Avignon, France

We woke up this morning to the sound of a couple of drops of rain on the tent. I bought my towel in and noticed that the weather had taken a turn for the worse overnight. Within 20 minutes we were in the tent in the middle of this huge thunderstorm. Thinking it would pass any moment, we had some breakfast and thought we’d wait until all had stopped. Unfortunately, it only got harder, so I had to get out and attach all the ropes to the tent, as we’d only used the basics last night when setting up.

When I’d finished doing this I went to the showers, through knee deep water on one of the campground’s roads, to try and warm up. Of course, by the time I got back to the tent, the rain had stopped, but it still looked to be a miserable day anyway.

We walked over to town to take a look around. The only real sight was the church, which we only saw from the outside, otherwise we just wandered around (in the rain) having a look until two pm, when we walked up to the local cinema and saw Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, which was bizarre, but good, and a great way to dry out for two hours.

Back out into the rain and we walked down to the internet café on the other side of town. There was a problem and the computers were slow, so we didn’t stick around for long, but we met up with two Eurobussers, Nick from South Africa and Steve from Ireland, and we chatted for ages before heading to Maccas for dinner.

We got back to the camp site expecting the worst, but the Taj had handled the rain well, except for a small hole in the floor under my bedroll. We mopped that water up and made repairs with the huge sticky tape bought in Granada.

We were going to go back to town for drinks, but after a few games of cards and the rain persisting, we opted to stay dry in the tent.

Nice France to Avignon, France

We checked out of the hostel at ten am and went to dumped our backpacks at the drop off / pick up hotel.

Today is our last day in Nice so we decided to make the most of the weather and head back for one more day on the beach. It was just beautiful today, as it has been all the others we have been here. We swam at the beach and lazed around in the sun for four hours – a length of time neither of us could handle back at home.

At three pm we packed up and headed back towards the Eurobus pick up point, stopping on the way at a café for a late lunch (cheese and tomato panini) and a McFlurry.

We got our bags out of the hotel and waited out the front for the bus for the next hour. Surprisingly, the bus was on time and we started our trip to Avignon at 5.15 pm. We made one stop at a servo along the way, where I rang the New Mansions to check on our accommodation in London. All is sweet, and we can even stay at Benno’s if we need to. The bus pulled into Avignon at 8.45 pm. The camp site is on the river, outside the town’s walls and as we pulled in, a full moon was just above the town’s huge church, on a perfectly clear night. It made the place look pretty spectacular. We went to our lot and pitched our tent. I can’t believe it’s going to cost us AU$8 a night each, compared to the AU$25 the hostel people are paying. So glad we bought the Taj with us.

We went to the camp’s restaurant and had a small pizza for dinner between us, before retiring early for the night.

Nice, France

Once again Nice has put on the good weather for us.

After our big sleep in, Roberta and I headed to la plage to bask in the sun for most of the afternoon, with a stop for breakfast our only variation of the morning.

We got back to the hostel at six pm and we stuffed around for ages.

At 8.30pm, after reading the English Daily Telegraph, we went out for dinner. We went to the pizza place where we went with Kern & Beck and ordered one of these huge pizzas again. It was a bit of a splurge seeing that we’d done nothing all day (and spent no money).

After dinner we went back to the hostel and had an early night.

Florence, Italy to Nice, France

Time to head back to the sun, sea and rocks of Nice today.

We packed up the tent and caught the bus to Florence SMN one last time. We got there at 10.45 am and had to wait an hour for our bus. We filled in time with an early lunch and a phone call to mum. The bus trip took five and a half hours and at no time did I know where we really were (although the last hour and a half was along a picturesque coastline). We met a couple of guys form the Eurobus who had been to Florence for a day’s shopping (so Buddah!). They were hoping to be on the bus to go straight through to London tonight, but considering we arrived at Nice at 5.15 pm (the same time the Eurobus was to leave) a half hour walk from the drop off point, I didn’t like their chances.

We went back to the same hostel we were in last time, Pado Tourisme, and got the last two beds. Thank God – seeing as there’d be nowhere else in Nice where we could stay for 60 francs a night.

We walked down to the main street, so I could find a place to exchange my excess lire for francs, and then we went to a Chinese fast-food place for dinner.

After dinner we decided to go and see a movie, and after passing two cinemas that only had French dubbed movies, we ended up at the Rialto to see the Avengers. This would have to be the worst movie I’ve seen since I slept through Blues Brothers 2000.

It was midnight by the time we came out and so we went straight home. Even though our room backs on to the railway line, both of us crashed.

Pisa and Florence, Italy

Finally had a good night’s sleep last night. I’m glad we moved the tent.

This morning we caught the bus down to the station to begin our day trip to Pisa. The train took us just on an hour and when we arrived at 11.45 am we went to the tourist information to see what there was to do. Basically, there is the famous tower and a square around it – and that’s all.

Arno River, Pisa, Italy

So, we walked the 20 minutes through the city and university square until we arrived at Campo dei Moracoli (Field of Miracles). Here, although there are a few buildings, you can’t help to look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower leans an average of one millimeter per year. To combat this the Italians have stacked one side with 600 tons of lead. The lean is so much that the tower is no longer open for the public.

Me, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Beside the tower is the huge 11th century cathedral. It is relatively simple inside, with artworks lining the wall, a large Mosaic of Christ above the alter, and a large 11-columned pulpit as its showpiece. It is also said that the façade covering the front entrance has to be seen to be believed. But, as has been our luck, it was being restored, thus covered in scaffolding. The other connection these two buildings have are Galileo. He used the tower to prove gravity theories and used the cathedral’s chandelier to test his theories on pendulums.

Cathedral & Tower, Pisa, Italy

Cathedral, Pisa, Italy

On the other side of the cathedral is its baptistry. We went in there but didn’t spend long as there was really only the pulpit to see (and it wasn’t much).

We found a restaurant just off the square to have lunch at. Roberta had a good pizza, but my lasagna was small and ordinary.

We walked back through town to the station where a train turned up within five minutes. I slept most of the way home and when we got back to Florence (5.30 pm) we decided just to go back to the campsite. Roberta whipped up another great cook tent meal before we headed to the camp’s bar for a couple of drinks and some cards before crashing around 12.30 am.

Florence, Italy

The continuation of cultural overload happened again today. The day started off with breakfast in Piazza della Signoria. This plaza has many statues and fountains including the one of Neptune.

Neptune, Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy

Also here is Loggia della Signoria – another area of the plaza which is full of significant statues.

We walked over to the Uffizi, handed over our prepaid ticket (laughed at everyone queueing for the next hour or so), and walked straight in. The Uffizi is said to hold the most important art in Italy, with its collection dating between the 13th – 18th centuries. Inside we saw two famous Botticelli’s – The Birth of Venus and Allegory of Spring – as well as countless works by da Vinci, Raphael, Fra Angelico and (of course) Michelangelo. The gallery’s hallways are lined with portraits of famous rulers and statues of Roman leaders and mythological characters.

When we had finished here it was already time for lunch, so off we went until we found a quiet restaurant for our daily Italian fix (today it was pizza).

After lunch we headed towards the station to organize transport back to Nice. We ended up booking a bus for Friday at 11.30 am which cost around 40,000 lire.

From here we went in search of a supermarket only to find an outdoor market (which of course didn’t sell any food like we needed).

We wandered around the numerous t-shirt, leather, handbag and scarf stalls for a while without making any purchases before heading over to Palazzo Vecchio. This palace was home to the Medici family – rulers of Florentine government of a time (and I believe illegitimate members of Popes’ families at the time). It is now a museum containing artworks collected over a period of time and frescos painted in various rooms. All in all, I didn’t really go much for anything here. Maybe because I was tired, or maybe because I’m all museumed out. However, the second last room I liked. It was full of maps painted well before the discovery of Australia, and its centerpiece was a huge, old globe (on which you could only just distinguish some countries and regions.

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy

This was our last visit for the day. We headed back to the bus-stop and caught the 13 back to the campsite. We moved the tent to a new spot as the last two nights we had been sleeping/sliding on a hill.

Florence, Italy

We caught buses 12 & 23 to the station this morning as Roberta had made a reservation for us tomorrow at the Uffizi Gallery and it had to be paid for at the tourist office.

With that out of the way we started our first day in Florence by going to the Duomo Cathedral. This 13th century cathedral is the fourth largest in Italy (and actually it’s the 11th largest in the world) and is absolutely amazing from the outside as it is covered entirely by a marble façade (built in the 16th century). The dome inside contains frescos of Judgement Day and some of the stained-glass windows were designed by Donatello, but otherwise the interior is quite non-descript. There is meant to be an incredible view of the city from the top of the dome. We didn’t climb it considering the view from our own campsite.

Duomo, Florence, Italy

Duomo, Florence, Italy

Duomo, Florence, Italy

Next, we walked to the Santa Croce. This church was built in 1288 and houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, as well as a monument to the Italian writer, Dante.

Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

Just outside the church is Museo Santa Croce, which is currently holding a Salvador Dali exhibition – so of course we went in. I’d say Dali is my favorite artist as his imagination is wild and his drawings superb, and this collection was no exception. Some pictures had explanations with them which made them all the more interesting and understandable. My favorite section was a series he did based around the Bible and the Lord’s Prayer. After all the straight-forward religious art we have seen, it was great to see it in a different perspective.

When we finished here it was lunch o’clock so we found a small trattoria to have lunch in.

Revitalized, we headed back to the Duomo to go to its Baptistry – supposedly the oldest building in Florence. The most famous part of the building is its northern door. This bronze door has the Gates of Paradise carved by Lorenzo Ghiberti – 12 scenes from the Bible.

Baptistry, Duomo, Florence, Italy

Our next stop was the Galleria del l’Accademia – home of the famous David by Michelangelo, as well as other sculptures and paintings by this artist and others (including Botticelli). The David is the masterpiece though, and it takes you by surprise, as there is no build up to it. You just turn the first corner and there it is. I also found out that this is the character from David & Goliath – ignorant me had no idea.

Michelangelo's David, Galleria del Academia, Florence, Italy

After the Accademia we found an internet place and sent messages for the next hour.

Our last stop for the day was Ponte Vecchio – a 14th century bridge which is full of silversmith’s and goldsmith’s shops – expensive ones at that. The bridge was the only one of the cities to survive Nazi bombing in World War II.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

We caught the bus back home and had another cook tent meal before heading up to the bar for a couple of drinks and a game of cards to end the day.

Rome, Italy to Florence, Italy

We got up this morning and packed up our tent to begin our journey to Florence. For the last time we caught the 337 and 36 to the station, where tickets to Florence cost us AU$26 each, and a train was due to depart in 20 minutes. We got our seats and went and bought some McDonald’s for brunch. The train was half an hour late departing but this gave is a bit of extra time for diary writing and reading.

The trip took us three hours and we arrived in Florence SMN at four pm and we went straight to the tourist information to find out our best option for accommodation.

We decide to camp again as hostel/hotels are really expensive here. We caught the bus number 13 from the station and half hour later we arrived at Campeggio Michelangelo, next to the Piazza of the same name. We’re on a hill south of the city with a great view over Florence.

We put the Taj up and got straight into a pasta with 4 cheeses on the gas cooker. By the time we’d cleaned up it was dark so we opted for an early night, so as to get started early on Florence tomorrow as we will only have two or three days here and, hopefully, we’ll do a day trip to Pisa as well.

Rome, Italy

The Vatican Museums are free on the last Sunday of every month (and the only Sunday of each month to be open). We got up at six am to guarantee we’d spend as much time as possible there. We were fortunate that our two buses and train connected and we were within 15 meters of the front of the queue at 7.20 am. This is our first serious line up. We had to wait an hour and a half before the doors opened, but at least we weren’t behind the five buses that arrived just after us, or around the corner (where Nelly & Luke were – who arrived half an hour after us), or back to St Peter’s Square (800 meters) where the queue was when the doors opened.

When we got in, we went straight to the Sistine Chapel before going back through the Museums. There were only 15 other people in the Chapel when we arrived, which was a blessing considering the crowd later on. This chapel was built in 1473 for the use of the Popes for private prayer. It was here where Michelangelo’s famous ceiling painting “Creation” was done. His four-year work covers nine scenes in line with the creation of man, including the famous painting where he and Adam are reaching out to each other. Three of the surrounding walls show 14 other Biblical scenes as painted by the likes of Botticelli (amongst others). The wall above the alter is covered by Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement” which he did 24 years after the frescos of the ceiling.

After about half an hour in here we went back to the entrance and paid 6000 lire for an audio tour of the museums. This was well worth it, as we walked through so many rooms of art collected by Popes over the years. Four of the most important being the Raphael Rooms. All paintings in these rooms were either painted, drawn or overseen by Raphael. There were also countless statues, Egyptian relics, maps of Italy’s regions, and religious artworks which would have been left unexplained had we not had the audio guide.

The tour ended in the Sistine Chapel, which, by 12 pm, had become packed. We were here for another half an hour listening to the explanations behind the Chapel, its art and the restoration done to it.

When we eventually got out, we went to a restaurant, Garden Lino, for lunch.

We went back to Ottaviano Station and caught to train to San Giovanni to go and see Basilica di St Croce in Gerusalemme, which is said to house the nails that were used in the crucifixion of Christ. Unfortunately, this scaffolded building was closed.

Down the road, however, was the open Basilica di St. Giovanni in Laterano. This is the church of Rome, originally built in the fourth century, but destroyed over time, before being rebuilt in the 17th century. This was a beautiful church inside with large statues to be found of the 12 apostles. Outside was, once again, under restoration, and none of the front could be seen.

By catching the train back to Colesseo we completed the trifecta of “under restoration” churches by going to San Pietro in Vincoli, which was open for our visit today. Its two famous artifacts are Michelangelo’s statue of Moses and the chains used to hold St. Peter before his crucifixion. Besides that, the church was non-descript.

This bought an end to five solid days of Roman history and culture as we headed back to the campsite for our last Roman cook tent supper. Rome has been amazing for its sights, how cheap it has been for us (thank God for the Taj Mahal), not to mention the fun / unease of watching Roman drivers. I don’t know how they survive.

Rome, Italy

Today we tried to go to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, but we arrived only half an hour before closing time so decided to try again tomorrow.

What we did instead was catch a train to Piramide to go and have a look at Piramide of Caio Cestio. This small pyramid was a dud. I don’t know what, or who, it was for as there are no descriptions or entrances to have a look in. (I’ll have to look it up in my Rome book).

Piramide of Caio Cestio, Rome, Italy

Me, St. Peter's Dome, Rome, Italy

We caught the train back to Colesseo to go to Chiesa di San Pietro in Vincoli, but it was closed such has been our luck for the day.

We decided to go home and do the laundry and have an easy afternoon. We cooked pasta carbonara at the tent and spent most of the night hanging with our tent neighbors, Nelly & Luke from Spain via Britain. They gave us some tips for tomorrow and for Florence when we go on Monday. We went to bed at around 11 pm to help with our early start tomorrow.

Rome, Italy

Once again, we caught our two buses into the train station and then caught the Metro to Colesseo to go and see, as you could guess, the Colosseum. What I did not expect was to see it as I stepped out of the station right in front of us. Our first viewing though was of scaffolding and once again my heart sunk. Fortunately, it only covered a small section outside. Phew! We did a lap around the outside as the queue to get in was the longest we’d seen anywhere. By the time we got back around it had started to rain and the queue had disappeared and we walked straight in. The rain continued as we walked around the ground level of this 2000-year-old stadium, which had also been used as both a fortress and a quarry. We climbed the steep stairs to get to the next level and while doing so it started to pour. A thunderstorm had come over Rome and you could barely see across the street. We stayed in the refuge of the stairwell for 20 minutes until the rain stopped. The view over the Colosseum from the next level gave it a better perspective. It was possible to fit 80,000 people in this building, and with the original floor gone, you could see into the maze of animal cages and storage rooms below. I’d love to be able to picture / see it in its original condition. 

Me, Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Me, Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Across the road from the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, built in 312 AD, to commemorate Constantine’s victory over his rival, Maxentius.

Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy

Across from this is the 26 square kilometer area of the Roman Ruins. This is an area of Rome dating back 2100 years which has been continually excavated since the 1800’s. After the Roman Empire’s importance declined in the 4th century, this area of temples, buildings, and monuments fell into ruin and until excavations began, was used as pasture land. Some of the more significant monuments here include Tempio di Antonio & Faustina – an eighth century church (still in good condition) built as a senate building 1000 years previous. Tempio di Saturno – of which eight granite columns remain of this most important temple. Also here is the Temple of the God Julius, which was built by Augustus in memory to Julius Caesar. Even today the shrine is covered in flowers and messages for the once great ruler of Rome. There are so many other monuments here that it would take a month of Sundays to record them all. Roberta and I took the easy way, she bought a book about the Forum, while I purchased one on Rome.

Temple of Antonius & Faustina, Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

Basilica of Maxentius, Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

Me, Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

After spending a few hours here (and nearly two rolls of film) we walked up the hill to Piazza del Campidoglio, where currently the local government has its offices. It is flanked by Musei Capitolini, which houses many Roman artworks and sculptures including the remains of the statue of Constantine, once a huge statue which had been excavated in the Roman Ruins area. The museum also has a statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius – of which a replica sits in the middle of the plaza. This bought an end to our huge day of sightseeing.

Me & Marforio, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome, Italy

Palazzo Centorio, & Marcus Aurelius, Rome, Italy

On the way home we stopped at a trattoria for our splurgy Italian dinner (prosciutto, spaghetti, veal and gelati). We got home around 10.30pm and crashed for the night.

Rome, Italy

We left for our day out at around ten this morning. We caught our usual 337 to Siemprione and then we caught bus 60 to Barberini, where we caught the Metro to Ottoviano.

After a lazy McDonalds lunch, we made the short walk to the Vatican City. This I knew would be a momentous occasion. We walked through the outer columns of St. Peter’s Square to see the Basilica when, just my luck, the entire Basilica was covered in scaffolding for restoration work. I couldn’t believe it! It was heart wrenching. Here was the most significant building I’d seen to date, hidden by a mountain of metal and mesh. Devastated! However, I went on (I don’t know how). We had been warned that the queues here would be extremely long, but like Notre Dame and London Tower / Crown Jewels, we walked straight in. Instantly you are in awe of this beautiful church. Immediately to your right, as you walk in, is a statue of Madonna and Christ (Pieta) done by Michelangelo at the age of 25, my current age. This artwork, protected by bullet-proof glass, is Michelangelo’s only work to carry his signature. The paintings and mosaics here are fabulous, as are the statue-lined tombs of previous Popes. The centerpiece is a canopy sculpted by Bernini, called Balacchino. Underneath it is believed to be the remains of St Peter – the first Pope. The church’s artefacts also extend to a cellar area.

Me, Vatican, Italy

St. Peter's Square, Vatican, Italy

Michelangelo's Pieta, St. Peter's Basilica, Me, Vatican, Italy

St. Peter's Basilica, Me, Vatican, Italy

When you exit here it brings you to the ticket office of the dome of St Peters. We paid our 6000 lira and caught the elevator half way up and then climbed to 373 steps. Along the way we stopped inside the church to look down on the main altar. Once again, my fear of heights came flooding back to me, but I wasn’t going to come this far and not look out the top. The outside of the dome is up high and although the view over Rome is amazing, I hated being near the open railing. We were outside for about 15 minutes before making the long haul down, with a stop at the souvenir shop on the way. The lift down bought us back into the Basilica, where we did another lap to take in all in. We then sat on the steps and wrote some postcards to be sent from the Vatican post office. As we walked out of St. Peters Square, I turned around once more in the vain hope that all the construction works had been magically pulled down, but to no avail.

St. Peter's Square, Vatican, and Rome, Italy

From here we walked to Castel St. Angelo – we didn’t go in as it was soon to close – but around it was like a temporary market where we stopped for a gelati.

We started our trek home by walking to Lepanto station, catching the train to Termini and then the two buses. In between buses we looked for restaurant, couldn’t find one, so settled for a cook tent meal instead. We’ll dine out tomorrow.

Rome, Italy

We arrived at Rome’s terminal on time (at 6.15am) after some sketchy periods of sleep. While we were reading about accommodation on the platform, we were given information about a camps site, where it would cost 23,800 lire per night. We decided we needed a cheap place, and for AU$24 a night for the two of us, we couldn’t go wrong.

We caught two buses (the 36 and 337) and an hour later we arrived at our small camp site not far from the north-east part of Rome’s ring road. We put up the tent and opted for a quick snooze before tackling Rome.

We went back into town at about noon and decided to orientate ourselves with Lonely Planet’s suggested walking tour, like we did in Madrid. We started at the train station and walked to Piazza del Quirinale. Along the way we went past the Palace, now used as the Italian president’s residence. In the Piazza, I got my first look at St. Peters in the Vatican, but only the dome.

We walked back along this street to Via delle Quattro Fontane, through Piazza Baberini and on to the Spanish Steps. These steps were built in 1725 by the French but were named because they lead up to a Spanish church – Trinitia del Monti.

Roberta, Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy

At the bottom of the steps is Barcaccia – a famous boat-shaped fountain.

To get to our next stop we had to walk down Via Condotti, which is a famous Italian shopping street, with shops such as Gucci, Swatch and Versace lining the road.

Our next monument was the Trevi Fountain. This 1732 fountain is the work of Nicola Salvi and has its water supplied by one of Rome’s first aqueducts. Both of us threw a coin in over our shoulder which, as legend has it, ensures your return to Rome at a later date.

Me, Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

After walking through a couple of more piazzas we made our way to the Pantheon. The original temple was built in 27AD, but rebuilt in 120AD. Its main attraction today is the tomb of the Italian artist, Raphael.

Pantheon, Rome, Italy

Pantheon, Rome, Italy

This was the last of the monuments on this tour. Though we did go through a couple more piazzas (Navona, Campo de Fiori, and Farnese) before ending up at the Tiber River. From here we caught the bus back to Barberini, where we caught the train to the terminus and then our two buses back to the camp site. We had a cook tent meal of spaghetti pomodoro and ended up in bed at around nine pm.

It had been a big day!

Nice, France to Rome, Italy

We had enough time to have a shower and pack before we checked out of the hostel at ten am. We left our bags there, to pick up later on this evening, when we get on the train.

While Troy and Beck went to the beach, Roberta went in search of a hairdresser and I spent some time emailing in a café five blocks from the hostel. Roberta came back with her new short hairstyle and we went down to the beach to meet the others.

Nice’s beaches are covered in well rounded stones and are really painful for the unaccustomed to walk on. The water, however, was beautiful, clean and clear. We stayed at the beach for a few hours before having a late lunch, due to the fact that Troy and Back had bought two lilos and we were having so much fun being the tourists that we used to hassle as kids.

Roberta & I, Nice, France

We had lunch at a place in town. Roberta and I shared a huge pizza, which was delicious. We all then headed to a park to sit in the shade and just hang out. The others left at five pm as they are trying to get to Paris by the morning. Roberta and I stayed in the park for a while longer before going back to the hostel to get our bags and have a shower before the train trip.

We bought some take away Chinese to eat at the station while waiting for our train, when we ran into ran into Jeremy and Fiona who, from what we can gather, have been a couple of days behind us at each stop. They have been in Nice for a couple of nights but where now going to join the central circuit of Eurobus.

Our train left at 8.35 pm and we were in a compartment with four other girls. They were part of a dancing troupe from Napoli, who had been performing in Cannes. They were a bit apprehensive at first, but when we said we were Australian, the cabin filled with more girls wanting to know everything about us. Communication was hard as, obviously, our French and Italian is non-existent, and their English is a ton better, but still limited. Still, we managed to get everything across. They were definitely excited when Roberta pulled out the gift koalas for them.

Lights went out at 12.30 am and everyone tried their best to get some sleep. Some were luckier than others.

Nice, France

We got up early this morning and spent the best part of an hour at the train station trying to buy a ticket to Rome. When we found out that we wouldn’t be able to join the next leg of the Eurobus to Avignon until 14 days from now, we decided we’d try somewhere else. Italy it is. For F$246/AU$82 we successfully booked a seat on tomorrow night’s train leaving at 8.35 pm. That will get us into Rome at 6.45 am Wednesday morning. Transportation and accommodation covered in one ticket.

After making the booking, we bought a ticket to spend the day in Monaco. With trains running every 20 minutes, and the trip only taking half an hour, we were there before we knew it. We did a quick walk-through Monte Carlo, past the harbor, and through the tunnel I’d seen from the Formula One Grand Prix, to the beach. We spent the best part of three hours lying on the pebbled beach and swimming in the water.

Afterwards we walked back to the harbor, after a quick photo stop outside the Monte Carlo Casino, and had lunch at a cafe, seated outside of course.

Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco

We then went to the station and caught the train back to the Nice.

Back at the hostel, we changed and grabbed some food and drinks and the four of us headed to Cannes. Cannes is half an hour in the opposite direction to Monaco, and then only a short walk to the beach. We went there because the tourist office had told us of a fireworks competition. We arrived at nine pm and picked our spot on the beach for the festivities to start at ten pm. The competition was over, but this was the closing ceremony, and the display was put on by the city of Cannes. The 45-minute spectacular was set to music. From “Rock Around The Clock” to “In The Mood” to “Saturday Night Fever” to “Isn’t She Lovely”, and many more.

Troy, Beck, Me & Roberta, Cannes, France

We finished off our drinks and nibblies before heading back to the station to catch the last train back to Nice.

We arrived back to an empty room at two am and crashed. It has been a big day mixing it with the rich and famous, but we handled it like we deserved to be there.