Rien ne va plus

Day:7
Miles: 1135/25
Coordinates: +43° 43' 51.88", +7° 25' 32.62" (Monaco)

Today we decided to combine the driving and sightseeing treat that are Les Corniches (3 routes curved in the mountains linking Nice with Monaco: a seaside one, a mountain-top one and one in the middle, i.e. one for every taste). We went to Nice by the seaside (Basse) Corniche; Azur waters,secluded gulfs, tunnels, twists and turns, beautiful villages, it has it all. One of the villages, Beaulieu-sur-Mer has been imortalised in the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with Steve Martin and Michael Caine.

Nice (Nikaia) is the capital of the Riviera with 400k inhabitants, but that doesn't stop it from being a very pretty and full of character city. Maybe because of its history - it has been part of Italy until the middle 19th century, it feels less French and more Italian. You can see it in the facade of the baroque buildings and its colourful yet simple cuisine.

After strolling through the old town and part of the (never-ending) Promenade des Anglais,we headed back to Monaco -half-melted by the sun- via the middle (Moyenne) Corniche, so that we could enjoy the view of the Riviera from an altitude.

On our way back we made a brief stop at Eze, a small village perched at the edge of the cliff, which offered great sea views. And finally Monaco! Have we mentioned that we love it? What's not to love? Its beautiful cinematic setting, its neat-iness, the je ne sais quoi in the atmosphere that makes everyone put on their best behaviour, the constant deep-Ferrari-bass soundtrack in the background. But seriously..Monaco is unique. It is not vulgar or pretentious, it is old-money compared to Cannes' new-money; perhaps, since almost everyone is filth rich, there is no point to show off.

Monaco is definetely Sean Connery, not Daniel Craig (no offense Daniel).

PS: speaking of the Casino, we made a killing last night; the return on our outlay eclipsing all other investments we have done this year!

PS2: With this we bid the lovely French Riviera a bientot and we head for the Italian lakes.