France

Today was possible one of the nicest days we have had one tour and after our first and only late start of the entire tour we walked along the Promenade des Anglais which runs along the beach. It was an amazing day although not warm enough to tempt us to go swimming. Nice is one of those cities that enjoys a pebbled beach and some of the areas along the beach are reserved for 'hotel guests' which translates into 'those with money' and since we were not dressed for the occassion we were quite happy to observe the wonderful views.

After walking along the Promenade we found a great local flower and food market which was an amazing thing to see. Completely run by locals we were able to sample different types of food (mostly olives) and see all kinds of beautiful flowers and we both felt very cultural for the experience. We decided that we would have some lunch overlooking the market in this great cafe and feeling very french we ordered the traditional food - Crepes!

After lunch we reluctantly walked up the hill the Le Chateux which offers amazing views of Nice and of the water looking back towards Cannes. We got some fantastic photos before heading back into the city down Avenue Jean Medecin which also happens to be the shopping avenue of Nice.

For tonights entertainment we headed to Monaco and had a fantastic Montesque dinner before viewing the Palace du Prince and views out over Monaco. We then headed into the city centre and visited some Casinos although we avoided going into the Grand Casino as just the entry fee was $10 Euro. Monaco is an amazing place and is the world's most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation; with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.95 square kilometers. It also boasts more millionaires per capita than any other country and relised heavily on its casinos for revenue. Another great thing about Monaco is that its residents dont pay any taxes so we are under the distinct feeling that the casinos help out alot!

As today was yet another bus day we feel we need to explain that typically we spend one day on the bus traveling to the designated city, a full day in the city followed by another day travelling to the next destination. So as you can expect we have become experts in bus travel!

At one of our stops today we were able to visit a walled city in France called Aigue Mortes. Unfortuently most of the city was closed but we were able to walk around for a while and we found a great little cafe that was able to make us some pizza's for lunch before we needed to get back on the bus again. It was a shame that most of the stores were closed as the city seemed to have alot to offer and it really was like stepping back in time.

After arriving in Nice we went to dinner at a wonderful restaurantbefore heading out to see the local nightlife.

Today is what we call a 'Bus Day' which basically means we spent the entire day on the bus, broken of course by various stops. Apparently we will be having quite a few of these over the next few weeks, so unfortuently there is not alot to report on these days.

Today one of our stops was at Fountain Bleu where we were able to view the Chateux of Fountain Bleu which is an amazing Chateux with breath taking gardens. The gardens are absolutely massive and expand for as far as the eye can see. We were able to walk around a very small part of the gardens before heading back to the bus to continue our journey into Lyon.

Upon a arriving in Lyon we checked into the hotel before walking through the Historic area of Lyon where we had dinner. We were both very courageous a tried the French delicacy Escargot (snails) cooked in garlic and parsley. It was definately an experience and they actually tasted alright (kind of like Mussels) although we dont think we will be trying them again any time soon.

This morning after breakfast we headed into Paris for our free day to explore the city. As it was a Sunday, our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral. As the Cathedral closes to tourists after 9.30am for private services we luckily arrived in the nick of time and were able to enter the Cathedral just as the service began. It was amazing to walk around inside as the serivce progressed, listening to the amazing vocals which echo through the Cathedral. The Cathedral has amazing stained glass windows and it is a truely beautiful sight.

After Notre Dame, we headed along the River Seine to the Louve Museum. We were told that the lines would be quite large but when we arrived we were able to walk straight into the Museum and purchase tickets in a matter of minutes. Our first stop in the Museum was naturally the Mona Lisa. It is an amazing sights and we are still not sure if she is smiling or not, a true mystery. We then visited Venus de Milo before venturing to Napoleons Appartments and then French Gardens. We could have spent an entire day at the Louve alone but as we were running out of time we headed outside to Rue de Rivoli where we had a quick bite to eat.

After lunch we mistakenly found ourselves outside Jardin Du Luxembourg which is a famous Parisian park where the locals love to hang out. It was beautiful day in Paris and so the locals were out in force and as we strolled through the park we were taken back by the fact that we were in Paris hanging out with the locals.

After leaving the park we walked around the Place de la Concorde before deciding to head back to the park for a few minutes before catching the bus. We had originally decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower but after careful consideration and as we were running out of time we decided to sit in the park instead and get more a feel for the local life. We found ourselves some chairs and arranged ourselves in front of the pond where we were able to write a few postcards and enjoy the wonderful sunny day. We then headed back to our meeting point to catch the bus.

After returning to the hotel we quickly changed before we headed to our nightime entertainment - The Moulin Rouge.

Moulin Rouge was absolutely amazing. Words cannot explain how wonderful the show was and it was definately a highlight for us both. The show is definately entertaining with various acts including dancing, contortionists, magic shows and multiple variety acts, an all round entertainment extravaganza.

After the show we headed to the bar next door where some of the dancers from the show tend to go after their performances and we were able to see some of them there. After a quick drink we headed back to the hotel where we collapsed into bed after an exhausting day.

We woke early this morning and checked into our tour before boarding the bus and traveling across the english country side and into Dover. In Dover we had our passports checked by immigration and we then boarded the bus which then boarded the Ferry which took an hour and a half to arrive in Calais. We then drove through the French country side and on into Paris all the while listening to our orientation speech for the contiki tour. Upon arriving in Paris we checked into the hotel and had some dinner before we did a night time tour of the city.

The tour included icons such as: Arch de Triomphe, Champs Elysse, Palace de la Concorde, Notre Dame Cathederal, the Louve Museum and Mussee Dorsey before taking us to the Eiffel Tower. We arrived just as the Eiffel Tower was doing its hourly sparkel which was an amazing sight to arrive to and everyone quickly scrambled for their cameras.

We waited patiently in line to ascend to the third floor of the Tower but as we were given a deadline in which we needed to be back on the bus we arrived at the top of the Tower with about 6 minutes in which to 'enjoy' the views before starting our decent back down. It was rather disappointing not to be able to spend much time at the top as the views are amazing but the experience was still fantastic. We arrived back at the bus with seconds to spare before we returned to the hotel (minus a rather large group who were not able to make it back down in time!) where we headed straight to bed.