Travel Time!

Hey all,
A quick update. I know it's been awhile since you've heard from me. I'm currently in Nice, France, and about to leave for Venice. We (myself and my traveling companions, Krista and Shannon, from CMRS) left London Stansted airport on the night of Saturday, April 18th, bound for Marseille, on the coast of France. We got in really late, and, rather than braving public transport to get from the airport (entirely outside the city limits) to our hostel for the night, we took a taxi ride. Pricey, but convenient. The first hostel was, well, interesting. There was a nice little karaoke contest going on in the lobby when we arrived, and the drugged-out receptionist provided a warm welcome. The advertised breakfast seemed only to be pieces of bread, bananas, and coffee. But then we had to move our stuff to a different hotel for our second night. This was all due to some bizarre mishaps when booking hostels for our stay. So we walked to the Hotel le Huitieme, which I specifically name only in the hopes that you never, ever try to stay there, no matter how cheap it is. Honestly, it couldn't have been much worse. They locked us out without telling us about it beforehand, then misplaced our bags and were unable to find them for a couple hours, then gave away our room to someone else. The room we finally had prepared had questionable stains on the ceiling, mold in the shower, and an ant infestation. I thought it was hilarious, but horrible at the same time. Just another of those traveling experiences. The city of Marseille itself was interesting. The part where we stayed our two nights was a little sketchy, and we didn't dare stay out too late. But down by the port, the old part (or vieux port), was pretty cool. Lots of impressive forts overlooking the Mediterranean and some pretty incredible cathedrals. It was so nice to see water again! Plus, we took a ferry out to the island If, where the Chateau d'If sits, the site of Edmand Dantes's imprisonment in the Count of Monte Cristo. Pretty sweet.
After two days there, we came here, to Nice, which was a welcome respite after the insanity of Marseille. We visited upscale Monaco and Monte Carlo on Tuesday, sat on the beach (and got incredibly burned) yesterday at Cap d'Ail, and walked around the Old Town and climbed the Chateau hill this morning.
Leaving Oxford was tougher than I would have imagined. I was fairly sick of a lot of the people in the program by the end, but it was still hard to say goodbye. Funny how that works. And I'm really going to miss the city itself, which I grew to love in my stay there. More on all this later, and I promise it'll be a little more cheerful. Miss you all a ton, and, for now, au revoir!