Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Wee, Wee, we made it to France today. We are in the port of VilleFranche, the gateway to the French Riviera. It is a picturesque port, the prettiest one we have been too. I can’t wait to show you all pictures. It was another tender day and we got an early start. When we got the information about excursions from Disney there was one from this port that Jarrett was interested in, a convertible car tour of the French Riviera. When online booking started it was sold out immediately. We never booked anything else in hopes that a spot would open up. When we arrived last week I checked with the excursion desk and low and behold a spot had opened up. We were so excited.
So us and four other couples meet and were ready to go when we got news that they needed to delay us 3 hours because the cars had not arrived yet but we would get a 10% discount. We had already dropped the kids off so we went and explored Villefranche by foot. It had the cutest little shops, cafes and bakeries. We bought a baguette and sat outside and ate it overlooking the bay. We also walked on the beach, which instead of sand had tiny little pebbles. There were all these old French men bathing in the water in their Speedos that were way too small. Jarrett enjoyed the scenery of the topless sun bathers at the beach. He wanted to take pictures but I wouldn’t let him.
After our romantic stroll in Villefranche we went back to the pier and waited for our cars to arrive. The vendor arrived but no convertibles. She said there had not been enough drivers to get all the cars to where we were so she came to take us to the cars in Monaco. She just happened to be an official tour guide so we got a private tour as well. We arrived in Monaco and got our cars and maps. Jarrett picked out a silver Alfa Rameo. The guy in charge of the cars told us to be extra careful because this was the most powerful car. The lady that had driven us to Monaco asked if we wanted to see Monte Carlo and of course we all said yes. She said she would drive us by there because it is very hard to navigate your way there if you have never been then she would leave us on our own. The four couples decided that we would all try to stick together.
The Monte Carlo was amazing, every kind of expensive car imaginable was parked outside like Bentleys, Ferraris, rolls Royce, lotus, etc. Jarrett and I were in the last car and we got separated from the group when a Bentley got in front of us to be valet parked. We were a little nervous because we didn’t have a clue where to go and the roads aren’t like they are in Tulsa. We made one French man mad right out side the casino when apparently we did something wrong. As he was yelling at us in French we spotted our group and caught back up. Our guide left us and now we were on our own to figure out the maps and streets. I will give you a little background info here.
Neither one of us know any French.
Usually I don’t do well in situations where we don’t know where we are going. (e.g. Palermo)
Remember, we are planners and not good at spontaneous stuff.
We usually obey Traffic laws.
This tour challenged us in all these ways, but we had a BLAST!!!! It was fun trying to maneuver our way through the crazy city streets. At first we were following the other cars in our group but right away one of them got separated. We decided at this point it was survival of the fittest. There was no turning back. The guide maps they gave us showed us several different routes and itineraries but they weren’t the clearest maps I have ever come across. So they didn’t help us much. Our goal was to get out of Monaco; because it was crazy, and head up to the Grand Corniche (a high road that goes around the mountains and follows the coast ) We wanted to visit the medieval town of Eze, Nice and Cannes. We somehow ended up at a toll road at the end of Monaco which is not where we were supposed to be at and it said no U turn but there was no other way out. So we did what any other stupid touristo would do. We booked it across the double lane highway on the side of a cliff and got going the right way. That was only the first of many traffic laws we broke. We finally found our way out of Monaco, the first turn that we were to take was labeled a hair pin turn. The map said to be extremely careful because this was the turn where Princess Grace died in a car crash. We were the only ones in our group who saw the road and turned, we don’t know where the others went but as it turns out they all got separated and everyone did their own thing. Once we made it to the top road overlooking the med. Sea we observed breathtaking views of the water and the beautiful architecture. Tina Turner and Elton John have villas up there along with lots of other famous people.
Jarrett relaxed once we were out of the city and on these open roads. The car was a powerful stick shift and fortunately for me the roads were extremely curvy so he couldn’t let loose. He was itching so bad to have a straight open rode so he could drive fast. I felt like a movie star driving around in this car on a beautiful day in a beautiful car in my big straw hat in one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Will somebody pinch me please?? . Let me just say Jarrett looked hot driving this car. Is that ok to say in my blog???? You know what, it never bothered me that we didn’t really know where we were going and we didn’t have a plan. We were totally caught up in the moment.
We found the village of Eze which was extremely charming. We shopped in little shops that went up the side of a cliff which led to this old medieval village. It was really cool and once you reached the top you could see a panoramic view of the French Riviera. Next we made our way on some quiet roads with no traffic and eventually made it to Nice then somehow make to Eze again, then to Villefranche, then to Eze a third time. We gave up trying to get to Cannes and instead decided it was meant to be that we see Eze a lot. It was getting late and we were feeling the need to get the kids out of the kids club (what were we thinking), so we tried to get back to Villefranche. We could see it but we couldn’t get there. These streets are so tiny and hilly and have cars parked everywhere and let me remind you, we speak no French. We ended up in another part of Nice that we hadn’t seen yet and it was really pretty. Finally, we made it back to the port of Villefranche and delivered our car safe and sound. Come to find out another lady that was on our tour, the first one to get separated from the group, had an all out panic attack in Monaco because of the traffic and crazy streets. She told her husband just to driver her off a cliff. Crazy isn’t it.
The kiddos were happy to see us at 4pm. Aunt Jennifer got Madelyn out of the club for a little bit and took her and Ally swimming. She put them back in while they went on their tour called “Nice and Eze with Wine and Cheese”
Nicholas stayed in the club today with Nathan for a while. They learned all about Volcanoes and Crepes. They also had a lot of free time. When I picked up the kids I got Ally out as well and took them to our room. We let them order whatever they wanted from room service. They all sat on the couch and watched a Disney movie and ate. After that we rested and got ready for dinner. All we do is eat. We were the only ones at dinner for the first 30 minutes then everyone else showed up straight from their excursions. Grammy and Grampy went on an all day tour of Monaco, Eze and Nice. They had a great time. We all went to the show together. It was called “When Mickey Dreams” It was a Cirque D’ Solie type show. These shows are top notch. If you are thinking of doing a cruise I would highly recommend the Disney one, it definitely appeals to all ages. We would like to come back on one. I can’t believe it is almost over. We could stay longer, except I think the kids are getting spoiled. Ivan, our server cuts their food, puts their napkin in their lap, brings them non-stop drinks and their favorite desserts every night. There is chocolate on their pillows every night along with a towel animal. We asked Madelyn who was going to make her bed when we got home and she replayed “Flora, of course.” Oh, no sweetie, you will resume that chore. We went to the buffet one morning and Nathan just stood there saying we were not allowed to get our own food, Ivan needs to do that. Oh, boy it will be a reality check for them next week. We love you all, see you soon.
Wee, Wee, we made it to France today. We are in the port of VilleFranche, the gateway to the French Riviera. It is a picturesque port, the prettiest one we have been too. I can’t wait to show you all pictures. It was another tender day and we got an early start. When we got the information about excursions from Disney there was one from this port that Jarrett was interested in, a convertible car tour of the French Riviera. When online booking started it was sold out immediately. We never booked anything else in hopes that a spot would open up. When we arrived last week I checked with the excursion desk and low and behold a spot had opened up. We were so excited.
So us and four other couples meet and were ready to go when we got news that they needed to delay us 3 hours because the cars had not arrived yet but we would get a 10% discount. We had already dropped the kids off so we went and explored Villefranche by foot. It had the cutest little shops, cafes and bakeries. We bought a baguette and sat outside and ate it overlooking the bay. We also walked on the beach, which instead of sand had tiny little pebbles. There were all these old French men bathing in the water in their Speedos that were way too small. Jarrett enjoyed the scenery of the topless sun bathers at the beach. He wanted to take pictures but I wouldn’t let him.
After our romantic stroll in Villefranche we went back to the pier and waited for our cars to arrive. The vendor arrived but no convertibles. She said there had not been enough drivers to get all the cars to where we were so she came to take us to the cars in Monaco. She just happened to be an official tour guide so we got a private tour as well. We arrived in Monaco and got our cars and maps. Jarrett picked out a silver Alfa Rameo. The guy in charge of the cars told us to be extra careful because this was the most powerful car. The lady that had driven us to Monaco asked if we wanted to see Monte Carlo and of course we all said yes. She said she would drive us by there because it is very hard to navigate your way there if you have never been then she would leave us on our own. The four couples decided that we would all try to stick together.
The Monte Carlo was amazing, every kind of expensive car imaginable was parked outside like Bentleys, Ferraris, rolls Royce, lotus, etc. Jarrett and I were in the last car and we got separated from the group when a Bentley got in front of us to be valet parked. We were a little nervous because we didn’t have a clue where to go and the roads aren’t like they are in Tulsa. We made one French man mad right out side the casino when apparently we did something wrong. As he was yelling at us in French we spotted our group and caught back up. Our guide left us and now we were on our own to figure out the maps and streets. I will give you a little background info here.
Neither one of us know any French.
Usually I don’t do well in situations where we don’t know where we are going. (e.g. Palermo)
Remember, we are planners and not good at spontaneous stuff.
We usually obey Traffic laws.
This tour challenged us in all these ways, but we had a BLAST!!!! It was fun trying to maneuver our way through the crazy city streets. At first we were following the other cars in our group but right away one of them got separated. We decided at this point it was survival of the fittest. There was no turning back. The guide maps they gave us showed us several different routes and itineraries but they weren’t the clearest maps I have ever come across. So they didn’t help us much. Our goal was to get out of Monaco; because it was crazy, and head up to the Grand Corniche (a high road that goes around the mountains and follows the coast ) We wanted to visit the medieval town of Eze, Nice and Cannes. We somehow ended up at a toll road at the end of Monaco which is not where we were supposed to be at and it said no U turn but there was no other way out. So we did what any other stupid touristo would do. We booked it across the double lane highway on the side of a cliff and got going the right way. That was only the first of many traffic laws we broke. We finally found our way out of Monaco, the first turn that we were to take was labeled a hair pin turn. The map said to be extremely careful because this was the turn where Princess Grace died in a car crash. We were the only ones in our group who saw the road and turned, we don’t know where the others went but as it turns out they all got separated and everyone did their own thing. Once we made it to the top road overlooking the med. Sea we observed breathtaking views of the water and the beautiful architecture. Tina Turner and Elton John have villas up there along with lots of other famous people.
Jarrett relaxed once we were out of the city and on these open roads. The car was a powerful stick shift and fortunately for me the roads were extremely curvy so he couldn’t let loose. He was itching so bad to have a straight open rode so he could drive fast. I felt like a movie star driving around in this car on a beautiful day in a beautiful car in my big straw hat in one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Will somebody pinch me please?? . Let me just say Jarrett looked hot driving this car. Is that ok to say in my blog???? You know what, it never bothered me that we didn’t really know where we were going and we didn’t have a plan. We were totally caught up in the moment.
We found the village of Eze which was extremely charming. We shopped in little shops that went up the side of a cliff which led to this old medieval village. It was really cool and once you reached the top you could see a panoramic view of the French Riviera. Next we made our way on some quiet roads with no traffic and eventually made it to Nice then somehow make to Eze again, then to Villefranche, then to Eze a third time. We gave up trying to get to Cannes and instead decided it was meant to be that we see Eze a lot. It was getting late and we were feeling the need to get the kids out of the kids club (what were we thinking), so we tried to get back to Villefranche. We could see it but we couldn’t get there. These streets are so tiny and hilly and have cars parked everywhere and let me remind you, we speak no French. We ended up in another part of Nice that we hadn’t seen yet and it was really pretty. Finally, we made it back to the port of Villefranche and delivered our car safe and sound. Come to find out another lady that was on our tour, the first one to get separated from the group, had an all out panic attack in Monaco because of the traffic and crazy streets. She told her husband just to driver her off a cliff. Crazy isn’t it.
The kiddos were happy to see us at 4pm. Aunt Jennifer got Madelyn out of the club for a little bit and took her and Ally swimming. She put them back in while they went on their tour called “Nice and Eze with Wine and Cheese”
Nicholas stayed in the club today with Nathan for a while. They learned all about Volcanoes and Crepes. They also had a lot of free time. When I picked up the kids I got Ally out as well and took them to our room. We let them order whatever they wanted from room service. They all sat on the couch and watched a Disney movie and ate. After that we rested and got ready for dinner. All we do is eat. We were the only ones at dinner for the first 30 minutes then everyone else showed up straight from their excursions. Grammy and Grampy went on an all day tour of Monaco, Eze and Nice. They had a great time. We all went to the show together. It was called “When Mickey Dreams” It was a Cirque D’ Solie type show. These shows are top notch. If you are thinking of doing a cruise I would highly recommend the Disney one, it definitely appeals to all ages. We would like to come back on one. I can’t believe it is almost over. We could stay longer, except I think the kids are getting spoiled. Ivan, our server cuts their food, puts their napkin in their lap, brings them non-stop drinks and their favorite desserts every night. There is chocolate on their pillows every night along with a towel animal. We asked Madelyn who was going to make her bed when we got home and she replayed “Flora, of course.” Oh, no sweetie, you will resume that chore. We went to the buffet one morning and Nathan just stood there saying we were not allowed to get our own food, Ivan needs to do that. Oh, boy it will be a reality check for them next week. We love you all, see you soon.
1 comment:
WOW!!! I love the details!
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