Cannes, France by the pier.

Our view from our table in Cannes.

Prawns with pasta and sauce.

Coming into Monaco.

Monaco is very hilly, but allows for the best views of the city and sea.

Me and hubby and that notorious backpack. He left it on a city bus the first day of our land tour. From then on, it was the joke of the trip.

One of many beautiful homes in Monaco.

Corner pastry shop in Monaco.

Look what I got to snack on while walking around Monaco.

Back in Nice overlooking the sea and homes tucked in the landscape.

Part three of my trip to Europe and what an adventure we had. Our 14 day trip was a combination of land and cruise with hopes of getting the most bang for our buck. The only challenge to this plan was that you only have so many hours in port. With that said…we had twelve hours to see three cities, Nice, Cannes and Monaco. We pre- arranged a rental car to save time and that was the best decision we made.

We docked in Nice and made our way to the car rental. Now this was no small feat because our French is limited to Oui and Bonjour. My hubby took French in high school and I had my translation book in hand. We didn’t have internet so all the translation apps I download to my phone, were a waste of time. We met a lovely French woman while wondering around Nice. When we asked her for directions to the car rental in our broken French, she smiled and answered in English. Marta, just so happened to own a tour business and offered to drive us to the car rental. At first we were delighted, then once aboard her van, we questioned whether or not we had made the right decision, climbing in an unmarked car with a stranger on the other side of the world, but all was good.

We loaded up the rental and headed in the wrong direction for Cannes. Once we got on track, it was a beautiful drive with the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. The highway was lined with the sweet fragrance of bougainvillea and oleander. France just smelled like a bottle of perfume. 30 minutes later we were in Cannes where we dined alfresco then strolled the island taking in the relaxed atmosphere of the people.
To add to our adventure, we turned on the GPS and realized it was in French. Luckily, we stopped to ask a young Monsieur to program the GPS to English. He was happy to practice his English on us and pointed us in the direction of Monaco. As we were approaching Monaco, I could feel the elevation and the freeway narrowing around us, like those James Bond movies. I started to get a little freaked out but the view was so breathe taking, I forgot all my fears. What a beautiful city. The air was so clean and crisp.
We enjoyed some delicious pastries from a small bakery. Sadly, it was time to head back to Nice. Once there, the GPS kept directing us in circles and time was running out. Finally, we spotted the rental drop off location and hailed a taxi to the port just in time to board the ferry. Like I said, it was an adventure.
Enjoy,
MJ