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Published: September 24th 2008
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Avignon
Place de l'Horloge, Avignon. An early start this morning, as we departed for Antibes, on the Côte d'Azur. Our morning song, ACDC's 'All Night Long', played once again on the way.
We stopped off at Avignon in Provence, for a couple of hours, allowing us to have lunch and explore the wonders of this medieval town. Avignon is enclosed by massive ramparts, and became a papal territory when Pope Clement V descended from Rome in 1309, and taking up residence in the Palais des Papes which is a towering sight overlooking the town. Avignon remained a papal territory until 1377, by which time every successor had transformed a once modest building into a magnificent palace. The town also contains other charming sights - the 13th-century Petit Palais, once the Archbishop of Avignon's residence, the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-des-Doms, and the 14th-century Eglise St-Didier.
Seven 'official' popes reigned Avignon until 1376. They were followed by two 'anti-popes', the last of whom, Benedict XIII, fled in 1403. Popes and anit-popes were little known for their sanity; Clement V died eating powdered emerald after being told it was an indigestion cure, Clement IV thought the best way to honour God was through luxury, and Petrarch was apparently
Avignon
Palais des Papes, Avignon. shocked by "the filth of the universe" at court. In 1367, Urban V tried to return the Curia (the papal court) back to Rome, a move that became permanent in 1377.
We all walked to the Palais des Papes, and this is where we all split up. From here a few of us (I believe Lloyd, Duncan, Jess, Erin and myself) walked along the place de l'Horloge, which is the square in the middle of town. There was music playing, and to one side there were many stalls and cafe marquees. It was a pleasant place and not at all busy or noisy. Some old guy, balancing walking sticks accosted Erin. I think he managed to balance around ten or so on her, and started to parade her around. It was quite embarrassing for her.
Some of the guys wanted to find a web café, so we walked around the old town. We couldn't find anywhere for quite a while, though found one eventually. I didn't need to use it, so Jess and I went and bought some ice cream. It was nice and refreshing.
Shortly after we got some lunch. I had a slice of pizza.
Avignon
Palais des Papes, Avignon. Then we somehow managed to lose the guys, so Erin, Jess and I struggled to find our way around. Luckily we stumbled upon the main square again where we had all split up in the first place so we traced our way back from there.
As we arrived back at the coach we were in sight of the Pont St-Bénézet, the renowned 12th-century bridge, which was largely destroyed during the floods of 1668. A tiny chapel (Chapelle St-Nicholas) still stands on one of the arches.
Avignon had lots of quaint, little shops, and they all seemed to stock lavender. Perhaps this was the main export from here, though I didn't remember us travelling through fields of lavender.
We arrived at Antibes, in the Côte d'Azur, at around 4pm. Well actually our campsite was located in Biot, along Route de la Mer. We had two-share cabins, which were good. The facilities were also really what we all needed; spacious cabins, showers, a great bar, and places to chill out and relax. It was to be my favourite campsite of the entire tour. The Côte d'Azur became popular during Victorian times, as a holiday venue of Europe's royalty and
Avignon
A cute Labrador photographed down one of the narrow Avignon streets. rich. Many came to gamble in the exclusive casinos, while others just wanted to escape the northern winters. The French Rivieira is a popular attraction all year round, with its glamourous beaches and nightlife.
After dinner we departed for our night out in Monte-Carlo. Our drive through Monaco was slightly hampered by some traffic problems, however Craig did get his chance, to recreate a Formula One start on the Monaco road. He stopped totally, and then put on the Grand Prix music, where the race start was counted down. Once it was 'Go!', he floored the coach, and we all cheered, then he started to weave the coach across the wide road.
Monaco was first a Greek settlement, which was then taken over by the Romans, before being bought from the Genoese in 1297 by the Grimaldi family. In spite of some bitter family feuds, and at least one political assassination, they still rule as the world's oldest monarchy. Prince Rainier III, a descendent of the Grimaldi's, has been Monaco's ruler since 1949. His wife was the former film star Grace Kelly, who died tragically in a car crash in 1982. The heir to the throne is their
Avignon
Pont St-Bénézet, Avignon. son, Albert, although their daughters Caroline and Stephanie have attraction more of the media's spotlight.
Monaco is quite an exclusive place to live, with a population of only 30,000, and on an island of just under two square miles in size, it has the highest gross annual turnover per head. As there are no taxes to pay in Monaco, it has also become a popular tax haven for many celebrities and successful people.
Our main destination in Monte-Carlo was to be the casinos. We passed the Stade Louis II stadium, home to Monaco football club, which was illuminated spectacularly. There was a game being played that night. We were amazed by some of the views we were getting as we travelled along.
We stopped off at the entrance to the tunnel, which is used as the exit tunnel for the Formula One races held annually here. Then we got a lift up to the main square, where the Grand Casino is situated. My photos didn't come out too well again here. We then went to the Sun Casino, passing one of the famous chicanes which led to the famous hotel tunnel. On arrival at the casino, I
Monaco
En route to Monaco. had to leave my video camera at the entrance along with some of the others. No photos or video was allowed. A number of us obviously didn't know casino games, so we found a horse racing game, where you used strategy (and luck!) to try and win money. I changed up 20 euros into chips, and had a flutter.
I won a couple of times, though lost the chips in the end, though some of the others had wins. I know Kylie had a few wins on the blackjack I think, which was really good. I don't know the games well enough to play them, though Erin did explain to me the rules and strategies of craps as we watched one of the games being played. We were too engrossed in watching the game, as there was some serious money being placed, that we nearly missed our coach back to Biot. Luckily we made it back before they left, otherwise it would have been a long walk back.
From here, we then picked the coach up, and travelled back to our Antibes camp, before going straight to the bar. We were all buzzing that night, as it had
Monaco
En route to Monaco. been a good night out, so we all fancied a few drinks.
That night, our oath was also sworn (the girls on the tour would find out on the very last night of our tour what this was!). The drink certainly flowed, and many people had a great evening. The bar closed, and we were then all left outside. Everyone was getting quite rowdy, so we all decided to “call it a night”, as it was 3:15am. However, quite a few ended up carrying the night on somewhere else. A crate of Grolsch was involved I believe!
Also tonight, there was to be an almighty thunderstorm and heavy rain. I rememeber being woken up, and thinking I hope those guys got back OK without getting a drenching.
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