Côte d'Azur

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I woke up rather late today at 9:30. I was actually very tempted to just go back to sleep or down to the promenade and vegetate all day. In the end though, the "gung-ho" part of my travelling personality won: I'm only in Nice for 3 days, and I'm not going to be stopping at Avignon. In other words, this is it for the French Riviera. Thus, I hauled myself to the train station and got on a regional train to Monaco (€6.5 return). The minute you get out of the train station into the area around Port Hercule, it becomes very clear that this is the playground of the rich. I wasn't even aware some of the larger and more extravagant yachts lining the harbour existed. I didn't really feel all that comfortable in Monaco (probably because I don't have the right kind of bank account). I was there anyways though, so I played the good tourist and visited the palace (in time for the changing of the guard), as well as the Musée Oceanographique (aquarium) and of course, Monte Carlo. I'll note that just for the heck of it, I pulled a slot machine or two in Monte Carlo Casino. Suffice it to say that just as I'm not that fond of Monaco, Monaco's famous casino didn't favour me much either. Ironically, my favourite place was probably the aquarium, because they have a very large and well presented assortment of mediterranian and tropical sea-life. I actually got to see clown-fish up close darting among sea anemones.

I didn't see much point in hanging around Monaco all day (my foot injuries from Cinque Terre meant that I had no interest in swimming, not that there are any real free beaches in central Monaco), so I hopped on a return train at about 3pm. I noticed that said train didn't terminate in Nice, but Cannes rather. Since I wanted to see Cannes anyways, and with time on my hands, I decided to just stay on the train. Of course my ticket didn't really cover me past Nice, but in the spirit of impulsiveness, I kinda overlooked that little bit....

Cannes is nice, but just nice. It's like Nice (no pun intended) in that it's ideal if you just want a tropical town with lots of shopping to wander around in for a bit. I wasn't really equipped to lie on the beach (Cannes actually has some nice sandy beaches), so I just people-watched, except for an excursion up to the Sequet (an old fort) on top of the hill in the old town. It was interesting, though unfortunate for me to note that Cannes is below that size threshold that all the restaurants serve dinner at the traditional hour, which is around 8pm. Having had only a sandwich for lunch in Monaco, I was stuck grabbing a crepe from a cafe in lieu of proper dinner. All in all, I like Cannes better than Monaco. I didn't have the time, but otherwise, Cannes actually has a very rich cultural scene. I'd love to be there during the film festival of course, but even just looking at the posters along the streets, there's an abundance of good music and theatre all summer long. I took special note that Willy Deville (who I didn't even know was still playing) is scheduled to perform in a couple of weeks. I think Cannes is a good stop if you can spend a couple of days here, or if you're with people who love to shop. The main street (Rue d'Antibes), is lined with boutiques and brand-name shops for almost its entire length.

I guess I'm being a little harsh overall. I think it's just that I had the wrong expectations. I think coming out of Cinque Terre, I was looking more for something more low-key (which is why I'm heading into Provence tomorrow). The "holidayness" of Nice and the Côte d'Azur in general was just a bit of a shock. Make no mistake though, I'm looking forward to unrestrained beach-towns, just a little more down the road (think Barcelona and Pamplona). On the other hand, big cities have their benefits. There are actually malls here in Nice (first ones I've seen in Europe), you can get internet for €2 an hour, and there's fast food and Chinese food if you want something closer to home.

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Photos

Monaco from the Palace
The whole city just screams "playground". Not really my scene. Maybe when my bank account has a few more zeros in the positive direction?

Changing of the Guard
By sheer chance, I got to the palace in time for the changing of the guard.

Clownfish!
Discovery Channel is great, but seeing them in person is a whole lot better. The aquarium was probably the highlight of my Monaco trip.

Monte Carlo Casino
One of the most famous casino's in the world had me feeling distinctly out of place. Granted however, that when you're backpacking/hostelling, fashion isn't exactly high on your list of priorities.

Posh Crowd
The Monte Carlo apparently attracts quite the posh crowd. You should have seen the lineup of cars aside the valet parking. One in particular caught my eye. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's a Mercedes AMG McClaren F1. Not exactly something you find at your typical dealer...

Floating in Style
That one is simply the most convenient one to photograph at the moment. It was by no means the largest or most elaborate.

Cannes
The trek up to the Sequet was taxing, but worth it for the panoramic view.

A Rare Sandy Beach
Travelling in this region, you realize that sandy beaches aren't actually that common in the Italian and French Riviera. Given more time, I definitely wouldn't have minded spending half a day here, or in Antibes (half way between Nice and Cannes), which apparently has even better beaches. Not too dissapointed though - I'm heading to Barcelona and San Sebastian.

Comments

[va7jc]

Cheap train ride
So Andrew.. the train ride is pretty cheap, eh? I didn't realise that.. :-) Enjoy your trip.!