So the trip wasn't as comfortable as it could have been. Oh but HAPPY EASTER! It turned out to be Easter Sunday. Although as everyone was a little under the weather we kept that quiet for the first half of the trip. On the way between Barcelona and Antibes in the French Riviera, we stopped at a town called Arles. It has a large old stadium thing alot like the coliseum. However more interestingly for us they also had an easter parade. Not that we were there in time for the parade itself. We arrived just after the parade to stalls and a party atmosphere. There was a massive selection of foods and people, lots of fun.
The campsite where we stayed was just down the road from a carnival. So after dinner we traipsed down to find that being Easter Sunday it was shut. Well the gate was open but no one there and no rides running. It was slightly creepy walking around an empty theme park in the dark. The plots to a few horror movies come back to you.
Easter Monday was nice, I mean in Nice. We initially headed to the Fragonard perfumery in Grasse. Having a blocked nose really did not help with that experience. Although it did make it cheaper than it might have been, as I didn't buy anything since I couldn't tell what it actually smelt like. After that we headed into Nice. It was a relaxing day with some stunning views. The day started off cold, so as we walked along the promenade we didn't feel like going swimming. However by the time that we had climbed up to the chateau for the view over Nice, a swim might have been welcome. Heading back into town for lunch we wandered through oldtown finding a restaurant with some delicious food and a stall selling gelato. By then it was time to start wandering back to our pick up point. We had a short day in Nice as we were heading that night to Monaco.
Apparently after just about going broke, Monaco built a casino. Now they have so much revenue from it that they have abolished income tax. Our first stop was the royal palace, which has a great view over the second smallest country in the world. The royals didn't invite us in to say hi, so we headed off to the famous hairpin turn from the Monaco Grand Prix. Conveniently this corner is located just below the Monte Carlo casino. So from there we headed up to the casino. The building that it is in is stunning, but the look was spoiled by the neon lights of the slot machines that are the first thing you see. The second thing that you notice is that the place is tiny. Only two rooms are available for the general public. One room of slot machines and a room of tables. Once you get past that you notice that the place is ridiculously expensive (€6.50 for a small coca cola). Several people lost a bit of money and a couple of people won a fair bit. I decided it was safer to keep my wallet in my pocket and walked out with the same amount of money I walked in with. It was fun watching other people playing and went for a walk outside and saw alot of very expensive and fancy cars. It would be scary being a valet there.
Overall I'm unsure what I think of the French Riviera. It was nice to look at, but I didn't get the same feeling that I had got in Paris and Barcelona. Maybe if the weather had been better and we had spent more time at the beach it would have been different. The difference between the haves and have nots is really thrown in your face in a place like that. As my last taste of France it was a bit of a let down. Time for Italy.
View near Fragonard
A something in Nice
Nice
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