Volume 16 - Day 200/166, 2024 - Thursday

Okay, well, this was another incredibly long day. Not long as in there were 29 hours in the day, just long in stuff we did and the number of stairs we climbed. We (Lynda) signed up for a five hour tour to go from Nice to Eze and Monaco. We were supposed to be picked up at 8:30 this morning, and there was some confusion, since we were not picked up by 8:40. Michael called the tour operator, and we think they just sent any available tour bus to get us. The five hour tour ended up being OVER TEN HOURS. We were retrieved from the street at about 9AM, and there were 8 of us on the tour. We were in a nine passenger van, and if we had been a Baptist Church group, that would have spelled disaster. Well...our first stop was Cannes. Bear in mind, the longest time we had at any one of the stops (keep counting), was an hour... We saw where the Cannes Film Festival is held, saw the water and boats, and got back on the bus. Next stop: Antibes. This was a good stop. There was a great outdoor market (huge) and the Musee Picasso, Antibes. There were Picasso works, AND they were having a show of Joan Miro's works. Very nice! Then, we were off to St. Paul de Vence. St. Paul de Vence is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region of Southeastern France. A very nice little village, with lots of steps and inclines (more inclines than declines), little shops (wonderful contemporary art) and buildings and cathedrals dating back hundreds of years. I am wondering if this translates into St. Vincent de Paul charities in the US. Not sure. On to Eze. More steps. I think we actually ate lunch there, but not sure. Beautiful cenery, lots of stuff. Monaco was next, we had maybe 45 minutes, I had my picture taken with an octopus, took a picture of a yellow submarine, a beautiful church where Princess Grace is buried, the Prince's Palace (it doesn't really look like much of a palace), and then we were off to Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo was the last stop on the tour, and we could not get anywhere near the real casino, we had to make do with just the lobby and the gift shop. SO, IN CLOSING...it was a three hat day, and a no t-shirt day. The photo accompanying this journal entry is, what I am calling, a statue of blind luck, just inside the casino in Monte Carlo. She is carrying a basket of coins (apparently she plays the nickel slots), and I am trying to get a few of them. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am pretty sure it will be interesting. More to follow tomorrow.