The beautiful French Riviera

Hi there! I am sitting in an internet cafe in Nice. Please forgive me if I make spelling errors as the French keyboard is really difficult to use. All the letters are in the wrong places and you have to press the shift key for a full stop.

Our tour so far has been pretty full on. Two days in Paris, one spent wandering around on our own which was great. Saw Notre Dame, walked down the Champs-Elysees, watched Paris walk by. It was great. Sent three post cards too, so it will be a surprise as to who gets one.... And we also went up the Eiffel Tour on our first night in Paris, really takes your breath away when you see it for the first time.

From Paris we drove to Lyon, a nice place on the Rhine River. We did a walkabout dinner as out tour manager calls them. Basically it means that we are left to our own devices in a certain part of town to get food. We went off in search of food with a couple from Melbourne (yes there are heaps of Aussies on the tour). We found this great restaurant in a side alley. I had the best duck i have ever had. Absolutely devine. I don`t think I will be able to eat it anywhere else now!!

From Lyon we went to Nice, stopping in a town called Avignon on the way. Tried the local food of course. I remembered from home that mum made something called Pisaladiere, which is basically a tart thing with anchovies and olives and onion on it. I found one and it was so good!!

Arrived in Nice last night. Changed and drove to Monaco for dinner (as you do). We saw the palace, which is surprisingly open. There are guards but it is not behind walls at all. Dinner was good, nice food. Then it was back to the bus for a trip to a casino in Monte Carlo. I spent nothing but Scott did some gambling on the black jack table. Lost some but had fun.

Then we came back to the hotel and went out for drinks. This turned into a very long night and we got back to our room at 4.30 this morning. So I am tired, but having a great time.

All in all I am loving Europe. Apart from the cigarette smoke everywhere. The buildings are awesome. I feel really lucky to be here and to be able to experience all that we are.

Internet cafes are expensive here so I hope I can update soon. Keep looking to see what I am up to! And comments are welcome. Bye bye for now!