Hotel Omega Valbonne

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>

Up early as it was a spectacular sunrise - full of pinks and organges. We wanted to hit McWifi before we entered Italy but we did not find one until later in the day in Menton. Before that we drove the coast road through Nice and Monte Carlo, both concrete ...

... seen and spoken to, to date. <br> Set off mid morning to drive through Gorges du Verdon, again another stunning drive. This time though the weather was kind to us and we were able to get out for a hike after lunch. It seemed like a popular drive as we encountered several other tourists, one couple were eating lunch at the same spot we were. They packed up their picnic, took a swig out of ...

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 ...

... menu. Lambrusca. If you haven't had it before, its a wonderful young sparkling red wine. (please disreguard the last comment, the wine was horrible)<br><br>http://picasaweb.googl e.com/Jonny.D.Lawrence/20090927NiceAnti besCannesStTropez?authkey=Gv1sRgCPzYpeu 2gIC7Jw&amp;feat=directlink

... we opted not to return to the Ruby Princess just yet. Instead we chose to visit the casino in Monte-Carlo. Here, we found where the rich and famous come to play! There were BMW's, Mercedes, Audi's, Porsche's, Ferrari's and even a Lamborghini. We even witnessed a Volkswagon wedding car. Hmm! A wedding in Monte-Carlo! Can you say $$$$$$$?<br><br>We couldn't make a visit to the casino without making a wager ...

... capital of the world (Grasse) and the medieval towns amongst the hills. These photos show some of the beautiful streets and buildings, also the issues with parking around these small villages with tiny streets. This car was parked so close to the wall, but the driver probably does this every day as there was not a scratch on the car.

... Just about every store is selling some sort of fashionable shoes or clothing. Our hotel was located with little difficulty and we met our hostess who is a middle aged French woman who lives in the hotel with her daughter who is not more than 3 years old. The hotel is very homey and it is the first place we have stayed that has a guest kitchen. The attractions in Nice are of less of a historical significance as those in Nimes, but ...

... Lovely!! Definitely storybook quality! Then dinner at a hillside outdoor cafe, and then, on to the famous casino of Monte Carlo. It felt just like being in a James Bond movie. How lovely to be among the "beautiful" people. The cars and the high fashion were enough to make you drool! Bill and I passed on the fancy casino, with its 10 euro admission, and instead visited the Cafe de Paris, where it didn't ...

... king of Sardinia. It remained under Sardinian protectorship until 1860, when an agreement between Napoleon III and the House of Savoy assisted in the removal of the Austrians from northern Italy, prompting France to repossess Savoy and the Nice area. During the 19th century Nice took off as a beach resort, and was one of the first cities in Europe to develop a purely tourist-based economy. The seaside destination was particularly popular with the English aristocracy, who followed Queen ...