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The next stint of our journey begins and we're back were we started, France, but this time it's the south we're exploring and the first stop was Perpignan. This was literally just a stopover for us and it actually reminded both of us a little of Bribie Island (for those in Darren's family who know where I'm talking about). It had a real holiday vibe about the place and we even managed to squeeze in a couple of hours on the beach which were so peaceful after the madness of Barcelona, but at our next destination we ended up staying four nights and that was in the beautiful town of Avignon. We were instantly impressed with this picture postcard town, filled with cobbled streets, ancient buildings, a papal palace and all of it inside a 600 year old wall, it was hard to resist its charms. Our first day there just so happened to be a Saturday, so this idyllic town was filled with the sound of car horns to celebrate all of the weddings that were taking place and they went on all day so there was a definite party atmosphere in the air, which leads me on to the gay festival that we just happened to pass by. Pumping out music and foam at the crowd as it squeezed its way through the narrow streets it looked like so much fun although we were loaded down with shopping bags (groceries unfortunately, not clothes) I hung back and Darren went to have a closer look. The next day we headed to the Pont du Gard, which is a three story aqueduct built by the Romans to transport water. It's an incredible structure and it's hard to believe it's still standing after 2,000 years. The area and the river its over though are just beautiful, so we packed our swimmers and picnic and spent the day there. There are so many gorgeous little towns and things to explore in this area, which we only got to see a couple of, including Uzes which was recommended to us by Steve. By our third day here my energy was all but spent and I was almost starting to resent having to site-see (I know poor me). I honestly felt exhausted from the last few weeks of traveling so I pretty much refused to leave the campsite. Luckily enough for me though it had a pool so that's where I spent the day reading my book and I wouldn't have traded it in for the world!
On to Cannes and I feel deceived! I'd always imagined it to be this glamorous place with its famous film festival and celebs although it's anything but. The Carlton Hotel is beautiful and that's about it. I imagine the beach is nice too but as it's covered with messy temporary looking buildings which are either restaurants or sun lounging areas for those that want to pay, I'll never know. There were lots of people walking about with lanyards on looking very important but I just missed the point of this place. I really wasn't impressed and to be honest I just wanted to get out of there and I'm a bit gutted that we choose it over Nice although I got over that soon enough as our next stop was Monte Carlo!
So our last stop before Italy was Monte Carlo, Monaco, a place I've wanted to go to since I found out Grace Kelly was a princess there, and it was fabulous! Although we're lucky we even made it because getting there was pretty scary! Twisting tight roads with oncoming traffic on one side and sheer drops on the other, it was not for the faint-hearted but Darren held his nerve and managed to get us there in one piece, he even drove on a section of the F1 track which we didn't realise until afterwards. I read a quote somewhere by an F1 driver who said that "driving the F1 in Monte Carlo is like riding a bicycle in your living room", which I now fully understand and I was only a passenger. So needless to say the first thing we did when we got there was find the nearest bar which turned out to be right beside the Casino. So while sipping our drinks we got to look out over Lambourginies, Ferrari's, Bentley's and lots of other slick looking cars while watching the crowds of tourists scramble to get pictures beside them. Then we headed to the Palais du Prince for a glimpse of royal life and for a nosy around Grace Kelly's home. As you can imagine it was very beautiful and the views over Monaco and its harbour where obscene, I say this because I've never seen such enormous yachts, and so many in one place, it was crazy and very impressive. Afterwards we headed back over to the casino which you can go into for free, so we headed up the grand steps and into the beautiful rooms. Having only ever been to the Casino in Melbourne and seeing pictures of the ones in Las Vegas, I had this idea in my mind of what a casino should look like and as this one is probably the most famous one's in the world I was expecting great things, but guess what, I was disappointed. There is no arguing that this isn't a beautiful building, but that's it, it was more a beautiful building with a few slot machines and roulette tables thrown in than a grand casino. Overall though I just loved Monaco, the ridiculously rich and glamorousness of it all was really something to see and the people watching here is amazing. It's all just very opulent, with tall buildings, glamorous inhabitants and a palace to boot, Monaco is another world and well worth the effort to visit, and I'm so glad we went.
Clare
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