Ne demandez jamais la truite.

Pronounced: neh deh-man-day jah-may lah tweet.
Means: Never order the trout.

In the restaurant:
Greta: Oh no.
Heidi: Ohhh noooo. I saw fish being served whole yesterday. I was afraid it would come like this.
Greta: Why didn't you stop me??
Heidi: I thought you knew what you were doing!
Greta: I was picturing a nice little filet!
Heidi: Can you take the skin off? (Squeezes lemon vehemently over the whole thing.)
Greta: This smells. So bad. ...I knew not to order fish in the middle of the country because it wouldn't be fresh, but Nice is a sea-side town! I thought it would be good, fresh fish!
Heidi: (Grimly) Too fresh.
Greta: (Takes a bite.) Oh man. Oh man. This is real bad.
Heidi: (Takes a bite. Nods grimly.)
Greta: I'm not going to be able to eat it without gagging.
Heidi: We have to eat it. It's what we ordered. (Takes another bite with an air of great sacrifice.) You know how they cooked this, don't you? (Greta shakes her head apprehensively.) They ripped out its guts and threw it in the fryer.
Greta: It would look so rude if we left all this. (Takes a bite and gags.) I can't eat it. I can't.
Heidi: (Wraps a bite in a thick piece of bread, and chews it.)
Greta: That's what we do for dogs.
Heidi: (Gags. Repeatedly.)
Greta: Are you okay??
Heidi: (Swallows and gasps.) You know what this is? (Taps taps taps fish with her fork.) Its spine.
Greta: Let's just... Take it apart and spread the pieces all around, like we did when we were little.
Heidi: Like YOU did. (Pokes at salad.) I wish I could do tomatoes better. They make me vom too.

(For a dialogue of what transpired during dessert, refer to Heidi's.)

The day before La Truite Degoutant:
We took a day trip to Monaco today, which was sort of like being in the country of Harrods-- in other words, everything was crazy ritzy. We walked to the palace from the train station, which was on top of a cliff and sported some gorgeous views.


Found the cathedral next- where Grace Kelley is buried. Lit a candle for Nora (see previous post), and prayed that she somehow is being taken care of or found her way home.

Then bought tickets to check out the adjacent acquarium. Apparently, the prince who created it was a huge fan of Jacques Cousteau, and subsequently built this fabulous, cliff-side acquarium that Cousteau oversaw for some time.

We enjoyed ourselves checking out the fish, and even sang the jelly-fish our classic Heidi/Greta original composition, "Slimy, Sticky, and Icky." (If you know what this refers to: feel informed.)

After the acquarium, we took a bus to the famous Monte Carlo casino, where Daniel Craig saved the world in Casino Royale. Didn't go in, as there was a spendy entry fee, but did plenty of gawking at the amazing cars parked outside and felt intimidated by the fancy dress.

We're planning a relaxing afternoon, as we're both tired and Heidi's a little sick on top of that. (Not just from the trout, unfortunately.) Naps, showers (this fille NEEDS ONE), and some journal time at a cafe.

Off to Cinque Terre tomorrow.

We're honestly both a little home-sick, surprisingly enough. We were hoping to make more friends at our hostel, but our adventure with poor Nora last night didn't provide a chance to mingle in the courtyard area where people seem to be interacting the most, as we'd hoped to do. Taking on these world famous cities as a duo is creating good solidarity between us, but easily leaves us feeling alone outside of that. Our heads are still wrapped a bit around the stressful situations we left at home, as well.

However, we are so impressed with some of the unique things that we're seeing here, and definitely looking forward to Cinque Terre. And when I'm really feeling stressed out, I do something that feels especially Greta-- like taking a pensive walk through a fountain. A tiny bit of silliness does wonders for my outlook.

Love to all--
Greta