Nice is nice!

I apologize for the lame and unavoidable pun. Sorry, but no pictures today. I'm on a public computer and can't post any.

Our weekend in the south of France was wonderful. There was a bit of a challenge when we first got on the train. Our "first class" seats were actually a bench only slightly smaller than one seat that was situated between the passenger car and the bathroom/dining car. One porthole-type window. Our first class dreams were finally realized when a kind conductor found two seats together for us in the cabin, and we rode the final 3 hours or so in comfort.

Our hotel was exactly what we were looking for. It was very cheap (only 39 euros a night), close to the beach, and had a ton of character. The owner was multilingual and totally cool. We checked in (which included him entering us into their fingerprint database so the door would open for us!), then went for a walk in the town. When we came back, the owner and few other guests were just finishing up dinner (that the innkeeper cooked just to be nice). We walked past them and to our room, and the phone rang just as we were unlocking the door. Dan answered, and the conversation went something like this:

Innkeeper: You join us for drinks?
Dan: Uh, well...(looks at me questioningly)
Innkeeper: Why not? (I can see him shrugging his shoulders and pursing his lips in my mind's eye)
Dan: Why not.

We went to the dining room, where the owner and his friend, a French couple, a Britsh woman, and Dan and I all engaged in a great conversation that mixed French and English together. It was awesome for Dan to get to use his language skills in that setting, because it was definitely heavy with French, but there was always the innkeeper to bail us out if we needed English.

We spent most of Saturday in Monaco, the world's second-smallest country (1.95 square kilometers, I believe) and home of the famous Monte Carlo casino. Words can't describe how opulent it was. It was a cool and awe-inspiring place...to visit.

Sunday morning, we lay on the beach. That only lasted for a few hours, because the beach is all small stones/pebbles. Not the utmost in comfort. But it did make for gorgeous colored water...as far we could see, the water still looked blue. Absolutely beautiful. We had checked out already, but when we were done at the beach, the innkeeper invited us to take a shower before we got on the train. He also kept our luggage because we were going to have to keep it with us until we left. How awesome is that?!?!

We returned home Sunday afternoon. This time, I had a seat on the train, but Dan was once again relegated to the bench. He tried to find another seat, but the people weren't as helpful, and he spent most of the time in the dining car. Bummer. But he took it pretty well, and had a great view of the trip!

In Paris, it's back the usual. Dan's in his first week of the next level of classes (which are going well). I went and bought another book (I have LOTS of time to read). We had the best meal of our time in France so far today at lunch. Great food, great service, awesome place. Life is good.

Happy Fourth of July, in case we're not in contact before then. We'll miss the celebration, but hey, we have Bastille Day to look forward to! Love you all!