The week after Granada was the worst week of the semester school work wise because all of our projects and essays for every class ended up being due at the same time right before spring break. Even though we had so much work we found time to make it out during the week. Monday the 4 roommates made it out. Tuesday after running clubs second to last meeting and run to the top of Montjuic, my Entrepreneurship team had a celebration after we finished our final project. Wednesday Jeremy and I had to finish our Video Project for Sports and Society and I had to finish writing an essay on the Catalan Independence/Secessionist movement. We didn’t leave for Nice until Friday evening so we had the option of going out on Thursday night to kick of Spring Break. We went to Taverna and then Bling Bling until they turned the lights on and had an after party at the apartment until 8 so we made it to sunrise once. Mike, Cam, Max, Jeremy, Zach, and I groggily landed in the waterfront Nice airport around 8 pm. We took a cab to Hostel Smith where we met Zach’s friend who would be hanging out with us for the week and checked in. This was definitely the worst Hostel we have stayed in so far. The beds were dirty, smelly, damp, and very thin and the bathrooms were not clean and there was no space to walk around in our room. Other than that the people were extremely nice and our location was right in the middle of the Old Town and a five minute walk from the beach so all in all it worked out because we weren’t in the Hostel much anyway. Our first night I had to skip going out to dinner because I had to take care of transfer application business so I ended up getting sushi to go after meeting up with everyone else. We walked around for about an hour and called it a night. Our roommate came stumbling in at 5 and snored 2x louder than my dad for a couple hours waking us all up. He disappeared in the morning and was replaced by 3 Irish ladies the next day.
We woke up around 9 which would become a theme for the trip as we didn’t really sleep past 10 any day of break. We started out looking for breakfast and me and Jeremy split up from everyone else and got quiche, pizza, and some strawberries at the market that popped up that morning. We all met up on Nice’s rocky beach and chilled there all morning. The water was extremely clear and turquoise and Nice’s beach has no sand on it instead it’s made up of fist sized rocks that can be a little tough to get comfortable on. It was pretty nonetheless but after a couple days on it you just wanted it to be sand. After napping and just hanging we jumped in because the weather was warm enough and ended up being warm enough all week for us to swim just about every day. The water was refreshing but cold enough that you only wanted to stay in for a couple minutes. We eventually got lunch at a café and hiked up to a park on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. It was a really pretty vantage point and there was a tucked away waterfall that we made our way to as well. We went back to the Hostel and assessed our burns which were pretty bad and then went to dinner at a nearby pasta place. Being in the old town meant everything was a 2 minute walk from us including over 100 different restaurants so it was hard to figure out what would be good but dinner on Saturday was great. After we brought some beers to the beach and enjoyed the stars and crashing waves and eventually tried to find a bar to go to. There was a place called Wayne’s that was selling 8 euro beers and you couldn’t even walk around inside so a couple of us bounced and Max Zach and Cam decided to stay. Jeremy Mike and I just explored the streets some more and eventually called it a night.
Sunday we were out by 10 and Mike Jeremy and I decided to rent roller blades. It was the first time I ever roller bladed so I looked like a fool but it was awesome. I managed to only fall completely once with a couple close calls that came with laughs from passersbys. We went up and down the length of the boardwalk and then went through the giant park cutting through the center of the downtown. The park had water jet fountains all throughout it so we bladed through those for a good half hour before returning the skates. By the end I felt a lot more comfortable and definitely started getting the hang of it. It was a fun way to explore the city and a new experience for me which is always fun. We sat outside and got lunch at a café afterwards before meeting up with everyone else at the beach. One thing that was awesome about the trip was how laid back and friendly everyone was that lived along the coast of the Mediterranean. There was definitely a different outlook on life and vibe these people gave off and you could tell the difference between a Parisian and someone who lived along the Riviera and between a Barcelonan and a person from Costa Brava. After some more sun Max Mike and I went for a run along the coast. We went the opposite way we had been exploring and found a completely different part of the city. The weather was perfect and we ran past the harbor and other multi-colored buildings up an extremely long hill all while we were along the coast and the views got better and better. Every corner we turned and as we got higher up we revealed another hidden cove and the views of distant towns and Nice behind us were amazing. The run was surreal and put into perspective exactly where we were and how amazing and beautiful of a place it was. In all it was my favorite run of Europe between the amazing view, exploring a new place and it was a great workout. For dinner we went to a takeout pizza place whose boxes we kept seeing everyone eating. We picked up some wine and brought the pies out to the beach and enjoyed them as the moons light began reflecting off the sea. Sunday night we hung out in Jonas’s much nicer and spacious room before going out and trying to find some night life which we were never really able to find in Nice.
Monday afternoon we took a train to Monaco after a long and confusing morning in the train station. When we finally arrived our group got split up. Mike Jeremy Cam and I waited outside of the train on the platform while Max Zach and Jonas went out the exit going up while we eventually went through the downward exit after waiting. We spent the entire day thinking they forgot to get off the train and since me and Jeremy were the only ones with working phones we couldn’t contact them. But after that our first stop was a café for lunch. The weather was perfect and we spent most of the day just walking around exploring the city and taking in all the Ferraris, Porches, and Royles Royces that made up 90% of the cars you would see. It was almost gross to a point the amount of unbelievable cars you saw and the amount of money you knew all these people had and how they wanted to show it off in this place. However it was fun entering this delusional and beautiful world for an afternoon. After lunch we walked up a hill to the top of a castle and to an awesome vantage point. Looking over the city you could see how beautiful all the buildings were, the massive yachts, tennis stadium, soccer stadium, the Formula 1 race track built into the city’s streets, and the aqua water with cruise ships parked off shore. It was definitely a unique place in the world and I’m glad I got to experience for it a day. After the castle we wandered around for an hour trying to find our way to these apparent awesome gardens but due to the hilly outlay of the land and our inability to navigate, we never made it. Instead we walked along the Formula 1 track that was straight out of Iron Man and surreal to walk on and up to the center of the city. In the center the famous Paris Hotel and Monte Carlo Casino are located. Outside of each people back in their Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins and tourists come around and take pictures. It was crazy, absolutely crazy. To walk in the casino there is a charge and you are only allowed to walk through a roped off section of the Hotel. We kind of gawked at everything and all the opulence and then walked to the beach. The beach was amazing and we each got a beer, sat in the sun, and enjoyed life. We spent a few hours there and walked back to the city center as the sun was dipping behind the mountain Monaco is built into. We ran into Zach Max and Jonas there and we got dinner at a nearby place. Our final stop had to be a casino since we were in Monaco so we went into the next door Paris Casino that had .50 euro roulette and wasted an hour and 10 euro there but it was fun. After we bought a couple Cuban cigars and took the train back to Nice. Monday night we had a pow wow in our Hostel room with Max’s friend who we met in Monaco and our Irish roommates and then went out. Everyone went to Wayne’s but Jeremy and I refused so we went back to the beach and smoked the Cuban and chilled for a while enjoying our last moments in Nice.
Before heading to the train station we got breakfast at the market again and then walked to the station. We took a 4 hour train to Marseille and had awesome views along the coast. We passed tons of small Riviera towns sitting right on the clear blue water along the red rocky coast with rolling green hills on the other side. Really pretty! We took a taxi to Hello Marseille Hostel and were pleased to see it was much nicer than Smith in Nice. The lady working the desk, Noelle, was super nice and helpful and found a way to squeeze Jonas and Mike into our room because they had separate reservations. She gave us the spiel and then some recommendations of what to do, most of which we never used but helpful nonetheless. We left the Hostel to walk around and explore the port which was 3 minutes from our Hostel. The old castle that acted as the gate to the port still stood in the distance. We tried to use the public bike system because we thought it would be easier and more enjoyable to see the city like that but contrary to what Noelle said we couldn’t rent the bikes because we needed bank cards with chips in them. Our next stop was the inner city beach that was pretty gross and filled with cigarettes and pencils and balloons and anything else you could imagine. It was the closest beach and it was getting dark so we waded in the water and enjoyed the last of the days sunlight. Some little French kid, Felix, came up to us and started yapping away even though we knew nothing he was saying. He kept rambling for 20 minutes about who knows what and all we could do was nod and splash him. We kicked around a soccer ball we found on the beach after Felix left and then eventually made our way up the Cathedral on a massive hill to watch the sunset. We couldn’t get into the main because it was closed at that time of day so we found a spot on a hill beside it and hung out up there for an hour watching the sun set right over the water and the light and shadows move over the city below and island in front of us making a nice end to the day. After dark we walked back to the Hostel and passed a burger place called Moon and one look inside and we knew it was going to be amazing. We all pigged out and swore we would be back to the tiny burger shack the next night for dinner. Tuesday night we didn’t do much other than watch the Purple Wedding episode of Game of Thrones and get some rest.
Wednesday we woke up early and headed out to the Colonques. We had a 15 minute walk to a bus stop and on the way we stopped at a fruit vendor and got some of the best strawberries I’ve ever had. They weren’t the massive mutant ones we usually eat but small, natural looking, and super sweet. The bus was about 15 minutes to a University on the outskirts of the city and the last stop of the bus. We walked through the campus and to the entrance of the National park where we had about a 30 minute walk down to the Colonque. The park was awesome and filled with pine trees and surrounded by beautiful mountains and it was great to get out into nature for a day and away from everything. The Colonque we made it down to was called Sugiton and was a spot where the cliffs peel back and form a sharp little cove with rock islands and crazy clear water. It’s really beautiful and hard to explain without pictures. There wasn’t really a beach so we plopped down on the rocks and jumped in the frigid water. There was an island very close to where we jumped in so we swam out to it and did some cliff jumping. It was awesome and everyone was cheering everyone on and more people came out and joined us. Everyone on the “beach” was super friendly and sharing what they had with each other. It started getting chilly and windy so we headed back to the city. On the way back we stopped at an overlook of multiple Colonques which was awesome! We got back as the sun was going down and after showering we went back to Moon as promised and enjoyed the best burgers in Marseille again. We grabbed some street beers and walked to a bar to watch the Copa del Rey between FCB and Real Madrid. We found a bar with an outside TV and super pricey drinks and it was filled with Madrid fans so we moved at halftime to get out of the cold and hopefully find cheaper drinks but the next bar we went to was just as expensive but not that many people inside. Barcelona was really outplayed and after Neymar missed a late opportunity to tie it up the game was over and Real was the champion. We walked back to our Hostel and tried to find somewhere to go but nothing was really happening and we headed back.
Thursday we had a long travel day back to Spain in Lloret del Mar. We took a train to Perpignan and had a 2 hour layover so we bought some wine and subway and enjoyed a little picnic. Thankfully we made our train to Girona and then took a 7 person cab to Lloret. In Lloret we had a condo/apartment setup all to ourselves with a balcony that overlooked the water. It ended up being cheaper than either hostel because we were out of season but it was an awesome place. We had 3 bedrooms a pullout couch and 2 bathrooms along with the porch that we spent most of our time on drinking beers and enjoying the view. We walked towards a giant neon sign to get pizza for dinner and after headed to Parata bar but like I said it was in the offseason so we were literally the only people in there and the place was dead. We called it quits and did some late night swimming and headed back.
Friday we got up early and did some shopping because we had a kitchen and cooked breakfast. After we got some beach toys and chilled on the beach all day. Lloret’s beach was made of tiny pebbles which was the closest thing to a sand beach we had all week. It was a nice place but it reminded me of the jersey shore in Spain. The types of people there, the shops, and the fact that people go there for a party and beach weekend reminded me a lot of home. But that was what we wanted for a couple days at the end of our trip after having a really chill first 6 days in France. Mike and I went for a run around the coast later in the afternoon. We ran on a path that wrapped along the side of the cliffs that sat along the water. The run was beautiful and in a really unique place it just sucked because the trail was made of mostly stairs and a lot of tourists. We cut it short because of how beat we were from climbing so many stairs but enjoyed it a lot nonetheless and decided to come back the next and chill on a secluded beach tucked in between the cliffs. We got durum for dinner and then went back to Parata again because the owners were so nice and welcoming. This time there was 2 old British dudes in there so weren’t the only people at least. We eventually headed down to the main street of Lloret lined with clubs, arcades, casinos, and everything else you would see at the shore. We all went to Tropics together and then split up. Jeremy went home, Mike and I went to Aztec our personal favorite, and everyone else went somewhere else. There was no one in Aztec so brought the party and had some laughs and a fun time with some French people we met.
Our last full day we got up and cooked breakfast again and met Sheila and Lela at the beach who came up for the day because Lloret is only an hour from BCN. We chilled with them for a bit and then got a tapas lunch and spent our last hours on a “secret beach” we saw the day before. Although there were some other people on and they asked us to move because we were apparently too close to them. We all passed out and played Pokemon on our phones. Zach started a fad and it spread like fire. All of a sudden we were all playing Pokemon and no one said a word for a couple hours. For our final dinner we found a great place that made the best paella I’ve had yet here and sat outside on the sidewalk. The waiter was really nice and the dinner was great. Our last night we had to rally because everyone was so tired but we made it out to a club and of course Aztec again. We got home really late after a run in with some angry Spanish dudes. Sunday morning was spent cleaning the mess we made for the past couple days. After checkout we walked to the bus station where for some reason the ticket booth wasn’t open until after our bus left so we had to sit there for 2 extra hours. We eventually made it back to BCN and spent Easter doing absolutely NOTHING and watching Game of Thrones and Cosmos. Spring break was an awesome and relaxing break and we got to see and be in some really cool places I never thought I would get to explore in the world. It was a great trip and we all enjoyed our time together and made the most of it.
Monday I woke up really late after needing to catch up on rest from break and it hit me that this was the beginning of the end. Monday marked the end of traveling and the last stretch in Barcelona. It’s pretty surreal how fast it all went and I can’t wrap my ahead around it right now and I’d rather not think about it. Monday was a bumming around day like Sunday and Tuesday I had class for the last time for Spanish and Contemporary Spain. It was sad saying goodbye to some of the coolest and most enjoyable teachers I’ve ever had. Tuesday night we had our last Tuesday running session and planned a run on Saturday morning at 11 up to Tibidabo for our last ever meeting that I hope I wake up for. Today is Sant Jordi day and is the Catalan version of Valentine’s Day. The streets are lined with book sellers and rose vendors because it is tradition for the men to gift women roses and women to gift men books. It’s a cool tradition and another example of the Catalan Identity and I love seeing all the Catalan flags. After finals this week it’s my final weekend in Barcelona and Europe and then it’s time to start packing. I can’t believe it!