Hotel Ibis Nice Aeroport

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 ...

... upon me it feels very strange and somewhat daunting. But to my knowledge no one has ever died from teaching children so I am sure I will survive.... My Amazon book order should arrive soon to inspire me. I am really looking forward to discovering the 100 things you can do with a paper plate. Life is never going to be the same!!

More when I start travelling...

... choice of routes and directions given. A classic is where we are on a main road with a slight bend and there is a goat track leading off the road. She tells us to turn right to avoid the goat track and stay on the highway... Sound advice, I would never have thought...Kim laughs as I often engage in conversation with Mary why she instructed me to go one way but blatantly ignored informing me about an important turn which I only noticed from looking at her screen. Maison d ...

... while she tries things on. Dani even splashed out on some gor-ge-ous black boots, on sale mais oui, they are so pretty, she wants to name them! As she decided to be smart and send them home rather than ruining them, she gave them a quick kiss goodbye and can't wait to return to her new European wardrobe. She's totally building a little winter collection for 2010 and beyond! Very excited to go somewhere, have someone compliment her and say 'oh thanks, but I got it in France!'.

Nice, Provence, France dan-and-dee

... Before we knew it, it was time to head back. I felt so at peace on the French Riviera, it exudes some kind of positive energy that cannot be explained. On the bus ride home, Christina and I chatted about our great trip, love, life, the importance of family, and our aspirations. I feel like I just got a taste and definitely have to go back for a longer period of time! I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Wish you all were here with me. xo

Tour with Robert and 2 Romanians.

- View of Nice

- View of harbour and fort at Villefranche, one of the nicest views in the world.

- Eze (long walk up, paid for botanical gardens/view area, rushed back down ending up in cemetery?. Eventually found way back down. 30mins tour of perfumery ...

... went to the Monaco town of Monte Carlo. The road there is very scenic, similar to the Great Ocean Road but much higher up. We passed the place where Grace Kelly died. It is an enormous drop, the road has now been altered to make it a little safer in that spot. After dinner we went to the Grand Casino where the James Bond movie "Casino Royale" was filmed. It was pretty good but didnŽt have the feel of a casino, there was no hype, the ...

... car to meander through Normandy. In an hour and a half we arrive in Lille and I've been too busy watching the scenery to read much of the paper. Unlike Paris, where you have to trek across on the Metro from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon, changing on to the TGV at Lille is a simple matter of getting off one train and waiting on the station to board another. We had about an hour to wait and spent the time introducing ourselves and trying to remember at ...