It's kinda hard to believe it's almost a month since I left Australia…my how time flies! Have had a wonderful time the past few days & managed to get out & about to see a bit more of the southern coast of France. On Friday I set out for Monaco early in the morning, but after having already purchased a train ticket I found I could see no trains scheduled until the evening. Strange…seeing as they're supposed to run every half hour or so. I had checked just the day before! I went to the ticket window & was informed that there would be no trains running until 5:00PM that day…due to a strike. I was like…are you serious?? Am I cursed???

But I was DETERMINED that I was going to make something go right this week, so I quickly made my way back across town to where the buses leave from. It's a longer journey than by train, but that didn't bother me. However, given I clearly wasn't the only one hell bent on getting to Monaco that day I had to fight (literally!) my way onto a bus that ended up crammed with people. Not the most comfortable one hour train journey of my life, but I made it there nonetheless! And it's actually a really beautiful journey because you travel up high along the coast line & can look down over the water & all the old houses built up into the mountains that rise out of the sea. Quite incredible.

When I got there I grabbed some fruit from a local market & trekked up the mountain to Palais de Prince, the palace of the Prince. The changing of the guards happens there every day at 11:55 sharp, & considering I hadn't yet seen the guards changing at Buckingham Palace I thought it'd be a cool thing to watch. It's amazing how traditional it is & how seriously they take it. Lots of marching & thigh slapping & saluting & "at-ease-ing"! There's also a really beautiful view over Monaco from the top of the palace. It's much more built up than Nice - lots of high rise buildings, big yachts in the harbour. You can see there's a whole lot of money being thrown around here!

I went for a wander through the old part of town, which is adjacent to the palace & stopped for lunch in a sunny courtyard. My very attentive French waiter, Stephen, told me (in truly dramatic French style), that he didn't know the Princess was coming to Monaco today (oh stop it :P) & informed me that he was in love with me & if I was ever going to come back here I would have to go to another restaurant or I would break his heart haha I was like desolee Stephen, j'ai un tres beau petit amis a Australie already, so you're out of luck I'm afraid! Still, it did ensure very good service for my lunch that day :P

After that I went to the Notre Dame de Monaco (yes, there are actually lots of Notre Dames in France…I naively thought that the one in Paris was THE only one…haha) where Prince Rainier married Grace Kelly, & also where they are now buried. There are beautiful gardens nearby, carefully monitored by guards who look like they might stab you with their bayonets if you drop so much as a single piece of rubbish on their carefully manicured lawns. I also visited the Oceanographic Museum, which was established in the early 1900s & now houses lots and LOTS of cute fishies & jellyfish & other under water critters, along with a museum about everything under the sea! Being a Friday, every single school in the nearby region seemed to have decided to make that the destination of their school excursion, & it was a bit of mad house in there so I didn't stay too long.

In the later afternoon I took a long walk around the harbour where they are already setting up for the big formula one race in about a month's time. Yes, that's right F1 fans, I walked ON the F1 track!! :O I think the majesty of this was probably lost on me a little, but it was pretty cool to see how the track winds right through the city, with the big grand stands set up on the water's edge. I also took a quick look at the big casino, which I don't think I was appropriately attired for. Given my luck (or lack thereof) during the previous week, I decided against gambling any of my money away!

On Saturday I spent the day in Antibes, which is just gorgeous! Totally my kind of town :) A little more quiet & low-key than Monaco or Nice, & quite old and quaint in parts. Being the weekend there were lots of markets to peruse around town & as with most of the towns on the southern coast of France, an older party of town, vieux Antibes. There also seemed to be even MORE amazing patisseries here than I've seen in other French places, with cakes & tarts that honestly look like works of art. I tried a few petit fours saltee (savoury) at one patisserie, followed by some fresh fruit from another store nearby. Oh my God the berries here are amazing!! Fresh raspberries, mulberries, strawberries :D Om nom nom!!! Hehe I made it down to the seaside & was almost blown away by the strong winds coming in off the ocean. I was a sunny day but the breeze kept it pretty cold! I warmed with a trusty crepe au beurre et sucre :) Crepes are the perfect French cuisine - cheap, filling, & delicious! ;)

I spent the afternoon packing up & getting ready for my early train trip the next morning; picking up a few small pressies & things like that. Tomorrow it's au revoir France et ciao Italy!! Matt, get ready to be jealous, because I am going to the land of pasta!!! :D