Venice
From the moment we arrived in Venice we both knew that it was going to be completely different to anything we had ever experienced before.... we were right!
A city surrounded by and built upon water. The only way to get around is to walk, take a water taxi, or go for a spin on a gondola. We decided to walk, which made dragging a 25kg suitcase through tiny alleyways packed with tourists, up and down bridges (I counted five to our last hotel) but it was all part of the Venice experience. Venice is exactly how it looks in photographs, and really, once you have been on a gondola, walked around the city, visited the glass blowing island of Murano and the lace making fisherman's village of Burano there is not a lot else to see. But it is one of those places that is a MUST see, I have a feeling it would be much more enjoyable after all the tourists have left.... as at times it was too overwhelming and I found myself wanting to push a few of them off the bridges. We found a delicious gelato bar in Venice that we visited everyday..... whoopsies.... and had a wonderful time during our tours of St Marks Basilica and Dodges Palace which were both rich in Italian history. Ceiling mosaics made purely out of blown glass with 25 carat gold pieces as their background. It still amazes me that with all the technology and the knowledge we have today, we still fail to create structures as impressive as those that were made centuries before us. As our flight didn't leave Venice until 11pm we had to catch a water taxi to the airport, which was on the mainland. So we strutted out to the end of the jetty at our hotel and waited for our ride to pull up, a wooden boat with plush white leather seats (just like a water limousine) we jumped in and zoomed off across the water to the airport, watching the sun set over Venice and the gondolas fade away into the distance.
Nice
By 12pm we had landed in Nice, just a 45 minute flight. It seem taxis are not in high demand at the airport in the middle of the night as we waited patiently for half an hour for one to zip around the corner and take us to our hotel. Finally we were inside and after a quick conversation with the driver, we were on our way to our home for the next three nights. As the doors closed the French Jazz playing from the radio filled the car, combined with the drivers questions about Australia in his very thick French accent I was swooning. We peered out the windows in excitement and knew that something pretty special was in store for us yet again. Unfortunately we had to wait patiently until the morning to really get a good look at Nice but the vibes were good and we were both completely and totally smitten with France.
DAY ONE: after spending two weeks relaxing at the beach every day in Greece we were in mutual agreement that a beach day in Nice was a MUST. Believe it or not, travelling can be exhausting and it was exactly what we needed, we set out on a walk to find the beach after breakfast and realised it was only ten minutes down the road, we chucked a u-turn and headed back to the hotel to claim our swimmers and towels. Our bodies hit our beach beds at 12pm and we didn't leave until 6.30!! Apart from a quick lunch at a tapas bar which was absolutely delicious, some paella, roasted potatoes, cured beef and tomato bruschetta!
It was a beautiful day relaxing in the sun, and enjoying the Nice scenery, boobs included, the French are not prude. H bought himself a water donut so I watched from my tanning station as he floated around out on the sea. I only ventured into the water once as the beach was filled with rocks, about the size of your palm, which made walking in and out of the water incredibly hard as they were soooooo slippery. I decided that in the best interests of the pubic, it was safer if I stayed on land. Nobody wants a salty Tonoya landing on top of them mid sandwich.
Dinner was at a French restaurant where I decided to try something new and went with some duck! Creme Brûlée for desert... of course! I had officially consumed my first authentically French meal (Im saving the snails and frogs legs for Paris).
DAY TWO: Can you say MONACO aka the playground for the rich and famous!
15 euros got us to and from Monaco in just twenty minutes!
Stepping off the train, heading out the front doors, hellllllooooooooooooooo dollar signs!!!
An absolute paradise, luxury yachts and cruise ships, sports cars, luxury cars, designer shops, designer people, the home of the grand prix!
It really was beautiful, with the royal palace on the top of the hill, the houses surrounding it all over the cliffs below and in front was the harbour, with its crystal clear blue water absolutely filled with any kind of boat you could imagine..... except for tinnies (I don't think they are allowed). On the other side was the Monte Carlo Casino..... yes where James Bond 'Casino Royale' was filmed, and it is no surprise as it is the perfect location for the extravagance that is Bond...... James Bond. Wandering up to the top of the mountain peak to see the palace and slowly descending back down, taking in the view in absolute awe we made it to a marine museum, so we decided to take a peek. It was delightful, filled with all different kinds of fish and other sea life. Thankfully no great whites!!
After the museum it was time to hit up the casino..... a little different to the Cas back home.
You don't often see luxury cars pulling up one after another outside.... Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Mclaren.... you name it, it was there and H has a photo.... or 500 to prove it. We were not entirely certain that we would be let in because of the dress code (shirts, slacks, long dresses, suit jackets) but this is only essential in the private section, so with the all clear we headed for the tables to try our luck..... mmmm lady luck was not on our side, so it was time for a Mojito just because we could, just because we were inside Monte Carlos Casino!!!!! One drink wonder Tonoya struck again as I entered the males bathroom..... classy, reaaaaaaal classy. Thankfully there was no one in there and H politely told me that I was in the wrong bathroom and re-directed me towards the ladies.
Sushi for lunch after a wander.... stumble.... (ohhhh theres the mojito) all the newest designer collections and a jam packed train later (I mean jammed packed) we were like sardines, there was almost a punch up, lots of French swearing and a couple of blow up beach toys throw in the mix. A lovely Irish man who knew a LOT about Tasmania helped us with where to get off as all the train announcements are made in French and not translated, which makes things a little tricky!
Stepping off the train we finally had time to process what has just happened.
We had visited Monaco!
& we are very very lucky people x
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