Club Med Opio

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 d´Azur (when you see the water you know why the name is Cote d´Azur), the market with fresh vegetables, fruits, honey, oil, soap, you have great restaurants ...

It is Sunday and very wet and miserable here in Antibes. Quite a change from the glorious day we had yesterday. Ideal for computer work in fact... (Except that then things didn't pan out as planned and it is now Monday)

It wasn't my intention to have an entry before my departure but the response to my initial circular has been so overwhelming that I feel it merited an ...

... we still would not be being tourists until 10am at the earliest. Because of our limited space Kim has become much more aware of the amount of rubbish we throw away as we have to take out the trash after every meal. Upside to Campervaning... the freedom is great. You can go to all of the little villages which are so difficult to get to when your backpacking. You're not tied to accommodation bookings or having to hunt out hostels on arrival to your destination. And you ...

... of Prince Albert - no joke), then walked along the harbour. The harbour had a full fairground atmosphere with rides, games, food, lights etc. We had the most delicious kebab for dinner from a stall :-) So posh!

We then followed the curve of the harbour to gape at the boats moored there. The amount of money people obviously have is just obscene!

Next we thought maybe we would have a go at trying to win ...

... chick who looked after Dee was delightful and even though she also did not speak much English, Dee tried as much french as she could and of course those amusing hand gestures are always helpful, and Dee thinks that through this combination they were mostly able to understand each other.

Unfortunately our sun-bathing and pool time that we had put aside for the weekend didn't quite work out as planned as it was overcast and rainy (bloody weather report on poddie is not to be trusted ...

Leave from nice on the Chemins de fer de Province (diesel train) to Touet-sur-Var. And then the steam train to Entrevaux, city with amazing views. On the way back a quick stop in Puget-Théniers.

My camera battery died once we hit Entrevaux so no photos :(

At this point I wish to go MIA and be found a year later lounging by Caralyn and Ian's pool downing rose- a fantastic place nestled in the hills between Nice and Cannes coastline and a stone's throw from Monaco....a tough life here! I cannot really describe how lovely the place is so the pictures will have to suffice. The local restaurants are great and Lauren has continued her pomme frites and jambon diet with relish.
Cote D'azur is ...

... at this place though given that it was a whole lobster, and in Monaco, but I'll keep the price tag a secret because I would hate to shock you mum! Having indulged ourselves we were planning on catching the train back to Nice, but for some reason the track was out of action, and a bus had been scheduled to take its place. I'm fairly certain that everyone who was supposed to be on a several carriage train was crammed into this ...

... sparkling Mediterranean. We were surrounded by perfectly groomed streets, lush gardens with flowering hibiscus and blossom and chic boutiques and extravagantly opulent 19th century pleasure palaces. We heared about the principality of Monaco which has been under the rule of the Grimaldi family for most of the period since 1297 and is a sovereign state with close ties to France. It has been ruled since 1949 by Prince Rainier II, who updated Monaco and ...