The beginning of this adventure alllll starts with hunger... we woke up early to get breakfast, not knowing that nothing would be open on a Sunday... NOTE TO SELF!!! Luckily what was in store for us was MUCH better than being hungry... As we bored the private bus with hungry stomachs, it started to rain! I was well equipped for this as I was wearing my rain boots and rain jacket and brought an umbrella! We began our journey on the gorgeous road right next to the Mediterranean Sea... what a fabulous Sea, but because it was raining, the water was not as blue as it usually is! As we rode the comfy bus, we picked up our tour guide! She gave us tons of history and facts throughout the adventure, making the experience much more enjoyable! We toured Nice by bus seeing all the beautiful architecture and buildings that have been created for the rich and wealthy! We saw Elton John's vacation house (awesome) as well as a few other famous U.S. artists. After the tour, we stopped at a garden near a gorgeous church! We were only able to see the garden, but walking through the beautiful flowers and fountains was amazing! We spent about 20 minutes walking through the garden before departing to our next destination. Our next stop was the HUGE flower market! Now, most of us were still pretty hungry, but we were unable to stop for food because as we were walking through, it started raining! So we quickly hurried back to our bus, and took off for Ez village in the mountains of France. The scenic route up was breath taking... gorgeous waters and mountains, it was awesome! As we arrived in Ez, we stopped at the perfume factory, where they hand make all kinds of perfumes. As we toured the factory, our tour guide told us abut the sniffing chemist... there are MANY rules for them as they need their senses to be able to sniff out what perfume they will create next, it was really neat! After the tour, they allowed us to sample about 15 different perfumes, and buy some at factory price! Now that we were all smelling so fantastic... we walked to the old village of Ez, which was soooo cute! The village was on a mountain and has TONS of cute little shops... it was so well preserved and was absolutely stunning! I adored the little town! After walking through all the cute little streets we were back on the bus, headed to Monaco! Monaco is as big as Central Park in New York... and its own country! It is absolutely AMAZING!!! Monaco residents do not pay direct taxes, and the country is rich... but the property values are INSANE! We were let off the bus just outside the palace where the Prince and Princess live! We were FINALLY were granted our freedom to eat!! OH what a glorious part of the trip this was... we were all STARVED a quarter to death and immediately dispersed desperately looking for food! A few friends and I found a cute little cafe to eat at, which was the best food I had experienced thus far! Afterwards we went through a few of the shops and then returned to the palace for a tour of the surrounding area. We were given lots of history and information about some of the buildings and the ways of the people, but what I found most interesting is where they burry the Princes and Princess' after they pass! We were lead into a church, a very beautiful church, where we walked around and saw the graves of the past rulers. We were able to see Grace Kelly's grave, as well as where she crashed. As for the rest of the family members of the Princes, they are buried in a different church, on the other side of town... very interesting! Our next stop was just a short distance from where we were, Monte Carlo! We drove on the Formula One race track, which is just a few streets in the city that they close off for the race, and saw the famous Monte Carlo casino... I decided not to go in, because it cost 10 euros just to enter, which I didn't want to spend, because my friends and I plan on going back there anyway... after walking around Monte Carlo, everyone was pretty tired, so we headed back to our bus! We drove in a crazy rain storm, but made it back safely to our "home" in Antibes (pronounced Onteeeb)! The adventure was short, but sweet and gave us tons of new information for our up and coming trips back to Nice and Monaco!
Sending all my love to everyone!!!
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