FRANCE:

So I spent a few days in in France... 2 days in Nice and a day in Lyon. Well Nice was an amazingly beautiful city. Sitting right by the water where the coastline stretches for ages! The days I was there it was beautiful summer weather, perfect for the beach. Anyways I stayed at a hostel called Villa St Exupery Hostel which was actually really good. You got an awesome breakfast, free internet and wifi, bar in the hostel with cheap drinks, free shuttle service to and from the tram stop until 2am, so overall it was a pretty good hostel and cheap too. Anyways the first day I went walking (as usual) and started at Place Massena where there are statues of men at the square that lights up in the evening and changes colours, quite pretty. Well walked through the old town and saw the fruit and flower markets which then changes to an antique market after 1pm. It's actually a really nice market and they not only have fruit and flowers but everything! (tea, spices, seafood, vegetables, etc). I then took a walk along the promenade by the beach which was so beautiful. The beach was amazing, so blue and gorgeous. Walked a bit along Port Nice and then made my up Castle Hill which overlooks the city. You get a really good view of Nice from there. I was up there for quite a while just walking around and admiring the view. When I finally made my way back down I walked in the other direction along the promenade and where the huge (expensive) hotels stood by the water. Along this street there are many people running, cycling, skating and blading. I guess it's such a nice street why not hey.

I headed back to the old town and walked around the area more. I fell upon a flower show or contest or something (sponsored by Interflora) in one of the squares there. There were people judging some flower arrangements while really bad dancers tried to entertain the crowd but right next to it was a beautifully decorated church. The whole church was decorated with flowers (inside and out), it was very beautiful. There were lots of nice little streets in the old town that you could just wonder up and down in. They were filled with little shops, cafes and pubs, a really nice area for a little stroll and browse. Anyways after the old town I walked past the Modern Art Museum and tried to make my way to other museums (Matisse) further away from the coast... almost killed myself with all the walking. Anyways it was unsuccessful as they were closed so decided to catch the bus back. Had had enough of walking for that day. I met an American lady at the bus stop (named Tammy... funny that) so we decided to go have dinner together... and so off went the 2 Tams'. After a nice lasagna we had a drink at apparently what is supposed to be the hippest bar in the old town. We arrived 5 mins after happy hour but worked our magic to still get the happy hour prices. I tried a Pelforth Blonde (French beer) which wasn't too bad. Anyways it was a really nice night with Tammy, we spoke about everything and just had a nice cruisey evening then parted ways. It's so nice to meet lovely people like that when you're travelling. I met a few people at the hostel who were all great people also (from Australia, Germany and America). Oh and I forgot to mention one thing about Nice, a downside actually... there was dog crap everywhere on the streets! I had the indecent pleasure of stepping in one when I got distracted by a house! grrr.... there are doggy bags posted on street lamps, but doesn't seem to be getting used.

Anyways the 2nd day in Nice was my relaxing day. After all the days of walking around and sight seeing, I decided to give myself a treat so I went shopping along the main street and took advantage of the sales and then made my way to the beach. Oh forgot to mention that Nice Beach is a rocky beach. They have a couple of patches of sand which I managed to find a spot so Laid myself there. I did test the water and it was quite nice but only dipped my feet in then went and sun-baked and slept in the sun.... oooh yea!!! that's the way I like it. Walked around a little bit more after the beach and then headed back to the hostel early evening. So all in all Nice was just an amazing place. I think I'll definitely go back there as there is still much more I have yet to see. There are other beaches and little towns you can see during the day (day trips) so I think I have to put this city on my list to go back to.

Lyon was just a short trip. I only had 1 day there so pretty much saw what there is to see, the main things anyways. I walked around the Old Town and saw Cathedral St-Jean. All the cathedrals and churches in Europe are just amazing, all the details and structure of it all is just wow. Anyways also walked along the little streets, shops and cafes of the Old Town. Took a trip to the Roman Ruins where the amphitheaters (amongst others) stood and they still use it these days. Then walked up to the Cathedral (Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere) on top of the hill and saw the great view of the whole city of Lyon. I could imagine it must look quite gorgeous in the evenings with all its lights on. Speaking of nights, I went biking around the city in the evening with my couchsurfing host, Remi. He showed me all his favourite things of the city and it was quite amazing. The city looks so nice in the evening. Didn't have TamCam with me so had to make do with Tamagotchi. Oh yea and I survived on the bike too. The city has city bikes everywhere so you can rent them out, it's quite good for tourists and a lot of the locals use it also. In the new town I walked along the main shopping streets, the expensive street (Gucci, Prada, LV, etc) and then the more reasonable priced shops street hehe. Didn't buy anything, I was good =p I also visited the Place de Comedie where the Hotel de Ville stood and then walked over to the Opera House which is quite a modern building compared to other opera houses I've seen in Europe. Apparently the dome part of the building lights up in red whenever there is a show on. Pretty cool I think. Anyways I think that was the main things I saw in Lyon. It's a nice little city.

Oh and in general for France, cars don't stop for you at pedestrian crossings... you have to wait for them or get run over... you decide.

On my way to Switzerland (oh for those that don't know and I can't remember if I mentioned it or not but I'm using a rail pass, so I'm catching the train everywhere) the train passed the most beautiful scenery. There were vineyards and vineyards on a hill heading down towards the water and then you see beautiful mountains by the water. It was such a beautiful sight. Didn't get a photo of it as there would be too much reflection from the window so if you want to see it you have to go for yourself! hehe
Next stop Bern, Switzerland!