(picture 1: the tennis complex in Monte Carlo
picture 2: Federer obliterating his opponent
picture 3: coastline in Monte Carlo)
I decided on a whim to go with Brad, Brendan, Meredith, Sarah, Jess Frank, and Caroline to Nice for this past weekend to see the Masters Series tennis tournament held in Monte Carlo. It's the second most prestigious clay court tournament in the world, so even though I don't know a ton about tennis, I figured it'd be a great opportunity.
Brad, Brendan, and I decided to take the train, which took about 9 hours and involved a change in Milan instead of flying with the girls (the flight was a bit pricey). Everything was going famously until we got to Milan. Approx. 13 minutes late. Our "layover" was 15 minutes. The train to Nice left 10 platforms away from where the train from Venice got in. We were at the very end of the train. We were wearing flip flops and carrying huge backpacks. I haven't run in, oh, years. Basically, the odds were not in our favor (even more so they were stacked against me, given my obscene inability to run). I told the boys to go on without me (the tournament definitely meant more to them) and that I'd catch the next train or just go home. Luckily, I still booked it and saw Brendan skillfully delaying the train conductor, so I ran the last few yards and heaved myself on the train. We then navigated 9 train cars (while the train was moving) to reach our car. Low and behold, the entire huge group of young school girls (members of a dance troupe) from the last train were also on this train and, once again, in our car. Delightful, let me tell you. Nevertheless, I was so relieved to even be ON the train, the noise just kind of got ignored. This train was called the "Riviera Train" and once we hit Genova, we realized it was because it basically borders the ocean all the way to Nice, which was absolutely beautiful. The only downside was the obscene number of tunnels we had to go through. The train kind of lost power as we'd go through tunnels, making it impossible to read or anything. Some tunnels had lights in them and created a strobe light type effect, so Brendan and Brad decided to create some rave-appropriate music by doing a capella renditions of techno songs. Between the small children shouting, nearly missing the train, the tunnels, and the strobe lights, the 9 hour ride pretty much comprised the definition of sensory overload, but, I was still relieved to have caught the train and we arrived in Nice about 1/2 an hour later than planned, but otherwise without incident.
Once we got to Nice, we hunted down the hotel to meet up with the girls, who had arrived around 6. We then went in search of dinner since it was nearly 9 and none of us had eaten. Instead of trying French food, we all succumbed to our Chinese food cravings (Venice is a little lacking on the whole food variety thing). We ordered a bunch of random dishes and pretty much went to town and the bill was still incredibly reasonable.
It's probably a good thing we saved money at dinner Thursday night, because the tennis tournament kind of sucked the money right out of us. We took the regional train from Nice to Monte Carlo, but accidentally got off too early, so we had to take a taxi to the tennis complex. Then we all bought souvenir type shirts/hats/etc and got coffee and snacks and of course they don't exactly price the food low when they know you have no other options! Nevertheless, settling into our excellent seats made it all worthwhile. We had a great view of the court, the sun was out (no rain like previously expected), and everyone was really excited to be there. We were there for the quarter finals, so we got to see some the top tennis player in the world (Federer), the top clay court player in the world (Nadal), and the top French player (sorry, can't spell his name). The sets were very compelling and we pretty much only got up for bathroom and food breaks. I think I consumed pounds upon pounds of sugar (crepes, donuts, etc) and gallons of water. We also took hundreds of pictures and Brad was even smart enough to take a video of Federer as he won a match, which is cool to have. We had a bit of an unfortunate run in with the old, self righteous Swiss couple in front of us (they didn't think one should speak, period, at a tennis tournament, and told us as much as they made inappropriate gestures at us, insulted our accents, etc--you'd think they were the college students), but otherwise it was probably one of the best days ever, hands down. Monte Carlo is an absolutely beautiful place...the pictures do not do it justice at all. We were there until around 8, so then we went back to the hotel via train, cleaned up, and found dinner at a French restaurant nearby before passing out from sheer exhaustion.
The girls left after we all ate brunch Saturday morning, so the boys and I hit the beach near our hotel. It was the first time I've ever hung out on a rocky beach, but it was surprisingly comfortable. We pretty much laid in the sun all day--the boys went off to grab lunch to bring back and from noon to about 7, I didn't leave the beach. There was hardly any English spoken, which is cool, and it was just a really relaxing day. I decided that I was going to join Brendan on the night train home instead of staying an extra night like Brad and I had originally planned since I had a TON of work to do back in Venice. Brendan and I used Brad's hotel room to clean up and we headed for the train station around 8:45, but our train was delayed almost an hour, which is not surprising but still unfortunate. The train was really cool on account of it being a night train, my first, and I think Brendan and I ended up in first class, so our compartment was clean, spacious, air conditioned, and had a door that locked (robbery is popular on night trains so this was a huge relief). We chatted for a good while, then passed out and woke up in Venice at around 9am Sunday morning--not a bad deal at all in my opinion.
I really, really loved Nice and Monte Carlo...I would love to go back and spend more time there in the future. The atmosphere is just so laid back and relaxing--definitely a good impulse decision!
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