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After the first beautiful, sunny day in Cannes, Nice followed in Rome’s footsteps and turned on the bleak weather. Fortunately, the sun came out in the afternoon and Ed and I went back to the hotel and changed straight into our summer gear. We had the yummiest French lunch, traditional crepes- both savory and sweet- we couldn’t resist! The long stretch of pebble beach and many fountains made for a nice afternoon stroll in the French town, too.
It was off to the exclusive neighbouring country of Monaco for our last evening in Nice. It was enjoyable taking in the huge marina and amazing cars, but unfortunately we didn’t bring our passports with us and weren’t allowed into the infamous Monte Carlo casino. We brought a new meaning to the saying ‘all dressed up and nowhere to go’ hehe with Ed in his brand new Calvin Klein suit and me in my Razak gown. It was a sign- obviously we were about to lose all of our money- thank God we didn’t go in!
We left Nice early on Thursday and arrived in the Netherlands around lunch after a beautiful flight over the Swiss Alps. Everywhere you look in
Amsterdam, you see bikes- scooters, motorbikes and especially bicycles. Needless to say, Ed couldn’t wait to get to the hire place and pick up his Yamaha. I spent the afternoon having a leisurely lunch, looking through the nearby flea markets and picking up a few things from the supermarket. It was also great to chat to Mum for a while, seeing as though it is so expensive to receive mobile calls over here.
The first night in Amsterdam, I had to take Ed down to the Red Light District to show him what all the fuss was about. It was my second time in the notorious district, the first with male protection, which made me feel a lot better! We made our way to the Cassa Rosso, one of the more famous sex theatres. In a very bizarre coincidence, we ran into two of Ed’s work mates who were on leave as well. One got dragged on stage which was absolutely hilarious.
I spent today roaming the many laneway boutiques, something I could literally spend a week doing and still want more! I grabbed a few things from Puccini (easily the best handmade chocolates in the city) and
some funky clothes from H&M. The bulk of my morning was spent at this amazing vintage store that we had stumbled upon the night before at 1am. Seriously, ‘Retro en Chic’ is better than all the vintage stores in Australia combined. The lovely lady who owns the shop told me she had to close the shop early because she was flying to Belgium to purchase a collection from a ninety-eight year-old woman. She said this while putting a 1920s vintage Chanel cloche hat on me of course. I came away with two hats from the 30s and 40s as well as an antique cross-stitched purse for just under $280AUD. Bargain! Spring carnival here I come…
As Ed will still be off on his own moto-tour of The Netherlands and Germany, tomorrow I plan to take some cat food to The Poezenboot , or ‘The Cat Boat’. It is the RSPCA-equivalent here in Amsterdam but is, in true Amsterdam-style, located on a large canal boat. When you see the huge amount of stray cats running around this city, it’s hard not to want to help out. One gorgeous kitty even came all the way into the back of our tavern
last night while we were having dinner and butted my leg for food. Perhaps there will be some left over time for some more shopping too? I think so 😊
Love to you all back home xx
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Heather
non-member comment
I loved your photos and post of Monaco, France, etc! Made me want to go back there! My blog is looking for travel photos, tips, etc, to share. Like maybe of that The Poezenboot in Amsterdam, and how fellow travelers can help the stray cats?! If you have the time, check it out dirty-hippies.blogspot.com, or email me at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com. Continued fun on your travels! Heather :)