Nice, France: Roommates, Day Trips, and a Little Chaos
I arrived in Nice feeling confident and excited! With a few trips under my belt, I was finally warmed up and ready to tackle this adventure solo. I got in midday and met my first roommate, who immediately invited me to go for a swim. Obviously, I said yes—who wouldn’t? I stayed at the Antares Hostel in a 4-bed girls’ dorm, and it turned out to be an amazing choice.
My first set of roommates were great! There was an older lady from the U.S. who was super fun, a girl from Amsterdam who was obsessed with Monaco (she’d day-trip there every day and show me all her photos each night), and a sweet girl from Italy who I spent the most time with before she left. Mornings were for swimming and sunburns, and afternoons were for exploring the city. The Italian girl would translate for me when the locals were talking trash (bless her), and she even brought me along to meet her friends.
The group she introduced me to was incredible. I couldn’t even tell you how many of us there were—people on the streets actually thought we were a bar crawl. We hit a few bars, ended the night with a chaotic night swim, and sprinted back to the hostel just before they locked us out for the night. It felt like living in a commune with all new friends!
When my first group of roommates left, things got... interesting.
The Swiss Situation
My new roommate was a 17-year-old from Switzerland who had never traveled alone before. I didn’t even know you could book a hostel at 17, but here we were. She was sweet but seemed to latch onto me immediately. I mentioned my plan to visit Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat the next day, and she said she wanted to come. Cool! I told her we’d be leaving early and she’d need to be ready because I wasn’t waking her up.
The next morning, my alarm went off, and she didn’t budge. I got ready loudly. Still nothing. I called her name—nothing. So, I left. I know this sounds harsh, but I wasn’t about to miss my plans.
As I’m grabbing a pastry at the patisserie near the train station, my phone rings—it’s her. She’s up now and asks if I’ll come back. Feeling guilty, I agree. I meet her in the lobby, and she’s still not ready. She leisurely eats breakfast, and I finally snap, “You need to get dressed; I’m leaving in 20 minutes.” I waited 35.
At the station, she’s confused about how to buy a train ticket. She lives in Europe. How does she not know this? Questions for another day. She makes it onto the train with seconds to spare. The day was off to a rough start.
We made it to our destination, saw a castle, visited Paloma Beach (highly recommend), and even took a ferry ride along the coast. But she complained about the walking—constantly. By the end of the day, I was exhausted.
The Australian Escape
Back at the hostel, we met our new roommate, an awesome girl from Australia. She told me later that the Swiss girl had been telling everyone we were lifelong friends on an epic travel adventure together. What?! I met her that morning.
The Aussie and I immediately clicked and decided to plan a day trip to Menton. But after the chaos of the Swiss situation, we needed an escape strategy.
We agreed to stage our departure. I got ready and left the room, telling the Swiss girl I wanted a solo day. Five minutes later, the Aussie met me in the lobby, and we were off to Menton.
Menton was magical—a pastel dream. We sipped coffee, wandered vintage markets, took endless photos, and soaked in the vibes. It was like a social media paradise. It was one of those perfect days you don’t forget.
Nice’s Grand Finale
That night, we went out again. There was a lot of drinking involved, as usual. At some point, we were secondhand pepper-sprayed, took hilarious photo booth pictures, and had an argument with a homeless man in French (neither of us speak French). It was absolute chaos in the best way.
The Aussie girl was such a ray of sunshine, and saying goodbye was tough. I’m genuinely hoping I can visit her in Australia someday—we clicked so well it felt like we’d known each other forever.
And that’s the end of Nice. Next stop: Croatia!
