Mission Possible

....Code In....
Simpson, Lindsey Simpson...
...Your mission if you choose to accept it is to have a wonderful time in Monte Carlo and Cannes for your birthday.....Do you accept?....Yes.

The Hollywood of France. Monte Carlo was amazing. I have never seen so many expensive sports cars in all my life. I couldn't tell if I was at a car show or a casino. On Saturday morning Andrea came to pick me up and we headed to Monte Carlo. We arrived around 11:30 and had time to visit the royal palace-which was nice but not as elegant as the casino and then went to the cathedral that houses the tomb of Grace Kelly. We ate pizza at a sidewalk cafe along the street where they have the grand prix race every year. We took a walk around the harbor, but unfortunately it was hard to see some of the boats because they were having a VIP yatch show. All the yatchs were for sale so from the bridge we each picked out which one we wanted. We both decided on Lady Anne which was 68m (223 ft)long. After our shopping spree we went to the casino to get the money to pay for our new boat. Woa, can you say underdressed? No matter how cute my tee shirt and jeans were, it just didn't cut it. In order to get on the main floor you had to have a tie if you were a male and a cocktail dress if you were a female. So we decided to go to the slot machine room with the rest of the obvious tourists. We played a few...disappointing because they were all in English and most you can find in Vegas. I lost 10 euros pretty quick but Andy made 16 so we quit while he was ahead. From the casino we decided to head towards Cannes. We stopped in Nice and walked down the main street and the beach. I had an icecream while we sat on the beach. I was in Nice in June but this weekend I saw all new parts and really enjoyed the city. When we got to Cannes it was about 5:30. We checked into our Best Western hotel-exotic I know-and then headed to the main blvd along the sea. We went to the theater where they have the film festival and took pictures with some "stars". After "networking" we found a seafood restaraunt on the strip where I had a piece of Salmon out of this world. While we were eating this family passed the restaraunt and thought I knew them but couldn't place them. After dinner we walked back to the theater and watched street artists paint with spray paint and the same family was also watching. I finally figured out who they were, good friends of Pat and Alberto's, and went up to say hello. The last time I saw them was in May so they were surprised I remembered them...Small world

The next day we slept in until 8:30...which is late for both of us. We found a small bakery by the sea and had french pastries...yumm. Andy really wanted to swim so we went to the sea and he took a bath (that's what Italians call going for a swim in the water and really taking a bath..confusing) while I sat and read my book. We figured we saw most of Cannes so we headed to an old Medival Village, St. Paul de Vence. Che Bello (how beautiful) We both fell in love with the place. He kept saying how he couldn't believe he had never been there before. Most of the shops were art galleries so we spent time looking at the art. We went to the local church and out of all the churches I have seen in Italy I think this is my favorite. I was very suttle in decoration and had small wooden pews. There were three small stain glass windows and some amazing paintings on the stone walls. I didn't take any pictures of it cause I was in awe and forgot. Oops. We had lunch in this tiny cafe in a basement of a store. Really good food and I had my first French crepe..buono. While we were eating we met three people from Boston and then an older couple from Idaho. We wanted to miss traffic so we decided to head back to Torino, even though we both wanted to just stay and open an art gallery for me and a wine shop for him. Unfortunately we did hit traffic and it took us 4-1/2 hours to get home but we drove along the cost and could see Nice and Monacco from the clifts so it was worth it. All in all this was one heck of a gift. I really enjoyed myself and can't believe all the beautiful places I am getting to see. I have posted the pics so check them out when you have time.

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