Sunny Posh Southern France & Monaco

EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES

DAY 8 BARCELONA TO ANTIBES - FRENCH RIVERIA THU 14-JUL-05

Very long bus ride through the dry country really reminded me of Oz. Slept nearly all the way. We had a lunch stop at the medieval walled city of Aigues Morte which is in France. It's just a relatively little town but well, inside a enormously high wall. Something to see if you're in the area and pretty unique from what else I've seen but unless it's 'your thing' I wouldn’t break my back to get there. It's a quaint place but my original quote still stands. Back on the bus to finish this leg arriving just in time to pitch tents and have dinner before dark. More drinks were had. Jonesy had more that a share thanks to a game the boys devised including a hackey sack, a throwing arm and your privateers and beverage of choice.

DAY 9 FRENCH RIVERIA - NICE FRI 15-JUL-05

Choice of Nice or Cannes to visit today. Lost my maps so had to go with the group. Did want to see Cannes but no one else I found was going there.
Took a train ride to Nice which was free due to an inoperable ticket machine. Went shopping and came away with some silver thongs to wear for dressing up. Meet up with some tour people for more shopping and ended up on the beach. Pebble beaches only in Nice. Cannes has a sand beach as well as pebble ones. Met up with more people on a private beach were I left my stiff to go swimming out to the pontoon. Came back in and lay on the pebbles sunbathing. Felt so good. Water was not as salty and definitely cleaner than Barcelona.
Mid afternoon we took a train back from Niceville (meanwhile I can feel the suns rays heating me skin. I hate wearing clothes at a time like this) to Biot. Packed up my bag (whoo..) and sorted ourselves for tonight's outing to Monaco and the Monte Carlo Grand Casino.
After a fabulous chicken dinner (thanks Ducky) we coached through Nice at night (dusk anyway) and stopped for a brief photo op with champagne on a cliff top above Nice. Just beyond the trees you could see my house. The one I'll own after I conquer the world and marry Prince Money Money. Forget Charming, I want Money Money. Lest then, I lament, I could continue traveling indefinitely. But honestly, yes everything is mansion-like with stunning vistas and those cool swimming pools without walls but to me it would seem hollow. I wouldn't turn it down if someone offered it to me but I'm after so much more than that enormous opulent stuff. Continuing our drove through Monaco we heard the story of the Royal Family. It struck me then how families are all so similar. We all have those things that we're told define us as human and it doesn't matter on our social standing. The only thing that changes is how many people hear our story. I wonder what people would think if my family were royalty or famous and heard our stories. Bends the minds that type of thinking..
We stopped at the Palace of Monaco for posh photo taking. Walked past the Church of Monaco, with the grave of Princess Grave Kelly. To the Monte Carlo Casino. 10 euro and a passport gets you entrance into the Grand Casino. They've got to be kidding. There were 7 roulette tables operating and 2 black jack tables. The building was very nice and the toilets were operated by the wave of your hand but there was just no atmosphere. I'd say even an atmosphere hollow. Anti-atmosphere. Like a black hole. Not a bad analogy when you consider the minimum bets on the black jack tables were 25 euros on one and 100 euros on the other. The room we were "allowed" into was obviously the curious tourist room. The building was enormous from the outside so obviously there are many other "hidden" rooms for what we would term the "eh-gads high-rollers". Well Monaco does have the highest average income of any country in the world.
Outside the casino was more exciting. Car park sounds such a dowdy work to describe it but that's kinda what it was.. I know a few people who'd loose all power of speech if they saw that place. Pretty pretty cars. You can have the BMWs, Ferraris and Ducatis. I'll take the Range Rover.
Taking the coach home we drove on part of the Monaco F1 track. Straight to the bar where we found a really drunk Contiki rep Sam. Few scotches, few shots, then it got really smoky so I went in hunt for my li-low.

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