Hotel Kaly Ventimiglia

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.

... have an amazing view from Colline du Chateau. On saturday (November 28) we had sunshine and 19 degrees (end of November) and I was even swimming in the sea (15 gegrees), on sunday, November 29 we had rain and thunderstorms so that caused a delay of the plane of three hours. Best breakfast in town you find in "Les pains a tables" close to the market. Nice is a city IŽd love to visit once a year minimum.....

... 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 ...

... Moochelin star cooking It is my job to drive everywhere and keep Scoobs in good health, in return it is Kim's job to cook and clean... sounds like old school type casting but it works! The food has been great (and so has the driving) Kim has even joked about writing a Cookbook for campervaning. We have a 2 burner stove, griller and oven, as well as a small fridge/freezer and limited storage space, so our food is always super fresh. The day always starts with our ...

... at the Monte Carlo Casino. Mark was super keen on feeling like James Bond. He so wishes he was James Bond. It is kind of odd because once you are in the casino it is really quiet and not busy at all. Mark won about 300 euro so we were happy.

We checked out the start and finish line of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, along with the famous hairpin turn. Even the locals fang it around that corner.

We headed ...

... and just a main for Dee. This way, we could share the entree and dessert, without breaking the bank. For our entree we chose salad nicoise, as we figured when in Rome.... it was very nice (no pun intended) and Dee is already pumped to make it back home.

Thus concluded our stay on the French Riviera, a place we have definitely earmarked as somewhere to come back to, however we'll make sure its summer next time (and Dee will get a tan before arriving, so as not to offend the locals). Next stop, Barcelona.

... to the train station hoping to use the ticket to Cuneo we bought yesterday. The trains are still not running North. We again are stuck in Ventimiglia. Again a quick chat and a decision that we need to get out of this city means we hit the couch search again. There is another mid way town to Milan called Genova, directly west from where we are. We contact six hosts in the area, give them our number and prey one of them will get back ...

Hey Everyone! Alright, so I am alive and in France and this is what I have been doing since you have heard from me last! I left Florence for Cinque Terre and made a pit stop in Pisa on the way there. It was pretty exciting. The tower is still leaning. It is very touristy, but still fun. I took one of those stupid pictures where I am holding up the tower. I know, but it was completely essential. I almost didn't get one, but these ...

... we made our way back down the hill to the train station to catch our train to Tende only to find that our trains doors were all locked and they wouldn't let us on our train!! Very aware that the next train to Tende was in another four hours we decided to catch the train back to Breil and go from Breil to Ventimiglia instead. So we never made it to Tende, so l cant tell you what that train journey is like but l have heard its full of breathtaking gorge scenery. We had to ...

... 1993. Prince Rainier's rule modernised Monaco and weaned it from its dependence on gambling revenue, which in recent years has accounted for less than 5% of the GDP. Citizens benefited from a tax-free life of cradle-to-grave security. Tourism in all its permutations, from daytripping to conventioneering, became the backbone of the economy, although banking was also another major contributor to state coffers. The anonymity of those banking in Monaco is ...