July 10th - July 13th

On the morning of the 10th we boarded the bus for the last time to head to the train station. There we waited for a couple extra minutes for the train. We were thankful it was only a couple of extra minutes, as opposed to the experiences we had so far, which included having three trains (on seperate occasions) not show, and all other trains arrive late.

We boarded the train to France.

About five hours later, we arrived at our hotel in the French Riviera. It was wonderful to finally stay in a hotel, as opposed to a campground.

After a good night's rest, we woke up to explore the town and layout on the beach. We soon got bored, despite the beautiful surroundings, and decided to head to Monte Carlo for a little while. In Monte Carlo we were astounded at the display of wealth we found. The yachts were so impressive, we have decided to follow this post with an entry solely to boats.

Leaving Monte Carlo was insane. Our town was only two stops from Monte Carlo, but getting on the train was a nightmare. We waited at the station for 40 minutes for the train to arrive. When it arrived it was already full, but there were tons of people waiting to get on. The police actually got off of the train and told people they couldn't board. It was humurous to see that even after the police would say this, when their backs were turned, people would jump on the train. We took a step back from the chaos, watched and waited. Turns out, another train arrived 10 minutes later that was pretty empty. We boarded this train, making sure to stay close to the exit, and took it back to our stop for the concert.

From the train station we went straight to the concert venue to see John Butler. For those of you not aware, this concert was the starting point to this whole adventure. When we found out John Butler would be in France, we decided to go. We then started planning adventures around it.

Craig waiting for the gates to open at the John Butler concert.

Getting crazy before the concert!

The concert venue had a very chill atmosphere. It was a grassy area with a few trees and Christmas lights strung between them. We found a seat and waited for the show.

John Butler!!!!

July 12th, the day we expected to get home, was a very long day. We started out on a train on which we did not have seat reservations. Yes, we did have tickets, that we paid LOTS O MONEY for, but we did not have seat assignments. At first the train was pretty empty, but after a few stops it filled up pretty quick. People were not hesitant to ask us to get out of their seats. We ended up having to sit on fold down seats next to the door along with the luggage.

Amy was very sad to be riding next to the door :(.

We were luckier on our next train ride because we had reserved seats. However, our luck ran out in Offenburg, Germany just across the border from Strasburg, France. There we discovered the only way to catch a train to Leipzig that night was on a very expensive overnight train. We decided to spend the night in a hotel and try our luck the next day.

It was another long day of traveling, but we made it back to Leipzig. Also, our train tickets were MUCH cheaper than the overnight train. Both of us went across the country for a total of 60 euros... I would say that is pretty good!

It was a very good trip full of very fun and interesting experiences. We learned a lot of lessons and were worn out from all the traveling. After comparing Leipzig, Germany to many others cities and towns in surrounding countries, we have decided that we like ours best!