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Today was the best beach day ever:) Danny and Leigh woke up early because Danny Giglio (Danny's best bud from childhood) and his girlfriend, Laura, were set to arrive between 8-9am. While waiting, we took advantage of the free breakfast at the hostel and Danny immediately recognized Danny G. the second he walked in the door! After a little introduction and some chit chat, the four of us decided to spend our day at Cap D'Ail, a more local and private beach than the tourist beach in Nice.
Getting there was the tricky part! We asked the reception people the best way to get there and boy did we get some confusing answers (I think the guy we were talking to was still drunk from the night before). But off we went. From our hostel, the only way to get into town and other methods of transportation, we have to walk from the villa to the closest tram stop, which is about a 10 minute walk going down and 15 going back up:) Before we hopped on the tram, we stopped at the grocery store to get some cheap bottle of water (57 cents for like 3 liters!) We headed to the tram and stopped off at Gare Thiers, where the guy told us to go to catch the number 100 bus. Well, there was a train station and some buses, but no number 100 bus! After a short little pit stop at the tourist information shop, we had to get back on the tram.
And this time, we had the right directions! 4 short stops on the tram and we arrived at the bus station. And bus number 100. Things were looking good until we got on the bus! We managed to be the last four people that got on. And we literally had to stand/squat/kneel/hang from rafters/you name it, to squeeze on the thing! It was packed. Seems like everybody in all of Nice was on the dang bus. The poor bus driver had to keep yelling at the people behind us to move back so we could stand out of her line of vision but half the people had luggage the size of china in the passage ways!
However, even though the ride was quite uncomfortable, the view while riding along was absolutely amazing! We drove along the cliffside and through cool tunnels, all with spectacular views of the French Riviera and the Med Sea:) After 40 minutes of this scenic trip, we arrived at our stop, Beaverbrook. Right near our stop was another, smaller super market, so the four of us decided to get some food and beverages. Bread, cheese, cherries, and of course, cheap beer! Onward towards the beach, down a windy hill, and over some stairs, we finally made it to Cap D'Ail! And man what a sight it was!
The beaches in the South of Fance are not like the beaches back in the states for 2 reasons: 1) there is no sand, just large rocks and peebles that hurt your feet, and 2) yes, you guessed right, minimal clothing! We found a nice spot a little out of the way of the main crowd. The four of us immediately went into the water after our trek in the heat. It felt so refreshing! And the water itself was different color blues, depending on how deep or shallow or what was under the water! Caves and cliffs were all that could be seen!
After some R&R and lunch on the beach, we headed back into the water. Originally, the four of us were going to swim out to one of the caves. But that soon ended up just being Leigh swimming out there (danny attempted but he sinks like a rock:) After swimming for about half an hour, we decided to head back. Danny and Laura had been back on the beach when Danny and Leigh were swimming to the caves, and they found a paddle boat rental for 20 euros an hour! We were in! Somehow the girls ended up being the paddlers for the first half of the hour but it was not too hard:) We wanted to see what was around the corner of the cliff and man did we get a surprise when we did! A nude beach! Men and women, in the buff! It was a sight to see for sure. LOL.
After some oogling, we paddled up to a spot where the boys climbed up a 30 foot cliff and jumped in! Laura and Leigh weren't having it because it looked sketchy where you had to climb up. We swam around for a bit until heading back so we didn't get charged for another hour. But on the way back, we stopped by the cave again and Leigh and Laura swam out into the mouth of the cave. Poor Laura was trying to swim to some rock perch for a prime photoshot when a set of waves came in and kind of tossed her around a bit. But no worries, only a little scratch on the bum:)
We headed back in and rested and swam for another hour and half before we packed up and left. The walk back up was hell. We got back on the bus and headed home. For dinner, the four of us decided to eat at the bar at our hostel! And what a great choice. We each ordered a personal pizza but that wasn't enough! Both couples split one more between the two! So delicious. After some time and some showers, Danny G and Laura wanted to see Monaco at night! Danny went with them and Leigh decided to stay behind:)
Tomorrow we are booked to go scuba diving at 9 am! That is what is so great about this hostel! So many adventures to go on! So until tomorrow...bonjure!
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