One unforgettable night

Cot d'Azur, here we come
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The Cote d’Azur is certainly beautiful but we were not blown away. We had one full day in Nice and decided to go spend it all in Monaco. It is as close to Versailles as one can get in present time. It is amazing how high a profile this tiny country has managed to attain. Driving down into Monaco from the highway high up, it is obvious you are in a rich man’s playground. The size of the yachts and the number of exotic Italian cars whizzing around leave you in no doubt. Monaco (and most of the Cote d’Azur) is built on the steep slopes leading to the sea and it gives the whole area so much character. The houses and villas seem to be stacked on one another and the views are spectacular. Wandering the streets where the F1 race is held every year, Robin spotted a place that rents out Ferraris to drive the actual route of the race and before I knew it, I was holding a ticket waiting my turn. An open top Ferrari F350 modena and I was driving!!!! The road was full of traffic and you could barely get the car above 40mph but boy, the look on the faces of people staring at you is priceless. I was surprised by how steep the circuit was, does not seem that way on tv. Other cars on the traffic choked road even yielded willingly to the roaring sound of the engine, which I revved whenever I could. Bodyroll is a word that does not exist in the Ferrari manual, the car felt stuck to the road and stable as the Rock of Monaco itself. Another thing checked off in my list of things to do in life…… drive a Ferrari. Thank you wifey.

Checking the maps as usual, don't trust Jill anymore.
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On the way back to Nice after our action packed day in Monaco we took a detour to the highly recommended hilltop village of Eze. We had to park the car and trek up the steep streets of the medieval village. You get the idea by now, all the medieval towns have steep roads that you climb and at the end you are rewarded by having to pay to get into a cathedral or castle at the top. Eze has its own ‘exotic garden’ on the ruins of the old village. We were certainly rewarded for our effort by the jaw dropping views from the top. I just can’t figure out how the people who lived here in the old days managed to get their groceries up there.

Enough coffee and (did I add all that sugar?) to keep us safe on the road
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We were not very impressed with the city of Nice itself. To be fair, we barely spent any time there. It was crowded, dirty, busy and bustling. Certainly didn’t help that people walking their dogs let them do their business wherever and carried on. The service at the restaurants was abysmal to say the least. Any suggestion to hurry things up a little bit was met by a nonchalant “no problem”. The answer to all the problems in France.

One last night in Nice and we were going to be in Italy. As it turned out, it was one hell of a night, not to be forgotten. Something, my educated guess being the barely cooked egg in the pizza calzone we had in Monaco had some unnecessary additions. For the first time in my memory I had a bad case of food poisoning. Yeah that queasy feeling I had been having all day turned into monster stomach cramps and I was up all night trekking to the bathroom. Thankfully by early morning things settled down for the drive to Italy.

Playground of the rich and famous
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Aurevoir monsieur, we are happy to head out to Italy.