Okay so since I've got a LOT to catch y'all up on I'm going to do this in pieces (I mean I know that would love to spend hours and hours catching up on my latest adventures but for those of you in a time crunch I'm going to cater to your needs!). When I last left you I was off to explore Europe and explore Europe I did, my passport is now taking a well needed rest for the next 27 days until I fly home (can you believe that?!). Rae and I decided that for us, the best way to travel would be with a group so we joined a company called Topdeck and our tour started in sunny Barcelona. We were met by an energetic groups of people who were excited to see what Europe had to offer. While I have to admit that Barcelona was not my favorite city that we traveled to we did embark on a bike tour that ended up with us sitting on the beach sipping sangria and soaking up the sun, a very enjoyable experience indeed!
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| Barcelona! |
After Barcelona we were headed to Nice, a city on the French Riviera, the home of the rich and famous. On our way into the city we stopped at a perfumery and got a tour on how they make perfume by the most adorable little french lady that was on speed or just really really loving life. The perfume this company makes so wicked expensive and they have a person called "the nose" that mixes the scents to create the perfect scent for your perfume wearing pleasure. To keep their smelling senses in tact the nose can't drink alcohol, smoke, eat spicy food, drink coffee or do anything that could damage their sense of smell. They also have to go to school for 3 years and do a 7 year apprenticeship, talk about some serious education. But the 50 "noses" in the world get paid BIG bucks so maybe it's worth it?! It was really neat to see how they make high end perfume but dang did it smell in there. A girl can only take so much essence of rose until she has to take a step outside!
After our smelly adventure our whole group went out to dinner and then out to an Australian bar in France (don't ask!) called Wayne's Bar where I encountered my first Sex on the Beach cocktail (yum!) and the band played good sing along music like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Benny and the Jets". The tables were actually built for dancing on and it ended up being a really really fun night. The highlight was probably when the band found out that the room was packed with Australians (in an Australian bar, who woulda thought?!) so they started playing all these Australian songs that everyone but the Americans and Canadians in our tour group (that's 5 out of 30 for those of you wondering) and it was hilarious. Those Aussies sure can sing! On the way to dinner we were all walking down the streets admiring all the shops and the scenery and I pointed out to everyone that there were 2 H&M stores on the same street. As I was doing this I turned my head and proceeded to walk straight into a pole with so much force that my arms actually wrapped around it. Needless to say my chest was a bit sore the next day and for the remainder of the trip I was warned when large metal poles in the street were nearing!
The next day we relaxed around Nice, did a bit of shopping and laying on the beach (the natural beaches here are soft stones, not sand) and then getting ready for our big night out to Monaco! Now me being me and the plain Jane I am didn't bring any dresses or skirts on my European adventure so I was in a bit of a pickle as to what to wear. I needn't have feared because the girls on the trip were like all my lovely AOII sisters and let me raid their closets because apparently Monte Carlo, the most prestigious casino in the world has a dress code, who knew! Fun fact: Monaco is a country where you can buy citizenship and they will reject your application if there is too much controversy attached to your name (Madonna and Michael Jackson have both been denied citizenship) and the citizens of Monaco are not allowed to gamble in the Casinos because they don't pay any taxes. Also, it has a 0% crime rate and is one of the safest places in the world.
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| Me in my borrowed "Sunday best" on the way to Monaco with the Mediterranean Sea and Nice in the background | ! |
The drive from Nice to Monaco was basically over the mountains and to the other side. We passed some of the biggest yachts in the world that are harbored there, the place where Grace Kelly died when she accidentally drove off the mountain, and where they do the formula one (I think) race around Monaco. For this last bit our awesome bus driver (a big coach bus mind you) stopped at the start line, revved the engine, got us all cheering and then sped off the starting line (well as fast as the coach bus would allow, but still!). The casino's themselves were not too busy or exciting since it was a Monday night but not many people get to claim that the first time they gambled was in Monaco so that was pretty neat. I ended up losing 3 euro in the machines and didn't want to lose all of the 5 I put in (traveling on a budget here people!) but when I asked the man at the desk for my remaining 2 euro I at first thought he didn't understand me but then he started laughing at me and handed over my cash. Apparently they don't get many requests for 2 euro in those parts! The next morning we had to get up early to head to Switzerland where I will pick up in my next post!
I'm posting new pictures right after this so check them out on my blog page if you want to! I can't believe how fast the month went by and feel so lucky to have had all these experiences that I am writing about!! I can't believe I'll be home in 26 days, dang! Keep the kind thoughts and prayers coming!
Love from London,
Stacey
