Nice is nice.

The view from our balcony
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    When you’ve bought a ticket that is non-transferable, make sure you’re accurate in the time of departure.  We learned this lesson the hard way.  After missing our train to Nice, Felipe instructed us on how the best way to get to Nice when all the seats were sold out – just get on the next train and pretend you didn’t know you weren’t supposed to.  It sort of worked – we got to Nice, but on the way we had to purchase new tickets.  We were just glad we didn’t get thrown off the train.  Plus, on the train, we met a very nice graduate student who was going to Cannes to surprise his mother.  We had great a great conversation about many topics, and luckily his English was superb.  Unfortunately, we forgot to get a picture.

HA HA, we're here and you're not.
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We took the bus from the train station to the airport and picked up our brand new, 4-door, black Peugeot 207 executive, diesel, manual transmission car.  The guy who helped us was really cool and nice.  We wish we could be friends with him.  Once again, we forgot to get a picture.  It took us about a half an hour to decipher road signs and get out of the busy traffic to Le Promenade des Anglais, an exciting view.  After much stress about where to go – seeing as we had no place to stay – we quickly found an ideal free parking spot.  We started wandering the streets looking for lodging, resigning ourselves to the possibility of spending the night in the car.  We booked a few nights at the cheapest place imaginable, given the season and the surroundings.  It’s right next to a fantastic internet café, H&M, the supermarket, the main avenue (under construction while they’re building a trolley system), the mall, and about a 5 minute walk to the beach and the old town.

Having such a glorious time...

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We’re having such a glorious time in Nice, we’ve decided to stay 3 nights and work on our tans.  Jennica could live without the standing-still painted street performers that creep her out and harass her for being afraid of them.  Friday night, we ate at an Italian restaurant and had the best fresh ravioli we’ve ever tasted, along with the best tiramisu.  We will be returning for lunch tomorrow and will remember to take pictures.  So far, our experience with Italians (the chefs of two different restaurants and a shop owner) has made us even more excited to visit Italy.