fall breakin'

It's currently 10:33pm on October 31, and my group just arrived back in Vienna from our wonderful fall break adventures! Now, I must begin the glorious game of "blog catch-up" so here goes nothing...

We began our 10 day vacation with an overnight train to Milan en route to Nice, France. We paid for sleeping couchettes and Sarah and I were the brave souls who decided to be in a compartment with two other strangers. The rest of the girls and Brett were situated in another compartment. At first, no one was in our room. In fact, Sarah, Flener, and I were in the middle of a great conversation when all of the sudden, in walks a profusely sweating Nigerian priest. Once he arrived, we climbed up to our top bunks and attempted to sleep through the night. Sarah slept peacefully. I, however, was SCARED out of my mind. No, I'm not racist, but I woke up several times in the middle of the night to him staring at me. Still gives me chills, 9 days later. I ended up getting a few hours of sleep as I draped one of my sweaters over my face to avoid eye contact. He asked for my phone number and where we were traveling to over our "holiday" to which I calmly lied and said we were vacationing in Italy and that I didn't have a working phone. God is so good though. Throughout the night, several verses from Psalm 91 were on my heart. Read it if you aren't familiar with this Psalm. So powerful. Once we arrived in Milan on Friday morning, we took a train to Nice, France. The ride into France was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Once in Nice, we checked into our wonderful hostel Villa Saint Erupery, before venturing out into the city for some mid-afternoon exploration. We took a short train into Monte Carlo, known internationally as the "playground for the rich and famous," beaming with casinos, yachts, designer stores, and wealthy businessmen. Located on the French Riviera, Monte Carlo is just breath-taking. Once back in Nice, we walked into the downtown district in search of something to eat for dinner, but to no avail, despite the fact that it was only 8pm. Therefore, we headed back to our hostel (we had seen a sign earlier advertising chicken fajitas and rice for dinner) to enjoy some of the best fajitas I've ever eaten in my life. Not a joke. The rest of the night was spent at our hostel, where we met two really awesome guys from Australia (Sean and Cameron) and conversed with them til around 1am before heading to bed.

Saturday morning. After a restful night's sleep at our hostel, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hostel (cereal bar with a wide array of different cereal options....yes, I was in heaven) before heading out for a full day of CANYONING in France!! Decked out in wetsuits, helmets, and ropes, we enjoyed several hours of repelling, rock climbing, cliff jumping, diving, and swimming. Words just can not do justice to how fun, memorable, and adventurous this day was! How did we find out about canyoning? Our hostel had an advertisement for it at the front desk the day before when we checked in. We jumped on the opportunity and paid our 53 euro. Money well spent, no doubt. Yes, I had my clutzy moments, but overall, it was an experience I will cherish forever. We arrived back at the hostel around 5pm. Once back, we all had the opportunity to enjoy our first shower (since leaving Vienna). Then, we went to the Nice beach and enjoyed the beautiful sunset over the ocean. Dinner that night was spent at a local jazz club restaurant on the beach before we headed to the train station for our overnight to PARIS, which was spent inside a 6-person sleeper couchette. Hello, claustrophobia!!

Nice is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever experienced. I hope I can go back someday soon and take my husband, parents, friends, (or anyone who wants to go), so they can enjoy the magnificence of the French Riviera! Not sure if I had previously mentioned this, but when I say "we," I am referring to my fall break group consisting of : Allison, Amy, Brett, Cari, Ricki, and Sarah. More posts to come!!