The French Riviera, Europe 2011, Day 30

So I did some shopping...

Thanks to Kelly B’s thoughtful booking, we set out on a elaborate tour of the French Riviera.  We went to breakfast at a delightful café found by Kelly and Kelsey the previous day.  When we got back, our passenger van was waiting for us at the Beau Rivage. 

Our tour guide, and new friend Artur picked us up.  A couple (Steve and Susan) were already in the car.  Our first stop was the beautiful St. Paul de Vence.  High up on a hill, it was a beautiful Riviera town established several hundred years ago.  We did some pretty substantial shopping damage at the adorable shops selling art, textiles, and gourmet products. 

Obligatory Red Carpet Pic

The next stop was Antibes.  Antibes is knows for its marina and market.  It was another adorable town, it also had many students.  I think I would consider staying in Antibes on my next trip to the area.  We lost Steve and Susan for almost an hour.  Thanks to some James Patterson novel, Kelly decided they were serial killers using a tourist trip as an alibi.  According to Arthur, this is not the first time they have “gotten lost” for a considerable period of time. 

After Antibes, we made a quick stop in Cannes.  All that we really saw in Cannes was the theatre where the Cannes Film Festival is held -- Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.  We and about two billion other tourists took pictures on the red carpet, and called it a day.  Apparently, Cannes is the locust of nightlife on the Riviera. 

Grace Kelly Gardens

We stopped back in Nice to drop off Steve and Susan and pick up a mother and daughter from Philadelphia, and the new group headed to Monaco.  We barely noticed when we crossed the border into Monaco. 

In Monaco, we first went to the Casino and Hotel de Paris.  There is a 15 Euro charge to enter the casino floor, and you aren’t allowed to take pictures.  We decided against paying the cover charge and instead just looked around the main lobby of the casino like two billion other tourists.  We also checked out the Monaco Prada store, and walked around the beautiful gardens and vistas of Monaco. 

St. Jean Cap Ferrat

Next, we went up to the city centre of Monaco.  We saw more gardens, more vistas, a cathedral, and the courthouse (palais de justice).  We walked up through the pedestrian streets to the castle where the royal family lives.  We got to see a wedding in progress, got some gelato, and then headed back to the van. 

My least favorite stop of the tour was into this perfume factory in Monaco.  It was way too touristy and overpriced.  At least now in know the difference between parfume, and eau de parfume.  Yay.

The last stop of the tour was to the city of Eze.  This was one of my favorites.  I was talking on the phone and got lost, but luckily all of these towns go in a circle, so I found my way.  We made a quick stop to take pictures of St Jean Cap Ferrat and then were returned to our hotel in Nice.  Artur gave us a bottle of Rose. 

My last dinner in Europe was at The Frog at Artur’s recommendation.  That may have been my best meal of the trip.  I had “beef two ways” – beef tartare + beef carpicuio.  Delish.  Through some strategic texting we ended up meeting up with Artur and his friends. 

We went across old town to Victor Hugo avenue to the bar on top of what I think was the Boscolo Hotel which has a great view of the city.  On the way there we met some tweens that competed for our attention and argued over who had the best English skills.  It was hilar.  When we found out that the terrace was closing,  we first we thought they were discriminating against us after our experience the previous evening.  Artur and Co. already left, so we met them at Ma Nolan’s, an Irish Pub.  Artur had the coolest friends – a few Colombians, a Mexican, and more Frenchmen. 

Our cosmopolitan group shut down Ma Nolan’s and then went to an afterhours club called Les Coulisses.  We danced the night away, met some more new friends, including an entire group dressed as conquistadors.  I have no answers. 

Before I knew it, the alarm on my phone to wake up was going off.  Kelly and I left the club and headed back to the hotel.  As I walked in, I had to apologize to the front desk for not being in my room during my wake up call.  I grabbed my bag, got a cab, and headed to the airport.  I barely made it on the plane, but I did. 

I fell asleep upon sitting down, and then didn’t wake up until well after landing when the flight attendant started calling for “Mr. Ahmed” because Lufthansa had a car waiting for me on the tarmac.  Lufthansa first class was awesome.  A porche picked me up as I was getting off the plane and drove me directly to the Senator’s Club where a personal customs agent handled my passport.  The flight back involved Johnny Walker Blue and caviar. It still didn’t make having to leave my awesome vacation any better.