I really do love America (this is my version of homesick with a week to go)

Today, Kelley and I noticed a lot of differences between the states and Europe. While we had a great day of views and sights we still had our lows but I'll try to keep the blog positive. We caught a train to Monaco at about 8:20 and it was only about a 3o minute ride. We wandered around early trying to find the palace and finally we made it after climbing another ridiculous amount of stairs. The palace didn't open until 10 so we wandered around the shops that were up there for a while buying the necessary souvenirs. The views from the sight of the palace were amazing and the palace was quite different from the others ones we had seen so far. Finally, we were able to enter the castle and were one of the first few in. We had free audio guides and it was really helpful to know what we were looking at and all about the rooms. Sadly, we probably only saw about 1/10 (if even) of the palace, as that was all the tour included. The tour took about 30 minutes and then we headed to the museum next door which was sooooo worth it. We saw two of Napoleon's tri-corner hats, the one he wore at the Battle of Waterloo and when he was exiled to Elba. We even saw several locks of his hair, don't ask me why. The best part though was the uniform of the royal guards from a while back that included purple pants. We then wandered again some more only to discover that people are really not aware of their surroundings here. They just move or stand still unaware that people are either next to them or trying to get around them. It is quite frustrating in the very narrow streets and alleys. We wandered into some more shops where I found a souvenir for my mother and bought a shot glass. We then decided to try and find a bite to eat but the restaurants didn't serve food until noon, which was stupid. We were able to find a little sandwich place that was way overpriced. A can of coke cost 3 euros...which is just plain ridic. Unfortunately, I was concerned with protecting my mother's present and I sent my shot glass flying, breaking it and wasting 4 euros. Darn. But I found another that worked (not quite in my collection standards but still cool). I had gelato twice today trying different flavors again. This time milk chocolate and raspberry. After we snacked, we were able to see the changing of the guards which was pretty neat, not overly exciting but still an experience. We then headed off to the aquarium where we were supposed to meet our roommates from the hostel. It was a little difficult to find but we finally manged it. The aquarium was responsible for some of our frustration for the day. We attempted to get our student discount, however our student ids from SU do not have a date on them so they don't accept them as valid forms of student id. I think this is crazy because what schools do have years or dates on them. So we had to pay double the price to get in. The aquarium was fun but definitely not worth the double price as they did not have any live mammals; they only had skeletons of them. I was quite disappointed. From there, we went to the terrace on top of the aquarium which had amazing views of Monaco. I can't even describe how gorgeous it was. Then we journeyed to sit in the shade and overlook the water some more. We then spent some time exploring the town a bit more, walking along the marina and seeing all the crazy expensive yachts. We then hopped on a train back to Nice. We dropped off our souvenirs and headed out to find food and to see one last touristy thing. Unfortunately, the majority of stores and restaurants are closed on Sundays so our options were very limited and we wound up eating at this restaurant called the Hippopotamus, which we later decided was a chain. It seemed pretty nice and there were lots of people there so we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, we had a very rude waitress that pretty much hated us and all her other tables. Also, everything was a little pricey so we had the joy of eating the cheapest thing on the menu, burgers (sad, I know, but nothing was really open and we didn't have too much of a choice). They were okay burgers but not worth the price we paid for them. Kelley made a good point that sometimes our system of tipping is really functional. And as a server I can agree to the tip based service, although sometimes I think tip should be included. LOL. We then made our way to Block Head. A giant statue of a head that is a block. Since we are exhausted from the day we're just taking it easy tonight and heading off to Florence tomorrow. Oh, and on a side note something else that gets me. With Europe being more sexually open and free, with nude beaches and nudity in films, I don't understand why men are still vulgar at times towards women when they should be used to it. There is something left to be said about discretion. Hopefully, tomorrow will be less stressful, more relaxing, cheaper, and altogether a good day.