Day17: Monaco&Couchsurfing

So yesterday I slept at a parking lot,and I woke up so tired,the place was very warm,quiet and calm, except the darn mosquitoes,so conditions were good,but I just couldn't sleep,I woke up at 2&3 in the morning,then at 5, and finally at six, and couldn't sleep again,so when I thought about making a choice, between rushing 162 km to Italy, and sleeping at the frontier, or trying to ask for Couchsurfing in Monaco,
I chose Monako.I know, it's full of rich people,what is the possibility of someone accepting me? Turns out, high! Rich people can have surprising tendencies. I asked only two hosts, one declined instantly,and second Jean Sérient, responded around 11, when I was somewhere around km50 of today's road, he accepted,very politely,said he will be arriving at 7:30pm,gave me the location and that's it!

can you guess what my hosts hobby is? ;-)

I WILL SLEEP IN MONACO!!!today's road was okay,a lot of mountains,and wind, but the more I went to Côte D'Azure richest parts, the more people would smile at me!!and they would wave,and let me cross the street politely.SO MANY RUNNERS!!! Really,the coast is full of sporty people,smiling and passing by.I visit ed Fréjus,very nice,not as touristic as I expected, and on the way were so many restaurants with private pools,golfing,tennis courts,beaches, everything....I can't imagine what a meal there costs... probably all of my organs if I was to sell them before this trip- now they are distinctly smaller(ie liver?).

 Nice was nice (HAHA,I am so proud of this sentence) no but really, its sooooo big, has great, marvelous bike roads,plenty of people,the huge airport with all sorts of planes.

quite fun on a bike

And then my phone battery died, few km from Monaco(so many hills on the arrival!!! my legs died million little deaths and finally behaved like zombies- were a little bit dirty from chain grease and too slow to catch up ;-) so I made pit stop on the way, and in someone's parking lot I found a charging spot, I know, private property and all, but it was fully opened and nobody was there,when I tried asking....so I sat down,charged my phone to 24%(which I though would be enough for my arrival at Monaco)and right when I was leaving a shiny mercedes S class appears, and a well dressed women goes out to tell me "it's okay,stay if you need to, are you all right?" Awwwww, so sweet!So I finally arrived at Monaco with ,4% battery,and guess what, my polish phone company(Play)doesn't have a contract here so guess who didn't have internet or calls? Yeah, and how do you meet with someone, when you can't message them or call, or anything really....then my phone died, but I remembered the address, and I asked a policeman how to get there (old part of Monaco,right next to the prince palace,also highest part of the city :( ) he engaged a conversation with me about the trip, showed me the way and wished the best of luck(I didn't expect that at all)in the end he look like he wanted to hug me...

I arrived under the doorstep of the address and just sat down....what else could I do?and My host Jean arrived at his motorcycle(so clean it looked new xD) opened his garage,which was really a salon (yes  couches, tables and TV, with his Lamborghini parked inside) and I thought,nah that's not him, but he came over said hello,and told me he is my host,yeah,my chin fell down.

Great view or what?  isn't it wonderful world where you can sleep in place like this plus meet great person as a bonus?

He is an ex-racing driver,so the car is understandable, but the 3 level house with views off all the city? WOW, that's cool,and it's even cooler that he hosts people,and I must say, he wasn't snob,or anything like that, just a normally down-to-earth person(maybe this is because drivers seat in sport cars is so down to earth? ;-), I had a shower, he put the washing machine with my clothes,and said, I will put on some music and I have already vegan food prepared for you. Turns out, he did a similar trip with his friend 5 years ago (he is middle aged man, so that's something!! ask your father when he is going to cycle around the Europe ;-) 3000km on his bike, with absolutely no money to begin with, It makes necessary to go out of your comfort zone. To survive they need to ask people for money when finishing cycling day, and also ask for water & food and bed, he told me at some point he got rid of the sleeping bag and rest of stuff, because the weight annoyed him (I wish I had that courage and security that someone will eventually give me a bed) And you know, he is so admirable, he made me believe I can do this, and I felt normal,because finally there is someone else who has done this and it's ok. We talked a lot, and in the morning he gave me fresh cold water,asked if I need anything, made sure I didn't leave any of my stuff, and on my way out, he said, "listen,I want you to be safe, so please take this as a gift from me, it's not much, but it might give you some security" so yes, I am again sponsored with 20€, and he said to message him about my progress, and if I ever need help or sleeping place, he might have friends who can help me....this mental support!!!! What a great day