Day 6 & 7: Cannes, Nice and Monaco

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03/09/2012 - We were in our bright green Picasso early this morning, I was behind the wheel as we drove our way through South-East France towards Nice. On the way we decided to briefly stop in Cannes to check it out, both Hannah and I had never been before. We parked the car and headed towards the beautiful beach full of bars, restaurants, but not people, it was dead. The weather wasn’t great so I could understand why it was so quiet outside, and after a short walk along the beach front the heavens opened and we were soaking wet. We rushed back to the car and continued our journey towards Nice as the rain came down. It took about another hour until we arrived in Nice and it was time to drop off our bright green Picasso which had taken us all the way from Bergerac to Nice, we’d driven over 1000kms to get here. Before we could hand the car over we had to fill it with fuel and we’d passed loads of petrol stations on the motorway but I was adamant we could find one close to the main train station in the city centre. But no, I was driving around the dodgy backstreets and suburbs of Nice looking for a single petrol station and couldn’t find a thing. I was getting really frustrated, it was painful, I was so sick of driving in circles wasting time. Finally we found one on the outskirts of Nice, filled the car and headed back into town to the train station and dropped off the car, thank god, there was no more driving.

We checked in at the run down Ibis hotel next door threw our bags in our rooms then met back in the hotel reception. The weather clearing up for this afternoon and I really wanted to head into Monaco while the weather was half decent. The next few days in Nice were forecasting heavy rain. So midafternoon we bought return tickets to Monaco and took the double decker train into Monte Carlo. I loved this place, I’d been here once before and couldn’t wait to go back. When we arrived at the Monte Carlo train station we headed through the streets of Monaco and climbed up to the lookout point near the Palace. The views across Monaco were incredible and although it was still quite cloudy, the weather had really improved. After a few photos of the stunning views we made our way to the Musee Oceanographique and jumped on la petit train. The small tourist train drove down into the center of the city following the famous Grand Prix circuit which ran through the city towards casino square, then back via the harbor, my parents could not believe they were actually here.

La petit train dropped us back off at the Musee Oceanographique where Hannah and I decided to have a look inside the aquarium while my parents roamed through the narrow streets of the old town. The aquarium was interesting enough, although it was surprisingly small and only confined to a single level in this huge building, but good nonetheless. After we’d explored the entire museum Hannah and I went to the observation area on the roof of the Musee Oceanographique for more spectacular views of Monaco. We eventually left the museum and met my parents who were waiting outside for us. We went to have one last look at the views, a few more photos then decided to head back to Nice to have dinner. Most of the train ride back was spent searching through Trip Advisor for good restaurants which were close to the station and our hotel. There was one in particular which sounded pretty good and was rated highly and really close to the station. We had a good meal before returning to our hotel for the night.

04/09/2012 – We’d spent the entire last week with my parents and showing them around the South of France so today we decided to split up for the day so we could each explore Nice on our own. Hannah and I slept in as long as we could before having breakfast at the hotel the heading out in Nice to have a look around. We headed straight for the beach and walked all the way round the cliff side to the marina on the other side of the city. We were looking for somewhere decent to have lunch but after not finding anything here we turned around and walked back into the center of Nice and found a small restaurant serving pub-like food. For the rest of the afternoon we just roamed the streets of Nice, it was my Mum’s birthday in a few days so we were searching for a few small presents. Eventually we returned to the hotel and soon after met my parents and headed for dinner at a lovely restaurant nearby the hotel we’d found on Trip Advisor.

Day 6 & 7:
Saint Aygulf - Cannes - Nice & Monaco
73 KM TRAVELLED // 1,045 KM TOTAL
Nice Centre Gare Hotel

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Photos

Monaco
Looking down at the beautiful blue Mediterranean.

Monaco
Unbelievable views across stunning Monaco.

Monaco
The impressive Monaco Cathedral.

Monaco
Riding le petite train through the streets of Monaco

Nice
Stunning views across Nice beach.