn because our hosts had to go to work. So it was 8:30 a.m. and we were out and about but dead tired. At that point we decided that instead of walking around we would lay out on the grass by the Effiel Tower. So from nine until two we slept, read our magazines and soaked up the French sun! At one we stopped for some lunch and after lunch we went in search of crepes! We found a small crepe shop by the tower and then we headed to the affordable shopping district of Paris: Champs Elysees. I found some things at a few stores and we picked up a gift for our generous hosts, but the coolest thing was that we saw the cast of America's Next Top Model in some sort of race through H&M. I know it was ANTM because I saw the cameras and the official letterhead. After that excitement we went back to the Effiel Tower anticipating the arrival of our third travel buddy. One hour passed and she still never showed. So, using our best judgement, we decided to go back to the apartment to obtain some wi-fi in order to get in contact with our long-lost friend. We found out that her belongings hadn't reached the office on Monday which meant that she still didn't have her passport which meant that she still couldn't leave the country. We especially didn't know what to do then because we had hotel resservations that began Wednesday night in Nice, France so we needed to leave the next day. Were we to leave Paris putting further miles between us and Libby? Or go to Nice, or go back to Munich? We didn't know what the best solution was but we ultimately decided to move on to Nice making sure that Libby knew our whereabouts at all times.
Because of the unavailability of trains on Tuesday night, we decided to head out earlier on Tuesday morning than we had originally anticipated. We made a quick pit-stop at the Moulin Rouge to snap a few necessary pictures and we were headed for the French Riveria. That night we stayed in one of the coolest hostels ever! This place was a renovated monastery and it had everything. By chance the boys came a day earlier, too and were staying at the same hostel. It was sure nice to see them again and also to hear their stories from Interlaken. We hung out there for the night and then, bright and early in the morning we moved beachside to our hotel. All five of us stayed there, it was quite cozy but it saved money which was exactly what we all wanted!
After laying out at the beach for a few hours and checking into our hotel we took the train to a nearby city: Cannes! Another chance encounter left us shocked at how lucky we were. The famous Cannes Film Festival began that very day showing the premier of the film Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody and that's all I can remember right now but it was sweet! Mike captured some stellar pictures on his camera and some really great close-ups. After watching them walk the red carpet we grabbed some food and checked out all the yachts in the harbor. I honestly don't know if I was more impressed by the movie stars or the boats because they both were amazing! I am seriously considered giving up my dream to have children and instead work to be able to afford a yacht like the ones I saw in Cannes, I think it might be worth it! We walked around for a bit more and then made sure to be at the exit of the theatre for the end of the show. Good thing we were because we saw all of the same movie stars that we saw before the show after, but this time we were really up close and personal. There was 20 feet separating us from the stars, it was crazy!
After all of the movie-filled excitement we headed back to Nice and passed out only after pillow talk with the boys! We found out also that Libby would be joining us the following day around 1 p.m. and we were so excited to finally have her with us! So at 12:30, Michelle and I went to the station to pick her up. We went back to the hotel for her to freshen up and then we headed to our ninth and final country of this four month journey: Monaco! Monaco has the highest per capita GDP in the world mainly because it has a very small population and the people who do live there are filthy rich. The yachts that we saw there were similar to the ones we saw in Cannes, incredible! We walked around the city/country, saw Monte Carlo and laid out on the beach for a bit. (With just enough time to bury Michelle in the sand.) After a few hours we went back to Nice because Danny and Mike had to pack and get ready for their early morning travels. Libby, Michelle, Luke and I went back to Cannes to check out other stars that might have been there on the second night of the Cannes Film Festival. We had a panini dinner with crepes for dessert, but didn't really see any stars. In fact, we didn't even recognize the movie that premiered that night. It was still a great trip especially for Libby to be able to experience Cannes in all it's ridiculously glamorous glory. We went back for more group pillow talk...I love these people!
In the morning, Danny was the first to leave us at an early 6 o'clock in the morning. He had to catch his flight from to Nice to London. After spending a few hours in London he flew to Amsterdam and then Bangkok, Thailand to meet up with his family for a vacation. Mike was second to leave around 8 but not before he jumped on our bed for a good-bye hug. He needed to catch a train to Florence, Italy. Mike had a a week of solo travel ahead of him until he met up with his family later on in Barcelona. That left the four of us to hang out for the day and then catch our train to Milan.
There is only one more leg of my journey to tell, thanks for following everyone. I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you!
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