The Rich, The Famous, and Me

DAY 1: Having had my bags packed and ready to go before class, I grabbed my bags and rushed off to the train station to catch the soonest train I could. After arriving in Zurich, I hopped on the train to Chiasso Switzerland where I would transfer to another train that I didn’t need a reservation for. After arriving I was told by a train conductor that I could stay on the train without a reservation as long as I stand and don’t take a seat. Later I asked at the train station to find out that this is not correct and it is still mandatory. But I was happy to have been able to make it to Milan earlier than expected.

Regardless, I arrived in Milan at 11 pm. I then found the subway system and headed to the Milan Duomo, a 634 year old church along with a very beautiful covered shopping mall, where I took some photos. I then decided that I should find a place to catch some sleep, so I headed over the hostel Mallory was sleeping at, unfortunately, they only had beds in all female dorms, and the receptionist didn’t let another person at the hostel to switch rooms so that I could sleep. I then headed back to the train station where I thought I won’t spend my night. After arriving, I found out that the train station was closed, and after relaxing outside, I got too cold and headed to McDonald's, but yet again, they closed at two am. I then headed to four other hostels. All of which were either booked or I couldn’t find. Trying to spend just six hours outside gave me a true understanding of those less fortunate, it was unpleasant, cold, and I felt like you had nowhere to go. At about 3 am I finally found a hostel called Hostel Milano, luckily for only 22.50 a night, so I was finally able to get a few hours of shut-eye.

DAY 2: The next morning I woke up at six am to try to see if I could get on the fast direct train to Nice, the same train Mallory had a ticket for. Unfortunately, it was fully booked and they don’t allow people to stand. Unfortunate that even with an Interrail pass, you still have to get and pay for train reservations for most trains in Italy, France, and a few other countries, and if they fill up, you are out of luck, so better get reservations at least a few weeks in advance.

I then hopped on a slower local train that I would made two different connections from Milan to Nice. The train ride the entire way was absolutely beautiful. The train went through small Italian and French towns along the coast. After arriving and meeting Mallory, we checked into our hotel and headed downtown to grab lunch. After having a lovely meal at a busy square in the old town, we made sure to grab gelato, where we had over 30 flavors to choose from. Next, we headed to the coast to walk along the beach and finally made our way to castle hill, a great viewing spot of nice, including a man-made waterfall at the top.

After, we headed back to our hotel to nap as I had been running on just 2.5 hours of sleep. We then headed out to find dinner, we ate yet again in the old town where I got a very tasty steak and fries followed by a walk along the coast and through one of Nice’s busiest walking streets, lined with restaurants, shops, and of course more gelato. We then headed to bed as we had a full day in Monaco planned.

DAY 3: After waking up, and grabbing a croissant at a local bakery, we hopped on the 30-minute train to Monte Carlo, we headed straight for the infamous Casino Monte Carlo, where many rich people come to gamble their money. After getting patted down and getting in line for tickets to enter the Casino, we soon realized the terrible thing that had just happened. Mallory’s purse has been pick-pocketed and her wallet was gone. We then decided to retrace our steps to make sure it wasn’t returned at any of the train stations. Unfortunately, it was gone, and we were forced to quickly cancel all of her cards to make sure they were not used. Thankfully, my phone plan allowed international calls and even worked in Monaco so we could make sure to get the card canceled. We then decided to spend the rest of the day in Nice. We walked around, grabbed to go pizza at a lovely cute pizza place and ate in our hostel. After dinner, we headed to the Nice casino. Where Mallory experienced her first time gambling. We then headed to bed in anticipation of our new attempt to visit Monaco.

DAY 4: We woke up again, grabbed a baguette at another local bakery and headed to Monte Carlo, where we finally got to walk into the Casino and see the table games, the bars, the bathrooms, and the amazing and intricately decorated rooms that so many famous and rich celebrities have played at.

After, a small room was available for those wanting to gamble on the slot machines. Being in Monte Carlo I decided that I have to be able to say I gambled . I played a slot machine where I ended up winning 9.00€ on a 0.50 bet and ended up leaving the casino with 3€ more than I entered. Truly something I was proud and excited for, since so many loose hundreds, thousands if not much much more in this historic casino.

We then walked around, where we watched the amazing cars Monaco has driving around and parked at the casino, Porche's, Bugatti's, Lamborghini's, Audi's, BMW's, Bentley’s and so many more. It seems like almost every other car was a luxury sports car. We then headed to the tourist office where we got our passports stamped with the official Monaco passport stamp as Monaco is its own province. We then headed to the coast and walked the entire length of Monaco, making sure to grab some goodies on the way. My favorite, a peach slushy.

Just in the eastern border of Monaco in France was the home of the Monaco tennis club where today was the finals for the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters, where the best tennis players in the world where playing, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and so many more. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out, so we were not able to attend, however, I was able to snatch a few photos of the clay court stadium.

We then headed back to the casino where we grabbed an amazing meal outside of the casino. The most expensive meal I have had but by far one of the best meals, chicken, asparagus, mashed potatoes, bread, and of course, locally brewed Monaco beer. Great food, great weather, in one of the most unique cities in the world, I definitely recommend a visit to this lovely Mediterranean coastal town.

We then walked to the pier where we toured the docks and spied on all the multi million-dollar yachts tied up. We where also able to see some of the famous turn and roads that in just about a month, the best drivers in the world will race the famous Monte Carlo Formula 1 race. Being just about a month away, many of the seating stadiums and safety walls where being set up, so it was very cool to be able to see what the town looks like when one of the most well known races in the world comes to Monaco.

We then walked to an overlook of the city, grabbed some pictures and headed back to the train station, after meeting the nicest Monaco local who was out for a run, training for a marathon. He walked up Monaco with us, showing us the way up using the integrated maze of elevators Monaco has installed. We talked the entire way, and it was very cool to get to know someone who was actually from this amazing town. It truly was an amazing place, a town that attracts the wealthiest people in the world. With an average private wealth of 1.7 million dollars per capita. After getting back to Nice, I grabbed a baguette for breakfast the following day for my return trip and we headed back to the hotel for bed.

DAY 5: I woke up at 7:20 and headed straight for the train station. I then headed back to Konstanz making 6 train changes again.

At my first change in Ventimiglia Italy, I had almost an hour to wait for my next train. I decided to head down to the beach and eat the freshly baked baguette I had picked up in Nice before I left. The sound of the Mediterranean waves, the view of the hilly coastline, and a freshly baked baguette; it doesn’t get much better than this.

I hopped on my next train and was amazed to find the four other exchange students from the United States who were also visiting Nice. I then joined them and headed on with our journey back to Germany. An hour and a half stop in Genoa was just enough time for the 5 of us to head to a local pizzeria where we ordered pizza before heading back on another train to our next stop, Milan. We then changed trains once again, and continued our journey back to Konstanz by making three more transfers.

To view more of my photos of Nice and Monaco, click here.