Hotel Balmoral Monte-Carlo

... the local bar and settled in for a few drinks and complimentary tapas.<br><br>Wed 11 Nov<br>Riva Ligura even better in the sunlight had a pretty little piazza and church which had a beautiful painted interior - much unexpected by us. The novalty factor was it had automatic sliding doors!

After brekkie it was onto Menton which is a lovely little town just before the Italian border. Menton is a much more down to earth place than its neighbours and more our scene. We found a park right on the beach and went for a wander and took in sum much needed sun. Next stop Italia!!<br>

... and not campervan parking friendly. We found a picture perfect stop just after Monte Carlo at the top of a hill overlooking the Med. We had the place to ourselves so we russelled up some brekkie in the sun which was lovely, so much so we were in t-shirts!!!

Gorgeous morning and a stunning place for breakfast awaited us just outside Scooby overlooking the lake. I went for a run but Kim was feeling a little under the weather so she stayed and made me breakfast - yay! We spotted two girls about our age and attempted to engage in some conversation but their English was limited and French is rubbish. Shame as its manily been the grey hair brigade we ...

... the strike could last 3 months, in which case I may have to buy a Fiat.<br><br>Travel:<br>Last weekend myself and three friends, Jared, Amanda and Sylvain, rented a car and headed south. Luckily one of my classmates, Sylvain, is French and knew the area quite well. The first day we drove to Monaco. As we approached the coast we were greeted by the French air force doing all kinds of impressive, well choreographed, aerial stunts. We descended the rather built ...

Cannes is not as glamrous as we thought it would be, it still has all the fancy smancy stores along the beach, but there were definitely no red carpets rolled out when we were there. We did a day trip to St-Tropez, its was the end of a hge sailing competitiona and tons of ...

... the Grimaldi family. And where Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly joined in marriage in St. Nicholas Cathedral. In the square of Monaco-Ville, the Royal Palace could be found. From here, you could see all the districts of Monaco including Fontevielle, La Condamine and Monte-Carlo. Not to mention the breathtaking view of Port Hercules, more commonly known as the Port of Monte-Carlo! Here you could see the ...

... That is saying a lot since its coming from someone who couldn&#8217;t care less about gardening. <br><br>A road is tunneled under a corner of the park and a cave, the Grotted de I&#8217;Observatoire, is under the garden as well. This cave is cool, silent and dark with an array of stalagmites and stalactites&#8212;just what you would expect to find in a cave. In this cave was found evidence of prehistoric humans ...

... gave me and each of the guests some chips to play with while in the casino. Of course, everyone was still dressed in their formal wear and the casino was just a fun way to end a great evening. I think it was around 2 AM before we headed back to the yacht. Since I hadn't slept the night before, I went straight to bed.

... stand.<br><br><br><br>Heading a little further up from the harbour, I marvelled at the side-by-side stores of Gucci, Dolce &amp; Gabbana and Dior, plus many others. I imagined one day being invited in to these stores, rather than alarmingly dissuaded by the odd serious looking doorman with a frown that seemed to be tattooed to his forehead ...