Nice!

Nice!

Well, we departed Switzerland, just as the mist and cloud lifted, revealing the true beauty of our campground. We had breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Italy and dinner once again in France. We drove through one of the longest tunnels in Europe - 18kms or so. The amazing thing was that they started building it 300 years ago!!

Nice was very nice! A coastal holiday town on the med - a blend of really old buildings mixed with the new. We were warned to keep a very close eye on our belongings as we pulled up to the bus stop. The bus driver said that he had occasions where scumbags had climbed on the coach as people were getting off to steal what they could! For this reason, one person from the trip had to guard the door anytime the bus was open. Despite being told to be careful, we did not see any crime in this town.

The tour leader, Heather, told us that if were to swim in the Med, we would find it very salty. A few of us scoffed at this. Later in the day, as we scrambled down the pebble (well rock) beach - first time I had ever seen a beach that did not have sand - and plunged into the freezing cold water, we realised she was right! The water was that salty, it aided floatation! It was very clear and cold - a pity the sun was not out, otherwise it would have looked magical. We dragged ourselves out of the water and lay rather uncomfortably on the rocks drying off. Not many people were in the water that day - only the tourists!

Here is a link regarding Nice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice

Nice is very close to a range of famous towns and cities - Cannes - you may have heard of the film festival - as well as the principality of Monaco. We went to Monaco for the night - it was only about a 30 minute drive from where we were staying. Like Switzerland, it also was a fairytale town - more so for it’s man made beauty and the way it hugs the steep shore line. Here is a link to check out - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco

We drove past billion dollars worth of yachts and motor vehicles as we approached the casino. The amount of money in this town was amazing, The buildings were pristine, no graffiti in sight and no litter on the ground. The casino was just like any other casino I have ever seen - admittedly, I did not go into the main one - you needed to pay a 10 Euro cover charge just to enter! The “paupers” casino was set downstairs - even still it was very plush.

All in all, this was a very beautiful part of the world! We departed Nice early on the second morning and stopped at a perfumery - very interesting place to see . We were now on our way to Florence - which will be my next update!