01-02.05.2011 – Pisa-Monaco-Nice

We set off early towards our new destination, and the first stop was the leaning tower of Pisa, we gave it our support….. What a sight to see the real tower, 55m high and 4 meters off perpendicular. I only once ever dreamt of ever seeing it. Pisa only has about 100thousand people living there.  We walked back through all the souvenir stalls, and you could blow me over with a feather, there were a few African art stall, almost made me think I was at the wrong place, apparently they are all illegal immigrants! We say goodbuy to Italy and Hello to France….

Then we drove along the panoramic and most beautiful and scenic roads following the Italian Riviera to the coast of France. We had a little competition on the bus to see who could count the amount of tunnels we go through correctly….and did you know we went through 164.5 tunnels!!!!!! Yes the Italians do not go over mountains they simply go THROUGH them…amazing!

 We stopped in Monaco to see its harbor, and we stopped at the Monte Carlo Casino to have a quick flutter or as I call it a waste of money, but of course I do not waste my money on such things!. And wow, yes very wealthy people. I even saw and drove on the roads of the famous Grand Prix, the barriers signs everything was still up as the grand prix was only a couple weeks ago. I will not even begin to talk about the yachts, well it’s a yachtsman’s paradise. The wind was unusually strong, as normally the Mediterranean sea is very calm! We continued droving along the most scenic roads of the Cote d’Azur, and continued through the famous Corniche, to the Villefranche-sur-Mer which is set on a wide sandy beach. We had a good look around at the village, and even purchased my very first French dress. What a delightful change in architecture and scenery from Italy to France, it just seems so elegant, fresh and light, no heavy history or dirty building….ahhhh I love south of France already!

We settled in the Radisson Hotel in Nice, and again, feel so blessed to live in such luxury. A few of us took a walk in the rain to a local restaurant, for a quick meal, before retiring for the night. Tomorrow we have a free morning, and I suspect most of us will have a good sleep-in!!!!