Hotel Eza Vista Eze

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 ...

... gesture. We can't change the world but we can change the way these children start off in life and who knows where that will lead....

It is less than 4 weeks now until I leave. There is much to do. I am trying to prepare myself for "teaching" 20 - 25 children. A bit of a challenge that. Much as I have known that I have always wanted to do something like this, now that it ...

... about a dog... Toilet time It is amazing how toilet dramas/stories are always a hot topic of conversation amongst travelers. I feel a little empty this time round as we have averted the problem as we have a Thetford cassette Porta Potti. Called "Theo"... We started out thinking would only use him in emergency situations but with the scarcity of public loos in France and more so in Italy means he is getting a lot more use than first planned. These loos are easy to empty and ...

... to Nice to our hotel.

The next day we had a full free day of wandering and sight-seeing. We walked along the Promenade des Anglais and climbed to the top of a cliffside to take in the breathtaking views of the promenade, the azure blue ocean and its beachfront and the old town from Parc du Chateau. We took heaps of photos then spent most of the afternoon chillaxing. In the evening we had a really nice dinner ...

... and Cannes. Dani was pumped for Cannes as this is where they hold THE Cannes film festival. Unfortunately, just as our luck would have it, the train we took was delayed by almost 2 hours, and we still don't know why. So it took us much longer to get to our first stop on our journey which was Antibes. We had been recommended to have some lunch there and apparently they have an awesome market. However thanks to the aforementioned delay, and our silly Dubcheck moves which will be revealed ...

... it was one of the nicest ones we've been to. .... so... the maps are in the car and I can't remember the name. Drove to the chaos that is Monaco for the afternoon. Even in the off season it is jam packed with tourists. Not much has changed there in 37 years. They are getting ready for the Grand Prix on May 21 so the streets are pretty chaotic. Tomorrow we head to Italy. Not sure where yet. .... probably towards the Cinque Terre.

After leaving Monte Carlo to head back to Nice, we stopped in Eze, another of hillside town. The old town was situated atop a hill and featured similarly small streets and alleys as Mougins, but this town seemed much older. Even though tourist season was mostly over, there were still ...

... the village and we would have to hike for over an hour to the top of the cliffs. The bus was the best way to go and it drops you off right in front of the village. I couldn't get a hold of Amber and Jim, so I just went and caught a train anyway. I didn't want to stand them up. I walked from the hostel to the bus stop that takes you to the train station and caught the number 23 bus. I didn't want to pay the €1.30 bus fee, so I took my ...