The Nutcracker (that famous ice version)

A lot of you already know how disappointed I have been with Genova's (lack of) Christmas decorations. I'm not saying the UK have it right by decorating at the end of August, but December needs a build up itself so that it feels important enough to build up to the big day! Plus, November is such a rubbish month and I need some mulled wine to get me through. 

Anyway, with this lack of festivity in mind, Plum, Steff and I decided to go searching for a festive treat that didn't involve a club or a cheeky Italian. We obviously went straight to the opera house and found that 'Lo Schiaccianoci' was on!! (The Nutcracker ballet to you and me.)This was the perfect plan - all three of us immediately turned into ballerinas (in our minds, obv)and started humming to the only Nutcracker tune we know - I know you know which one too - Do do do do do do dododo dododo dododo dododododoooo. Knew it. 

Before the show, we went for Aperitivo at a pretty smart looking bar next to the opera house. I had a champagne cocktail which was so divine. 

And since this is aperitivo, we get loads of free food. We had peanuts, crisps, pizza, selection hams and salami, great big hunks of cheese, toasted spicy bread and olives…

*Obviously we ate it all before I could take a picture*

We have reason for inhaling it though - sadly, the service was unnnnbelievably slow, and poor Stefy and I hadn't eaten for at least 3 hours, so we wolfed it and ran to the ballet with a few minutes to spare! 

We had great seats with a pretty good view

But BB and I still needed our glasses

The lights went down, and we settled down ready to see the Italian/Russian version of Darcy Bussell…

If Darcy Bussell was on ice

The three of us erupted with laughter!! We actually couldn't believe that we had missed the pretty clear sign outside that said it was on ice - the shock was just hilarious. Once we had calmed down, we appreciated it all the same, and it actually was even more festive on ice! 

Sadly the photos aren't great - but my iPhone zoom did the best it could! 

 Sparkly ballerinas!

 Stars of the show

 My favourite photo

It was all over too quickly - it was so magical and sparkly, we were lapping it up! But - guess what? The classic 'Do do do do do do dododo dododo dododo dododododoooo' didn't play! We have no idea why!! (^may or may not have copied/pasted the do's^)

All the same, it was a fantastic show and made us feel extra Christmassy! And finally, Genova managed to sort itself out and actually switch ON their Christmas lights! 

Woohooooo - Christmasssss! 

X

Nice is nice, but Monaco è bellissimo!

So Steff and I have been here almost two months (omg) and I feel our Italian is improving a bit. It became clear that Steff's was much better though when our French housemates invited us to Nice and Monaco for the weekend and I had no clue what was going on. Once Steff had translated everything for me (cheap coach ride to Nice; stay with Sophie's aunt; get €5 train to Monaco; eat a crêpe)I nearly wee'd with excitement. 5 days later, we were off!

                               

Gals ready for the 4 hour journey!

(There may or may not be two three pieces of focaccia in the red bag.) 

The journey was pretty cool actually - we had wifi and reclinable seats; and can't really complain about 4 hours to get to the bloody south of France!

When we got there, we headed straight to the high street and saw the lovely architecture, shops etc. Although I was more amused by this:

Almost wanted to do something naughty just to see what would happen!

Wallace & Gromit - french style

THE GOGGLES! too much 

That evening, we headed a little out of Nice to Sophie's aunt's flat for some supper and sleep before the next day's adventures. Supps was delicious and obv included baguette and camembert. Parfait! 

The next day, we were up bright and early to catch the train to Monacoooooo. I had never been before and found out at the station that it's actually a country. Smooth. When we got there Steff and I were amazed - the place was dripping in money! We were greeted with the bluest sky which was a huge blanket over the most exquisite yachts and boats. 

After taking more than enough snaps of the same effing huge boats, we wandered up into the old town. 

Once we got to the top, we had a little rest (there were loads of steps. Upwards ones) and took some photos!

This was my only instagram - the skies were actually that blue!

After more climbing/wandering, we made it to the centre of the old town. The buildings were very French and chic and we saw the Prince of Monaco's palace! 

 Not Buckingham Palace - but pretty cool! 

Changing of the guard - right up my street!

Cheeky. 

We got some French baguettes and sat on a bench looking at the view. To be honest, I still can't believe that I am two months into my year abroad and it's already been this cool. I kept screaming in my head 'MONACOOO'. It was pretty surreal! 

I think there's an F1 track in there somewhere...

All the buildings were like this - they almost looked fake they were so pristine and colourful. They were real though. Promise.

As we headed back down, we walked past a building dedicated to F1. I'm not exactly a huge fan, but I know my Daddy is so I felt obliged to take photos of the trophies!

I have no idea who won them though..

After just a couple hours in Monaco we decided to head back to Nice. I could have spent all day there, but realistically I could afford approx. nothing. 

We did a bit of shopping in Nice and continued to amble around and saw this fountain, so decided to make a wish. 

       

There were no coins in it at all - but a coin in the fountain = a wish somewhere, so we did it anyway. 

After the wishes were made, we went for...crêpes! 

(That wasn't my wish - fountains aren't that quick.)

We crept in, had a crêpe and crept out. I had masses of nutella..it was beyond delish.

Steff was a cheeky monkey and had nutella and bananas. 

(See what I did there? Monkeys..bananas..cheeky..lololololol)

After more shopping and wandering it was time for supper...woohooo more food! There were loads of restaurants right by the beach which was cool, although tainted slightly by the amount of tourists and English-speaking. It's just not the same when all the menus are called 'tourist menu' and the waiters grab you from the street, persuading you in English to pick their moules over the others.
We eventually decided and ended up in a not too expensive/not too cheap one. The waiter spoke French, and that was enough for me!

Steff and I shared a starter (like I said, not that cheap!)and then we both tucked into some Moules Frites.

This photo looks beaut right? 

Unfortunately, the photo looks far better than it tasted. The white wine sauce was no where to be seen, and the moules were one level of chewiness away from being a gummy-bear. Could have been worse though - the wine was good and we got ketchup with the chips. Classic Brit abroad. 

The next day was cut in half as we had to get the coach back again. We went for a yummy French brekkie in town and then walked the promenade by the sea. It was SO French and chic...perfect for photos! 

Babes by the beach

Le Negresco Hotel.

 Chic

Not so chic

sneaky waterfall in the middle..

I just scrolled up and it took me 5 years - pretty long blog post this time, so I'll summarise.

1. I'm a lucky gal

2. I now know Monaco is a country

3. I don't like tourists. Or chewy moules.

4. The sky was really blue. 

5. I still bloody love crêpes. 

X

Jess and the giant peach

I felt a bit shallow choosing Genova because it was near the sea, but I don't anymore! The beaches are amazing! I'm not saying they're the No.1 holiday destination of all time, but they are perfect for 2 ragazze like me and Steff who love a good tan and hate to pay. Obviously you can pay for sun loungers etc, but why would you when it's totally free to lie on the rocks?! I can hear everyone thinking "Rocks? Why would you want to lie on rocks?!" Well, I'll tell you. Because it's like a massage and you don't get sand in your..ya know.

 Camogli

This beach is for sure my fave - you have the perfect combination of glorious blue sea, smooth rocks, beautiful Italian buildings and the mountains! 

Camogli was the second beach we went to - it's so easy it hurts. You get your ticket at the station (€3.40)and get on the train for approx. 18 minutes and you're there! Except that here you have to validate your ticket by stamping it. This makes it legit (surely buying it would do the same?! No.) Luckily, we remembered and got the conductor on the platform to stamp it. The second day, we weren't so lucky. We had 1 minute til our train got there, and the platform was a good run away. We ran to it, tried to stamp it in the machine and...nothing. But, it had a barcode so we just scanned it; light went green - perfetto. What wasn't so perfetto was the ticket man who said you don't scan it, you stamp it. An argument and €50 later, we found out that you can't scan your ticket. 

FUMING. 

hardly clear, is it?!

Anyway, we didn't let this get us down - the beach was incredible. Obviously I was feeling peckish though - luckily for me there are fruit stalls everywhere and I got the most fab peach ever! It was so big and juicy! One of my fave family holiday memories was in Tuscany with all of us eating huge peaches the size of your head and having the juice dribble down your arm...a scientifically proven way of knowing you've got a top peach. 

The best

After some swimming, tanning and snoozing, we ventured off to some sort of Hawaiian beach hut and got ourselves an ice cream. As we walked through, they had wooden sofas and chairs with lovely cream cushions overlooking the sea. Steff and I chose a 4 poster chair/bed/den type thing and relaxed in the shade. It is scorchio in the sun! 

Once we'd cooled off a bit, we went back down and my second have family holiday memory happened! The coconut man! 

If you have been to Italy and not had the hilarious encounter with the coconut man, then I feel sorry for you. He is the best! They clearly all have their own calls. The one in Tuscany (forever my fave) shouted:

(insert italian accent here) "ANY COCOOOO - HALLOOOOOO - COCONUTSSSSS - WOOOOOOOOOO!!" 

The one here shouts "COCOOOO - COCOOOO BELLOOOOO - COCOOOO FRESCOOOO!!" A classic. 

Sadly, I had been fined and had no more money, so I had to laugh and admire from afar. One day though, one day. 

Once the scorchio sun had become too much for us, we ambled back through the streets of Camogli.

I wanna boat.

Sneaky sea

Other than the fine - I am loving life! The tan is coming on nicely - not bad for September! 

X

Oh - p.s, I saw Christopher Columbus' house. Ya know, as you do.