STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Take the train to Monaco, for sure.  I don't think it's more than 20 minutes by train (but it's been a while, so I could be wrong).  Also, there are a lot of beautiful little towns nearby, easily accessible by train.  I stayed in Menton, which is gorgeous.  It's a nice walk from the train station, along the waterfront, and up into the old part of town, and there are some cute restaurants as well.  I believe there's also an old castle you can visit, but I spent most of my time on the beach.  You should just bust out a map, and look at the surrounding villages around Nice.  Nice itself wasn't my favorite place, but the surrounding countryside is gorgeous.  Of course, nightlife in Nice can be fun.

i stayed there for three weeks last summer (not this one, one before). i liked "vieux nice" too (old Nice) but it can be kind of shady- i witnessed many brutal bar fights with the locals (there is some racial tensions over there that can manifest themselves in a very dangerous way)- but i wasn't ever really scared. i just wouldnt walk back alone by myself. i think i went to the bar Bex is talking about, for the life of me i can't remember its name, but there were a couple run by either aussies or irishmen. They are in an open paved area with a fountain in the center and big steps that lead up to a big building. you'll see all the americans and english speaking people there. I went to the marc chagall museum and that was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip- i think that was more in the hills. if i could go back, i'd go inland more and explore, its beautiful and i really wanted to go to grasse (i think thats the one) that was about an hour away- one of the perfume capitals of the world- maybe it is the perfume capital- not sure. it sounded really charming. there is also some awesome shopping in small boutiques on a street that is parallel to the ocean (not the one directly on the ocean). i got my beloved sandro dress there for 80 euros. gah, i wish i remembered the name of the place! it was between the EF school and the area with the louis vuitton/chanel/ etc. also, go to les nereides, that is an awesome jewelry store! loved it, def. google it. i've seen les nereides stuff in nyc at a boutique for 2.5 times the price- ex. 68 euros for earrings, in usa- almost $200. even with the exchange rate its so much cheaper. also, stock up on phytotheratrie stuff- phyto 9, phytojojoba shampoo- they sell it in all the pharmacies there. that shampoo is awesome and about 6 euros there- here it is $22. makes me mad!! and eat TONS of strawberry fruit tarts, i must have had one a day. i went to monaco too- it was really pretty and i had an interesting experience there because of the people i was exploring with, but there was something creepy about the city to me. it seemed so... guarded. and like no one actually lived there. maybe it will be different in the winter. i also went to some small beaches a train stop away- juan les pins? something like that. hmm, googled it- antibes/juan les pins- that was so relaxing and quaint. it has sand beaches too, unlike the rock ones of nice. i went to cannes, it was something to do i guess, but it was my least favorite trip of everything. it wasn't charming to me- maybe it would be interesting during the film festival though. oh, i also went to villefranche a lot because one of the girls had a car there- it is small and one town over, kind of an inlet beach that is sandy. very small but there are lots of staircases and narrow streets to climb up and its just so small and cute. gosh, you've just given me terrible nostalgia- i want to go back and relive that trip, but i know it would never be the same again without those same people i met

http://www.beyond.fr/map/map_d05.html
theres a pretty good map- i guess it was Grasse i was thinking of. sorry so choppy, my mind is going a mile a minute!