Contiki Chronicles, Day 9: Nice is... Nice.

Right, so this was the first full day on the French Riviera. Also, coincidentally, the last full day on the French Riviera.

We started off with a trip to a perfume factory - the brand produced here is called Fragonard (or something similar), and they claim to be as good as most of the top-name designer perfume brands around, but cheaper because you're not paying for a famous brand. Or shipping. Or other similar stuff. Not being an expert on perfume I wouldn't know, but after the very brief tour of the factory I bought an extra large bottle for like €56 as a Christmas present for Mum. Don't tell her though, because I shipped it home and it hasn't arrived yet. How about that.

So after all that was dealt with, we went on to Nice for the day. Um... That's Nice as in the city. Pronounced neece but spelt differently. Like the female child of your sibling.

So yeah, with that hopefully unnecessary pronunciation guide out of the way, what is there in Nice? Well, the entire French Riviera area is practically a massive vacation/retirement spot for fairly wealthy types. Thus, it's an incredibly prosperous area and it also has a pretty nice beach. Which is where I spent most of the day.

Anyway, I didn't get any photos of Nice itself, but here's some of the general area, so maybe you can see why it's so popular. (Apologies, I took these from the bus, so there's a lot of window glare/reflections in some of them.)


Um... I'm unfamiliar with Blogger for iOS, so I'm not sure if those photos are in the right place. Also, there doesn't seem to be any obvious way to display a photo from a URL, so I had to do a bit of a workaround. So sorry if there's a drop in quality, as well.

Oh, okay, so the photos are down the bottom now. Stupid google can't make things user-friendly...

Anyway, in Nice I realised that I'd lost my towel in Pamplona somehow, so I had to buy a new one. I found the biggest mall in the city, looked in every store for towels, and then finally found some for like €10 in a shop five minutes walk down the road. I then promptly went down to the beach, where I was freshly accosted with the horror that is European stony beaches.

See, because much of the European coast is in some sort of bay or something, there's a significantly less amount of tide action. The result? Less erosion on the shores, meaning you get rocks instead of nice fine sand. And this is a problem for a couple of reasons. Firstly, IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT COMFORTABLY ON A BEACH MADE OF ROCKS THE SIZE OF YOUR FIST. Secondly, when you decide to get up for a swim, WALKING ON THOSE ROCKS IN BARE FEET IS INHUMANE TORTURE. Thirdly, because of the way the tide works with rocks instead of sand, the actual ground drops of ridiculously quickly. So you can be eyeball-deep I'm salt water about five metres from the shore. And that doesn't sit well with me because I prefer to be able to know where the ground is when I swim. And also when you get out you literally have to climb over a pile of rocks to get out of the waves. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO WALK ACROSS THOSE ROCKS WITH BARE FEET AGAIN. AND THEN TRY TO GET COMFORTABLE AGAIN ON THOSE SAME ROCKS.

I think we're spoiled for beaches in Australia.

So after a somewhat mixed day on the beach, we dried ourselves off, went back to the campsite, got changed, ate food, and then got back on the bus again. Our destination this time? Monaco. Yes, that's right, the world's second smallest country, the city of which is practically its own Formula One race track, the country with only two industries: Gambling and Real Estate. The home of our source of entertainment for tonight: the Monte Carlo Casino.

Now let me just say, if the French Riviera is the home of rich people, then Monaco is where the richest of them all end up. Apparently, the country has the lowest poverty rate in the world, and also the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita. And if I had any photos you might be able to see why it's so popular. But unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries, so I couldn't take a photo from the amazing viewpoint we went up to just before we went to the casino.

Actually, interesting thing about the Monte Carlo casino: we were told to dress nicely, and act calm, and even then we wouldn't have much of a chance of getting in - apparently Aussies and Kiwis are a bit too rowdy for their liking, and they'd be checking passports at the door. Well, not only did they not even bat an eyelid at any of us as we walked through, but they didn't even stop us to look at out ID's! Still, I felt pretty cool all suited up walking in there. I bought a ridiculously expensive cocktail (€16!!) and then proceeded to lose €30 between the roulette and the video poker machine. Fun times.

So after an hour or two in there, we went back to the campsite, some drinking probably occurred, and I went to bed. Tomorrow we leave for Florence. Yay!


Oh, and here are those photos now:

Words and Emotion

So, some stuff has happened over the last week. Week and a bit, if you want to be specific. Anyway, I thought I'd share my, uh... thoughts.



"Discuss" is an interesting word. It seems to me that the word itself is misused a lot, or at least in my eyes. To me, the word implies polite, level-headed discourse, and is the cornerstone of any reasoned conversation. And yet, too often, a discussion turns into an argument. My Dad, in particular, is fond of euphemising these as "heated discussions" or a "robust conversation". To me, that, is not a discussion. Raised voices and insults just result in more raised voices and insults. Remarks made under the guise of civility just result in hurt feelings. No. To me, "discuss" is possibly the most powerful tool we as a species can wield (not to be with discus, although I suppose one of those could be potentially lethal in the right hands). To advance as individuals and as a group, we must master the art of peaceful discussion, and never let heated emotions colour your voice.

Emotions are tricky things. Too often, they threaten to consume us, resulting in words spoken or actions taken that we might not ordinarily say or do. And once these things have been put out there, it's nigh impossible to put them back. Sometimes this is for the better. Most times, it's not. Which is why controlling one's emotions is one of the key skills in human communication.

But there's another thing that emotions will taint. Not only the words which are sent out into the world, but also the meaning which is recieved. Anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment - all of these can and do erode away our ability to listen.

This last point is important. Because just as discussion is the most powerful tool we possess as a species, the ability to listen is the skill required to operate that tool. It is this crucial skill, to listen to reason, that allows us to respond with reason when it becomes our turn to speak. But without listening, without hearing what the other person has to say, we are effectively dooming ourselves to a fruitless conversation.

So, what? Emotions affect listening, so they have no place in conversation? Of course not. One should control their emotions, not destroy them. Emotions are what let us enjoy life. Discussion, in the long run, is what hopefully keeps it enjoyable. With that in mind, it is crucial that one is mindful of both they're own and others' emotion. While you are not responsible for you're own emotions, you do have complete control over how they manifest. In a similar vein, it is not up to you to be aware of every hypersensitivity that others possess, and yet if you wish to continue with reasoned discussion, you have a responsibility to never, EVER be intentionally harmful to another's emotions.

So that's it. Listen without bias, and respond in the same manner. Don't let your emotions overwhelm, but don't ignore them, either. Maybe if everybody follows this advice, we can start moving forwards.