Hotel Le Vendome Cannes

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 I´d love to visit once a year minimum.....

... Not only have the donations received already far exceeded my expectations, but the kind words and general interest and support that I have received have been amazing. So thank you all. It is all very much appreciated and I can't believe that between us we really will change these little lives. It is my motto here in Antibes, but this is the ultimate "think globally; act locally ...

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

... for 6.50. Being slightly poor after Paris, we gladly took advantage of this offer, however there's only so many mini pizzas you can stomach.

The next morning, we mastered the tram service quickly and loved listening to the recorded messages that announced which stop we were at.... so chic and cute. Dani was geared up for some serious sun and sand - I mean this is the Riviera after all. She was a little disappointed when we walked down to the beach and discovered that instead of sand ...

... and small delis. The driver parked the bus on the steeply sloped parking lot about 2 blocks from the town and we walked up the mountain the last few blocks. Here on the top of the mountain there are mainly just walks up or down the mountain with vary few level walks. But we were in good shape and the ups and downs added to dramatic look of the town built literally on a mountain top. So we walked past a large outdoor café with a larger dirt field in front. This was the local ...

... some nice twisties. Lunch in Carpantras (Steak and Chip buttie for 4Euro!) and then on to Cannes. More tolls and busy motorways (toll booths in a RHD car with no passenger require some serious agility). The hotel in Cannes is a low key affair, and very easy to miss...

... trying to overdo gold, or differentiate in some way that I can't even explain to be honest. The beach looked like it was from a Mr Potatohead playset, being almost bolted onto the front of the old port area, and in the pay-for-the-priveldge areas, they had planted plastic palm trees and had neatly arranged rows of plastic deck chairs and matching parasols. This scene which Bridget spotted, kinda sums up Cannes: It was brutally ...

... was on the outside of the room. So the only way you could have a shower was if someone was in the room to turn the light back on every time you screamed. And we weren't allowed to stay in the hostel during the day. Between ten and five we had to get out. And we couldn't eat, drink or smoke in our room. This left me with little to do. There were about three hundred rules, all listed on a card on the wall which we made a point not to read. We went out for the day (without a great ...