5 cities and 2 countries in 3 days!

Let me start off by saying that I am being forced to type using a french keyboard which is annoying because some of the key letters have been moved, so i will be forced to look at the keyboard while I type and still go back to correct errors...so bear with me! Anyhow, Ive been quite busy these last few days. Of course I started in Paris, and from there I stopped in Lyon for a few hours. Thank God for storrage lockers at the train station! I was quite surprised by Lyon. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting of the town, but it wasn't what I found. What I found was much better! I spent most of my time in Viex Lyon, wandering the streets and visiting the Notre Dame church and the outdoor roman style theatre. I had received an email from my work shortly after i had left with a message from my boss saying that Lyon is the gastronomic centre of the world. I can just hear him saying it now. I didn' t have time to eat there and I know he will be disappointed to hear it. After collecting my luggage again, it was off to stay in Marseille overnight. I arrived around 730, which is apparently the time that things in the city start shutting down. I had to go to a few places before I was able to find a room, but eventually I did. Just something basic, but it did have a shower and sink in the room. Toilet was down the hall though...do others think that is weird too?? After settling for a bit, I decided to go out and grab dinner and maybe a drink at a local bar. But I had to find the internet first because mom would be worried about not hearing from me that day. I looked for a couple of internet cafes but every one was closed...not very traveller friendly if you ask me! Anyways, I had a bite and a drink at a pub and then walked around the harbour area. It was really nice. I was debating about going to Cannes the following day, as I hadn't really seen much of the town I was currently in, but decided to do it since I wanted to spend a day lounging on a beach and the beach isn't right in Marseille. So it was an early night then off to Cannes the next morning! Now I knew from pictures Id seen and from what others had told me that the french riviera was beautiful, but wow! It was just spectacular! I decided to make the most of it, splurge and rent a lounge chair on the private beach rather than stick to the chair-less, parasole-less public one...totally worth it! Sun/shade, beach/surf what more could I want? They even had waiters who would bring you drinks, and when I ordered a bottle of water, it came in its own ice bucket...fancy! Sadly, all good things must come to an end and I had to peel myself away and train it to Nice. Like the rest, Nice is a really pretty town! I found my way to the hostel, dropped off my bag wandered around the town a bit and had dinner. I had asked the hostel staff about possible pub crawls that go on in town and found out they had one going on that night. So I made my way to the pub where they started and joined the group. What a night it turned out to be! At each of the bars we got a free shot and we also did shots in between the bars! Pictures to come...needless to say I was in MUCH pain this morning! It didn't help they lock out hostel guests from 11 until 3. Ugh... So I tried to make the most of it and went to Monaco. Its only a 40 minute bus ride away with an incredible route that hugged the coast line. When I first got there, the bus dropped me off at the Monte Carlo casino which is really something! Even the cars outside are amazing! Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Maserratti (sp?) from there, did more wandering and finally made it to the palace where i took a train tour of the city. I know you're supposed to tour the city when you first get there not just before you leave! but anyway, it was still nice and i learned more than just walking aorund myself. When I got back to Nice, I was exhausted to say the least. But I still forced myself to do more sightseeing in the form of street wandering and had dinner. There was talk of going out again tonight, but Im not sure my poor old body can handle it. But then again, how often am i in southern france??? We shall see! So thats my latest update. I hope all is well...keep those emails coming!