Brandon O'Brien

Saturday, September 10, 2022 @ 10:21 PM in 2022 Germany and France

Day 17

We left the Airbnb around 9 this morning to meet Kat at the train station. We bought our tickets for the trip to Monaco and then got to the gate. There were already a lot of people waiting so it looked like we'd be in for another packed train. When the train did show up, there were already quite a few people on there but we managed to cram in. Unfortunately we were by the door so whenever the train stopped, people would have to flood in and out around us which was hard with a stroller.

Once we got to Monaco, we got off and then had a little trouble finding the actual way out that didn't involve stairs or escalators. Eventually we found an elevator that took us up to the spot we wanted to be. After getting out of the train station we bought a day pass for the bus so we could get around a little easier. The first stop was to a patisserie where we got a pain au chocolat and a cappuccino. From there we walked over to the palace of the prince through some of the gardens along the cliffs. There were some really nice views of the country but it was a little surprising it didn't look "nicer". A lot of the buildings looked pretty generic and nothing special. The harbor had a lot of huge yachts though which was interesting to see.

When we got to the palace, there were a ton of people waiting around and it turns out we got there right before the changing of the guard. We left the changing of the guard a little early to beat some of the crowds and got lunch. We ate at a restaurant called Arrow burger which had pretty good burgers. The buns were shaped like arrowheads which I guess goes with the name.

Once we finished lunch we found another bus stop and went over to the Monte Carlo casino and walked around some of the gardens near there before going back to the train station. Fortunately the train back to Nice wasn't too packed and we didn't have to pack in too bad. The train did stop for about 10 minutes while the police did some kind of search though.

Back in Nice, we stopped at a store specializing in chocolates and bought some treats to take home with us. We came back to the Airbnb for a little while before heading back over to Kat's for dinner. On the way we stopped and got a rotisserie chicken, a new baguette, some wine and a salad mix for dinner. We threw it all together and ate it with some leftover cheese we had. It was nice having some greens for dinner instead of eating out.

We hung out and talked for a while over the bottle of wine but just got back to the Airbnb. The plan for tomorrow is to head to the beach and have lunch out before Sam and I head back to the Airbnb to start getting things packed up and ready for the trip back to the states.

Teaser photos:

Overlooking Monaco

Royal palace

Monte Carlo casino

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Tags: monaco, france, nice, europe

Posted from: France

Tuesday, September 10, 2013 @ 2:35 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 76

After writing my blog post yesterday I went to a pub across the street from the Victoria Coach station and had a beer and re-read my journal entries from the first half of the trip. I had to check in an hour before departure so they could print a ticket and run my passport so I did that then waited for the coach to show up.

There was a bit of a mad rush to get on board because everyone wanted a good seat so they could sleep the whole trip. It turned out all the hassle wasn't really necessary since there were so few people on the coach that it didn't matter.

Sleeping on an overnight bus is about the same as trying to sleep on a plane, except without the steady, basically unchanging vibrations you get from jet engines. We got to Dover where we had to give up our passports to the French authorities. After that we waited for about an hour before driving onto a big train that took us through the channel tunnel. I was in and out of sleep during this time.

I must have got a few good hours of sleep because I woke up around 4am and then was in and out of sleep until we pulled into Brussels a little after 7 local time.

It was a bit strange stepping off the bus into Brussels. First off, the weather was absolutely freezing. I had my long sleeved shirt on and I had to put on my jacket and rain coat just to stay warm. I eventually made my way to a Starbucks and ordered a coffee and used their electricity to charge up my phone. Unfortunately they didn't have wifi I could use.

With a lot of time to kill before I could check into my hostel I decided to wander around and make my way toward the Grote Markt (main old square) here in Brussels. The city started off looking like any big city I've been to but as I got closer to the square the buildings got older and more "European" looking. It had just finished raining and I got to the square and took some photos.

Not sure what to do now I decided to hunt down some WIFI. I walked roughly toward my hostel and found a few pockets of free wifi here and there and was able to check a few emails. Carrying around all my gear was starting to get annoying so I went to the hostel and dropped my bag off. I charged my phone and used the internet until around 11:00. The rain had been on and off all day today but I was looking out the window to bright blue skies.

Since I was cooped up on a bus all night I decided to walk down to the Atomium (a giant building made up of tubes connecting giant spheres). It was supposed to be around 7 miles round trip which sounded good to me. Unfortunately on the way there it started downpouring again. I hid in a park under some trees for about 10 minutes until it lightened up enough for me to venture out again. I got some good photos of Atomium but was starting to get really hungry.

Since I didn't have cell connection and couldn't find any wireless internet I just set off in a random direction in hopes I'd find some food. After about 10 minutes of walking I came to a "Fritkot" which is a restaurant that specializes in Frites (fries). I had some of them with a stuffed pita and they were sooooo much better than the soggy worthless chips you get in England. I'm not sure why Brits find those poor excuses for fries acceptable but they do. The French/Belgians certainly know how to do their fries right. They actually double fry them so they all come out nice and crispy.

While I was eating it started raining like mad again. Without any real options I put on my rain coat and started walking back to the hostel. After about an hour the rain finally stopped and the skies cleared up again.

I stopped in some random little market and bought some massive Pink Lady apples and ate one as I walked the rest of the way back to the hostel. Once back, I checked in and got situated in my bed. This hostel is a half hotel, half hostel and it has a really cool vibe. A lot of concrete and a very modern feel to it.

I'm extremely tired now and it's only 4:30. Between sleeping on the bus and about 9 miles of walking today I'm beat. I had a late lunch so I'm not sure what I'll do for dinner. There's a full kitchen here but I'm not sure what I'm in the mood to make. I'll probably hang out a bit and maybe get some Belgian waffles for dinner instead of making something myself.

Teaser photos:

Grand' Place-Grote Markt, Brussels

Atomium from a distance

Cool sculpture

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, brussels

Posted from: Belgium