CONTIKI - FRENCH RIVERIA (Nice/Cannes/Monte Carlo)
Trip Start
Apr 05, 2009
1
18
48
Trip End
Aug 12, 2009
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Antibes,
Provence,
France
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Today we left around 9am for another all day bus ride. On the way I couldn't sleep again:( We stopped in Arles along the way where there was a big bull stadium that still operates. Mitch and I went in and had a look, which was pretty cool. I was feeling a bit sick on the bus, so I sat right up the front and chatted to Sian and Muffin(driver) for a while. They are great! We have best group for our trip. Other Contiki staff and groups have been saying that too, which is an good indication:) We arrived in our Contiki Village in between Nice and Monaco in time for a welcome drink and dinner. We then hit the bar for a few drinks. We sat around playing games and telling stories for a while. It was a pretty quiet night for me and I bailed about 1am.
DAY 9 - FRENCH RIVERA
This morning we got the bus to a French perfume manufacturer, which was rather boring. But driving the coastal roads with cascading house filled hills and ocean views was amazing. This place is absolutely beautiful! Apparently they have something like 300 days of sunshine a year here and the lowest temperature in winter is about 18°. We then got dropped into Nice and had some lunch and a quick look around. Then Cory, Kyla, Danielle and I caught a train to Cannes, where the 62nd Cannes Film Festival was on. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, look it up or get into Entourage; it is world renowned. This was a spectacular day out. There were people everyone, and most of them beautiful people at that. Streets full of Audi, Aston, Porsche and many more. Even a Audi W12, for anyone who has seen Transporter or likes cars. We explored looking around at the private beaches, private tents, street performers, cameras, models and movie advertising everywhere. Unlike the beaches in Nice, the ones in Cannes had sand not stones. Cory and I got in for a swim, which was a tad cold but great all the same! There were palm trees lining the shore and apartments all along the foreshore. A mariner full of crazy big boats with the owner's Ferrari cars parked opposite their boats. The beach was full of sun baking people, the majority topless. Of course we weren't complaining;) But you have to take the good with the bad... Unfortunately no one wants to see 70 year old boobs on a beautiful beach. Anyway, the place was rich, beautiful and lots of fun; we loved it. There was an amazing singer on the street with the most insane voice, so Cory and I both brought his CD. We then headed back to the camp for dinner and then out to the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco driving along the coast and through Monaco, where they hold the Monaco Grand Prix. This country only has about 30 thousand people, of which only about 6 thousand live, the rest just use it as a tax haven. Apparently they abolished taxes because the casino makes enough money. This city looked, felt and smelt like the rich of the rich. The Casino was a REAL casino, like what you would see in the movies. A line of Ferrari cars out the front, each a different colour. Inside staff were wearing tuxedos and bow ties. The architecture was very impressive. Unfortunately we could only play Roulette, Black Jack or the slots. The rest is closed off for the high rollers. Cory was the big winner with €700. I was playing Roulette and for my final bet just before leaving I went all in with my last €115/€200. I won and left about €150 up, so I was very happy with that. It was a very elegant casino, nothing like crown. Crazy looking chips, drink service included on the tables, sticks to push your chips around the massive table with 4-5 staff at any one time servicing the table. Bar drinks were an astronomical €6.5 for a half pint. We headed back around 11pm, I had a couple of drinks and went off to bed around 1pm. Also I forgot to mention, the public toilets here don't have toilet seats... What's with that.
