Cannes Croisette Prestige

ok, it was more "collecting a new country" than being really interested in Monaco. Strange, when you go there from Nice airport by bus it costs you 18 € one way, when you go from Nice bus terminal it costs 1 € one way. Monaco is a very clean city. I have never seen so many big and expensive cars. I saw the casino and the castle. Nice, but not spectacular.

I know I always write the same...great weather, such a nice city, good food....but I have to say that Nice was a (very) big surprise for me, I can say that it is my favourite city in Europe (ok, number 2 after Lisbon). You have the mountains, the Cote dŽAzur (when you see the water you know why the name is Cote dŽAzur), the market with fresh vegetables, fruits, honey, oil, soap, you have great restaurants ...

... Not only have the donations received already far exceeded my expectations, but the kind words and general interest and support that I have received have been amazing. So thank you all. It is all very much appreciated and I can't believe that between us we really will change these little lives. It is my motto here in Antibes, but this is the ultimate "think globally; act locally ...

... of the retired variety... nothing wrong with that, but even they are thin on the ground. Of course this has a lot to do with the time of year we are travelling and there is a festival van circuit the young antipodian crowd do each year, which is not really our thing. So it is our own fault for choosing this time and this route. The end result is that we tend to pounce upon anyone speaking English in the near vicinity. We haven't scared anyone off yet so we mustn't seem too desperate.

... curly so it really isn't surprising that accidents are a regular occurrence.

Monaco is the world's second smallest country (after Vatican City) less than 2 square km, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in decadence! Streets are manicured, lavish hotels and casinos line the waterfront, and the harbour is chock a block with gigantic, plush boats.

Once we arrived we visited the Palais du Prince (or ...

... that we were still in french territory, we feasted on delish pastries galore. Dee sampled her first proper French choc eclair...OH MY GOD was her reaction! Lewey even had dessert envy, and we both laughed at the fact that our tea cost more than the dessert (so very cheap in France for the desserts, bad bad bad as we are rapidly tripling our size, wondering how we will fit on the plane home)!

Feeling a little too much like a backpacker, and needing a tidy up before donning a bathing ...

... served on a platter. Next were little kabobs that had cantaloupe, ham, mint and tomatoes on them. Sounds gross, but they were REALLY good. Next were little chocolate mousses and then came a little warm hand towel, tea or coffee and little chocolates. It was a perfect way to end my spring break (and it was less than 70 Euros from Venice to Nice on an airline called Flybaboo! I had my doubts). We arrived at the airport around 11 and walked to the Saint-Augustine ...

... and went to the Palais where they hold many of the Cannes film festival events. Then we walked a little way along the beach until it was time for us to return to our meeting point for the start of the tour.

We were loaded on to buses and drove directly to Nice. They parked our bus a few blocks from the flower market and we decided to follow the guide down to the market for a quick tour. We then stopped by a boulangerie and had ...

... but with smaller balls and no pins. I believe that the balls are made out of some sort of metal, and sadly I don't know the rules behind the game, but traditionally it is played by men of all ages actually but in the case of my visit to St. Paul de Vince, the players were all elderly men. While the men were playing their game of boule children were running in and around the square under the watchful eye of female ...

... clear water remind me of Hawaii, California, and Cabo san Lucas put together...and it's all one block from my College. The College is on the west end of Cannes, about a ten minute walk into downtown along the beachfront promenade. The city part is very beautiful, full of shops and cafes and lots and lots of tourists. Tourist season is winding down though, plus there's a wonderful old part of town with a great stone ...