Tuesday we spent the day in Nice.

How you doin? What’s a happenin hot stuff?

 I don’t know what the deal with this guy is, but he appears to be guarding the city.  I’ll let my favorite know-it-all Tricia tell us more.  He was up about 2 stories in the middle of the square.

 The square.

 A very cool and very large sun dial.  Unfortunately the sun wasn’t out that day. Probably a good thing.  I’m sure it would have confused us as much as the trains did.

 Tres chic.  John dressed the part of a gentleman in Cote d'Azur.

 A hot mess since 1973!

 Because we didn’t spend enough time climbing mountains, we decide to climb another one.  From the bottom we could see a waterfall so we decided to check it out.  This is a view from about half way up.

 You are here.  The rest of this map was really cool as it told you what each of the mountains in the distance were.

 Almost there.  Taking pictures was a good reason to stop and catch my breath.

 More stairs?

 Mission accomplished!  I ate an extra macaroon that day.  I think I deserved it.

 There were a number of walkways that we explored on our way down.

 Plant graffiti. Banksy?

 Since John didn’t like his Senior picture, I took another one.  I'll photoshop in a wet look mullet and you'll never know that time has passed.

 Miss you mom!

Another view of the falls.  My computer is all messed up an it wouldn't let me put it anywhere else.

Today is our first day in Paris.  Mission 1:  find macaroons.

We are having a blast and enjoying every minute.  John says 'bonjour' to EVERYONE he sees.  He is the American ambassador for happiness in France.  Unfortunately for me he says it all the time, even when we are  alone. But, I'll take that over him singing My Cherie Amour.

Cannes

Monday we decided to go to Cannes as it was going to be the warmest day.  We packed up our beach gear, including our beach towels and delta blanket.  The first half of the day we spent laying on the beach.  We thought we saw Susan's French doppelgänger,  but we realized she wasn't super tan but Asian.  Unfortunately we did not get a picture of us using our beach towels.  Boy, it was a good thing we brought them.  Our apartment only had 2 towels that we used for showering.  So I say to The Brit, suck it.  We also used our Delta blanket at the beach, so my second suck it goes to you Michele.

 I was so relaxed I didn't even freak out when this guy came to say hello.  Better yet, he didn't peck my face off.

 We missed the movie festival by one day.  We were hoping to see some stars, but we didn't.

After the beach we went to grab a bite to each and drank a bottle of wine.

It got a little cold so I fashioned my Delta blanket into a lovely wrap.  Michele, I'm afraid I am going to have to tell you to suck it again.

From the train station we had a 20 minute walk to our apartment.  Most of it was uphill.  Before we started our ascent we would stop at the bakery at the bottom of the hill.  I was basically on the 5 a day macaroon plan.

Wednesday

Today we are taking the train from Antibes to Paris. It will be a 6 hour trip.  I can't wait to see the French countryside.  We plan on settling into our Paris apartment, getting something to eat and then exploring our new neighborhood.

We are a week into our trip and I'm trying not to think about the fact that we only have a week left.  Our next Europe trip will be longer for sure.

xoxo
SLK

Monaco: Recap

 John and I attended the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.  We had great seats!  It was a bit difficult finding where to pick up our tickets and how to get to our seats, but eventually we got there.  The most challenging portion of this trip was the train ride from Nice to Monaco.  Just when I thought we couldn't possibly squeeze another person onto the train, 5 more pushed and pushed.  For a brief time I had to bend my head down as someone's arm was over my head.

Monaco is the second smallest and most densely populated country in the world.  Wealthy people flock to Monaco as there is no income tax.  Monaco also has the world's highest GDP per capital at $251,000 and the highest life expectancy at 90 years old! (Making it a great place to find a sugar daddy if you are so inclined).  The unemployment rate is 0%.  It has the world's most expensive real estate market at $58,300 per square meter.

More important than all of that, Monaco is stunningly beautiful.

 There are hundreds of boats in the harbor.  To get a space there, owners must fill out an application and be selected.  The cost for a prime spot is 6,000 euros. 

 We were very close to the track.

 Rico Suave sat in front of us.  I would love to know how much product it took to get this look.  This brought back many memories for John of his beloved 'wet look' mullet.  It took everything in me not to reach out and touch it (twss).  

 Everywhere you look, people.  Every balcony was packed with people.

 Here is a Kimi Raikkonen super fan.  Or just a cross dressing Fin?  I'm not sure.

 There was a lot of action at the race.  Two safety cars and a red flag (they stop the race completely).  We did see the accident above.  This is the one that brought out the red flag.  Thankfully no one was hurt.

 Our new friends, originally from Brazil, now living in Sweden.  The kept trying to give us beers.  We both passed.  The bathroom lines were VERY long.  They were rooting for Masa, who started in last place (isn't his contract up yet?). The Brazilians are the craziest F1 fans.  They wear their country flag with pride.  They told us they were certain Masa would come from last and win the race (delusional).  Unfortunately he crashed.  Masa didn't get out of the car right away and they went into panic mode.  Once they realized he was ok, more beers were opened.

 Track crew waving to the drivers at the end of the race.

Amazing.  We stuck around after the race and walked the streets.  I didn't get the Ferrari win I was hoping for, but holy crap I got to see the race in Monaco.  For me that was a dream come true. 

Today

You know you are having a good time when you don't know what day it is.  Off to Nice to explore. It is another beautiful day in the French Rivera.

Hopefully I'll post pictures tonight.

Xoxo
Slk

Sunday

I'm too tired and too relaxed to think about putting up a post.  So, here is a quick update.  We arrived in Nice last night.  Today we went to Monaco for the Grand Prix.  It is so beautiful there, words cannot describe it. Pictures do not do it justice. 

There is a full moon tonight so we are going up on our roof top patio to watch it. We did this last night and it was quite a show....the moon light hitting the Mediterranean.  It almost looks like the water is lit from below. 

We almost had a major crisis last night.  John realized we were almost out of TP.  Not good for two people who are so full of it.  Today we stopped to grab a few rolls and instead we grabbed paper towels.  Tomorrow we will get it right.  I'm sure we were still under the spell of Monaco.

Tomorrow we are off to the beach!

John says he doesn't miss anyone.  What an ass.

Bonsoir.

We have arrived

Our plan arrived in Milan around 7am today.  We hit the ground running, at least what I can remember of it.  The first hour was a blur, probably due to the Ambien that I took.  On the plus side, I probably got six or so hours of sleep on the plane.

We saw The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in the church of Santa Maria della Grazie. In keeping with our "Jesus theme" we also went to the Duomo.  It is the third largest church in Christendom and took 500 years to complete.  We were told that a trip to the top would result in a stunning view of the Alps.  While we don't have tickets to the opera, we were at least able to walk by La Scala.  Other worthy sites were seen as well.

Grandma is taking a nap.  I'm getting sleepy so I'm doing everything possible to stay awake.

Ciao!

Updates

I want to report that our blog, in its infant stage, is blowing up!  Thank you to all of our loyal followers!  And a quick shout out to our new friend in Indonesia.  We wouldn't be where we are today without you.

Grandma wanted to get a pair of red pants to attempt fitting in with the New York hipsters.  It only took her an hour at Macy's to put together this little number.  Where was I during this shopping spree?  Drinking a beer at the pizza parlor next door.

Once we got our gear ready for the morning we headed out to dinner.  Grandma got a sangria which luckily came with its very own fruit shovel.  That girl can sure shovel it in.

As our booze buzz set in, we made our way back to our hotel which looked like an Ikea showroom.

This morning we headed out for a bite and a stroll around Broadway and Times Square.  I met a few new friends....

Look Gwen!  Aunt CC with Hi O Kitty (what Gwennie calls Hello Kitty)!!!

I was able to secure the first round of gifts for the twins birthday.  Hoping to pick up the rest in Paris.

John was told he has a lovely wife.  I'm looking forward to meeting her someday.

Ironically, shortly after meeting my new friends I found this little number....

Hi O Titty? Hello indeed.

We are now saying our goodbyes to NYC by indulging in a few airport cocktails.  In two short hours we hope to be in the air, heading for Milan.  First stop there, The Last Supper. 

Stranded at the drive in.....branded a fool.

Karma has decided that we should spend the night in NYC.  So we are off to get clothes and some am beauty products for John. Then we hit the city. Watch out New York!

For you mother....

Thursday, May 23 Arrive in Milan at 6:50am
Saturday, May 25 travel from Milan to Nice
Sunday, May 26 Monaco!!! 
Wednesday, May 29 travel from Nice to Paris
Wednesday, June 5 :( Back to the bus.  Arrive in Columbus at 4:17pm

And please stop worrying.  We will be fine.  My purse will be fine. Loves!

Come along with us on our journey.

Here are the idiots.....

 
 Idiot #1 packing his towel...

Idiot #2 eating lunch with Elmo.....