France

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My European leg of my travels left from London EARLY in the morning, as we drove out to the White Cliffs of Dover to catch our ferry over to Paris. We got there in no time after passing through World War II battlefields and checking out the countryside.

Our first activity on day one was a twilight drive through Paris in our coach, simply to get our bearings, which was probably the best time to see the city, as all the monuments are lit up with mood lighting and spotlights. We stopped at the Eiffel Tower and were even lucky enough to see it ‘sparkle’ at 9pm, just before our drive around the Arc De Triomphe and down the Champs Elysees .
The next day, being total experts on where everything was, we were let loose on the Capital with some free time to see the sights. First mission was to climb up the Eiffel Tower to get a bird’s eye view of Paris, followed by my first crepe. From there we tried our luck with the Metro system and made our way out to the Arc de Triomphe again for a closer look. It was about then that myself and Rick realized that we were running low on time and ‘high-tailed’ it to the Musee du Louvre and down a back entrance that we had been told about to check out the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, among other things. A quick run down to the Notre Dame and our day was over and done with. That night we were treated to some French cuisine, and while most people attended a Cabaret show, a few of us waited around and checked out the red light district, a strip club, and some bars.

Our next stop was Switzerland, but I will get to that next blog. For now I want to talk about Nice and the French Riviera. Another day on the bus travelling from the Swiss Alps, through the north of Italy and down to the Riviera saw some pretty amazing sights. I was stunned by the highways built along that stretch of road; it seemed we would come out of a tunnel, across a raised motorway 100m off the ground and then punch through another mountain, over and over again. None of this driving over hills like we do back home! Once we got to camp it was time for a drink…or two…
The next day we toured a perfumery on a hillside before heading down to Nice as we needed some clothes to hit up the Monte Carlo casino that night. A few of us had lunch on the beach and were treated to some skinny dipping from a huge old French woman. Yay. I should also mention we saw where Grace Kelly died (if anyone cares).
That night on the way to Monaco we stopped at the top of a hill overlooking the super-yachts in the harbour for a photo shoot and some vino. Once in Monte Carlo we hit up the Grand Casino, dressed up like rock stars, and I walked out 80Euros up and Daily won 200Euros both on the Roulette Table. Haha, after a snooty man told us we would loose because we were betting ‘too small’. Shut up Frenchie! Needless to say we had to have a beer to celebrate, even though it cost $30, and then checked out the Lamborghini’s, BMW’s, Bentleys, etc etc. These people have way too much money to burn.

And that was France…

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Photos

Military School
Where Napoleon trained