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| Sisteron, France |
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| Day 8 – June 3, 2001 – Sunday – Geneva – Nice |
Weather – morning: raining pretty hard, lunch: cleared up but very windy – around low 60’s F
6:15am – Wake-up Call
7:00am – Breakfast and Luggage
7:30am – Leave hotel Best Western
10:00am – stop over Grenoble for restrooms, snacks, and gas station
12:00pm – Sisteron – heading to this town, it was a very windy road, so very tiring 2-hr ride. We had lunch in a small cafeteria and ordered hot sandwiches – ham and cheese sandwich in a big toasted French roll, and also ordered their version of hamburger – but in a French roll. Ordered chocolat and cappuccino with it. The town also had character, old town but most shops are closed because it’s a Sunday. This town is in France, we already left Switzerland. Passed a lot of vineyards on the way.
4:15pm – Arrive at Nice, France. Check-in at Hotel Busby. Hotel was built in 1870, very old hotel located 3 blocks away from the beach. The bedrooms are very spacious, old but very charming and the hotel itself has a nice character. The rooms even have small patios with nice old window shutters. Room has A/C, and the closets are old as well. Drove around town and was so surprised to see how magnificently BLUE the beach is. French Riviera is also known as Cote de Azur (meaning Blue Coast). You can see the different shades of blue in the beach, the darker shade means deeper depth.
5:00pm – 6:00pm – Freshen up, shower and prepare for dinner and night on town for more sightseeing and "gambling"
6:00pm – 7:30pm - Included dinner. This was held in a local restaurant nearby, very quaint small French restaurant. Served Chicken with white sauce, vegetables and fried potato balls. Dessert was very delicious ice cream cake.
7:30pm – 8:00pm – Head to Monte Carlo, Monaco. Drove past nice views of the French Riviera
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| Grand Casino |
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Grand Casino fountain |
8:00pm – 9:30pm – Monte Carlo, Monaco – this is a famous gambling spot in Europe where the "Rich" goes gambling. Monaco is a small principality – much like a separate country, located along the French Riviera. The famous Grand Prix racing is also held in this narrow winding streets – which we just missed by a week. Saw the Grand Casino, where we entered the lobby. Entrance to the actual casino required an entrance fee of 50FF. Other casinos in the area are free admission.
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| Ferrari F40 |
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Hotel de Paris - Monte Carlo |
We were amazed by the "kinds of cars" parked outside the casinos: Rolls Royce, Jaguar, BMW, "Ferrari", "Lamborghini", Porche, even their taxis are Mercedes Benz. Its ironic that a taxi ride will cost $70, since you will be riding in leather seats luxury car. It is said that people commonly use Helicopter for transfer to and from their residences by the hillside to the casino and those cost less – only $60 to ride. It was a fantastic experience, just being there, with the rich, famous, want to be rich, and the tourists like us.
10:00pm – Head back to hotel. Had a fantastic evening. One of the most memorable evenings of the trip…next to Paris.
| Day 9 – June 4, 2001, Monday – NICE ALL DAY SIGHTSEEING |
Weather: Absolutely beautiful, a perfect day, bright and sunny, yet a bit cool breeze in the morning. Around high 60’s F.
8:30am – 9:15am – Breakfast in hotel restaurant. Very large old room with chandeliers where you will think its part of a scene in Somewhere in time. The attendants in the hotel are very polite, and helpful. Great food service, made sure we had water, serviette, bread roll and croissant was served, along with milk, coffee and juice. Cheese was also served and even though we are not too crazy over cheese, these ones where delicious. Not much, but the service was GREAT.
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| Cote de Azur - Blue Coast |
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| Cote de Azur - Shore |
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9:15am – 11:15 am – Cote d Azur – This is what is Nice is all about – the Beach, the Blue coast…the French Riviera. This is the Mediterranean Sea, and unlike the ocean, a sea is much more calm. Just a few feet away from the shore, it would suddenly get deeper right away, so one should be cautious swimming in those beaches. Three blocks from the hotel, around 10-minute walk you will be facing the beach. It is an awesome sight, very nice hues of blue. Chairs by the beach are for rent. Tried to take a quick dip and the water was very inviting. Also, the temperature of the water is not too cold, try walking on the pebbled beach, and its quite a challenge.
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| Nice sightseeing :) |
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Sunbathing in Nice |
The people around are very casually dressed, and shockingly a lot of people are TOPLESS…I meant not just Men but also Women. It seems so casual that I think tourists like us are the ones making a big deal of. The beach was not that crowded because it is a public holiday.
11:15am – 1:30pm – Lunch and get ready for afternoon excursion. Just bought sandwiches from a small café place and took it back to the hotel. Also, walked by the Pedestrian market to buy more souvenirs. Prepared for afternoon.
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| St Paul de Vence |
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Fountain |
1:30pm – Meet with the rest of the group for an afternoon excursion.
St. Paul de Vence – This is an old village of ancient stone, shaped like a boat and known as Sant-Paou. Up to the present, it is still surrounded by its original walls. This is the haven of famous artists like Renoir, Picasso and Monet used to live. Also a medieval town perched on top of the hill, you will be enchanted with its narrow streets and stone walls. Fountains are found on the small squares, and water is potable, that we tried it for ourselves, and its like drinking Evian water which you just took from your fridge, because it was cold as well. |
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| La Turbie - Italian Riviera | La Turbie - Monaco |
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3 Corniches - this means roads carved on the side on the mountain. We drove up hill and saw nice views of the French Riviera, orientation about the houses of the rich and famous in the area, and that most of them use Nice as a vacation spot. Went to La Turbie (hill top) where we had spectacular views of the sea with a panorama covering three countries: Italy (Italian Riviera), Monaco (Monte Carlo and its casinos), and France (by French Riviera-particularly Nice).
Fragonard Perfumery – visit to one of the original perfumeries where famous brands like Chanel are being made. This branch is located near Eze Village. Got an orientation how the distillation of perfumes were being done, and how soaps, lotions and other beauty products are being made from precious flowers and other plants.
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| Dinner at Chez Irene |
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Ville France |
6:00pm – Dinner at Chez Irene right alongside Ville France (also part of French Riviera), where small boats were docked. This is a bay on the West side of Nice. BEST MEAL IN THE TRIP…Dinner included: Appetizer: Avocado and Shrimp Salad, Fish Soup with Biscotte, Grilled Prawns with rice and vegetables, and for dessert, Cream puff with ice cream and chocolat. After dinner, they had the BEST ESPRESSO I have ever dranked. Of course, unlimited drinks of juice, soda, red and white wine included. Had a great meal, and a great view of the bay. After dinner, it seems everybody had a little too much to drink, that everyone was laughing, and all in high spirits. Most of the ladies were picking on Andrea, our Italian Driver. Pictures…more pictures with all the girls, Andrea and Kevin.
9:30pm –We went to the promenade which is the pedestrian street lined with stores, shops and restaurants and bought some souvenirs. Funny experience is in one of the small shops, while looking at the small souvenirs, I heard a guy with American accent in a loud voice talking…as I turned, I saw this guy in a yellow striped pant suit, with matching hat … and guess what, it was Nick Nolte. The store owner was very excited to see him. I also noticed that most store owners spoke good English, compared to other French cities we’ve been to. Also got ourselves some nice Oil paintings of Paris from the other street vendors.
Promenade
11:00pm – back to our hotel. We had an excellent time in Nice, more relaxed and more "vacation-atmosphere". We are sad to leave Nice, and actually France in general….Au revoir…L
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