Summer in the French Rivera

So this is the sentence that will make you hate me just a little bit – Summer in the French Rivera..

Although it wasn't quite as glamorous as it is in the movies, mainly because they never camp in dodgy campsites with horrific wifi and jellyfish in the ocean... Not so much hate for me right now eh?

So yes, our next stop was Antibes, and perhaps the worst campsite of the trip where you had to pay for bog roll (which you could only buy from the campsite's office, and it wasn't cheap) But this was made somewhat more bearable by the fact that there was a small amusement park just around the corner from our camp site (where Scotty would win the bus its very own mascot – Snowflake, the white tiger).

The bus ride there was just like any other – sleeping the morning away and being woken up by the now all too familiar wake-up song in a new country. But it was changed slightly because we got to design our tour hoodies! Basically we got to create a design that would be printed on the back of hoodies that we could buy and then we would get when we got to Venice! We also stopped at a perfumery on the way to the campsite which was really interesting! We got a tour of the factory and were told all about the 'noses' who are people who study for 10 years and can identify hundreds of smells, and there are only 50 of them in the world... After the tour we were let loose in the shop where I treated myself to a proper french perfume (well classy, I am).

The ocean was just across the road from our campsite, so most of the group went there straight away, but I stayed behind and had a shower before somehow managing to connect to the wifi when everyone else’s phones wouldn't..
I think I made the right choice on this one because when I went back to the campsite, I found out that two of the guys on the tour had been stung by jellyfish.. Not badly (thankfully) but still.. After that people didn't really go in the water there.
That night we all went to the amusement park, and while I didn't play any of the games or go on the rides (because they weren't exactly cheap) but it was just as hilarious watching the others all play the games and win their 'power animals' – Scotty won a cow, Kiki won a shark and Matty felt left out so asked if he could get one, so the guy gave him a lizard thing..

The next day we bundled into the coach and made our way to Nice for the day. As always we had a tour of the city and then was let loose for the day.

Myself, Greer, Stacey and Nat decided to hire rollerblades for an hour and skate along the seafront, which was incredible and hilarious, and also about 1000degrees. We skated along, and miraculously none of us fell over (except for when Nat fell over literally 30 seconds before we took the skates off, because crossing a road isn't all that easy..) even when we skated up a hill (it took me a long time to get up that bloody hill! And just as long to get down it because I was holding onto the rail because I didn't fancy death by rollerblades).

Pretending that I'm not dying after getting up that hill...

After the workout that was rollerblading, we indulged ourselves in our second gelato of the day and then made our way to the shopping street (I have no idea how we ended up there...) and after a bit of retail therapy we had the most incredible kebab for lunch, and then made our way back to where the bus would pick us up and take us back to the campsite.

We had a quick shower, change and glam-up, because that night we would be mixing with the rich and famous in Monaco!

The drive along the coast to Monaco was probably the most stunning drive I've ever been on, and our dinner stop was breath taking. We had champagne in plastic cup and a feast fit for royalty (but unfortunately the Prince of Monaco and his family has other commitments for dinner..

We also drove past Elton John's house there, which, as you can imagine, was huuuuuge.

We drove through the tiny streets of Monaco in good ol' bessy, and had a drag race with the other coach on the start line of the Monaco Grand Prix – which was short lived when we had to stop at a crossing to let a lady cross... But we deffo won (while obeying all road rules of course).

Then we walked up to the casinos, and it was then that it hit me – I had absolutly no idea how to gamble at all.. So me, Greer and Maia put in 2euro each and hit the slot machines (we thought it would be simple enough because all you had to do was push buttons. Turns our this strategy was a good one, because we walked away over 2euros richer than when we started! However when we cashed in our cheque (something massive like 7,40euros) and moved to a different machine to try our luck again, we lost just over 2euros and decided to stop before we got too addicted to it... Needless to say the others who played all the proper games – the ones with cards and people shuffling them and the chips- did a lot better than our win of 2euros. Some of the kiwi boys won over 100euros! After our try at gambling, we went up to the rooftop bar which had an incredible view over the yachts and casinos, but we didn't buy any drinks because the cheapest one was over 20euros... which was also the entrance fee for the Grand Casino (who would've thought the country full of millionaires would be so expensive?!) so we just stood out the front and stared at all the crazy expensive cars – Ferraris, Lamborghini, McClaren and every other car you've dreamed of owning..

I had to get a photo with my brand in Monaco... It's like the richest of the rich!

The view from the rooftop bar...

After looking at the cars for what was probably a bit too long, we thought about getting some gelato (because it was still around 30degrees) but when we saw that it was nearly 4euros for one scoop, we reconsidered and walked back to the original casino where we met up with the rest of the group and got back on the bus and back to reality – tents and air mattresses, and not five star hotels and invite-only parties where you wear ball gowns and have security at the gate (yes we walked past one of these and it looked like something out of a movie..).

And there we have it! Another country off the list, and the realisation that I will never be able to afford to live in monaco... Always a nice thing to realise..

So that's it for this time! Next stop – Italy!

Speechless in Barcelona

So as I mentioned last week, our next stop was Barcelona and god I was excited! One of the reasons I chose that specific tour was because it went there, and needless to say it did not disappoint!

As usual when we first got into the city we had a driving tour where Kiki pointed out all the sights and told us all about Barcelona, where he'd actually been living for the off-season so he has the local knowledge too. We drove up a hill to get an incredible view over the city, and then wound our way through the streets, past Les Rambles and the zoo, and then we stopped off at what I had been looking forward to for months leading up to the trip – La Sagrada Familia. It's probably Gaudi's most famous creation, even though he didn't complete it before he died, in fact it's still being constructed and its completion date isn't within the next decade. But nevertheless it is still an incredible building (even if half the tour hated it). The churches architecture is so bizarre, as each side of it looks like a completley different building with a different design style on each side, but its the interior that took my breath away (but more of that later)

La Familia in Barcelona!

Once the driving tour was over we checked into our HOSTEL!!! and got ready for the night's adventures, which included my first taste of proper spanish paella (wise words from kiki – never trust a paella that's been cooked in a small pan) which was delicious, and also sangria (which I wasn't as keen on!) 

And then some of the group went off to watch a flamenco show that was one of the extras. I wasn't too sure what to expect – neither was Justin as he asked if the flamingos would be dancing, or if people were dressed as flamingos and then danced.... Sometimes it pays to make sure you listen... But I was amazed by the show! The spanish say that the youth can't dance the flamenco because they don't understand the emotion of the dance and after seeing the show, I totally understand why. There was live music, played on the stage, and people singing (all in spanish) but I couldn't take my eyes off the dancing. I've never seen anyone's legs move so fast in my entire life! And the level of emotion the dancers showed was incredible. I was stunned by it all and once it was over we were all trying to see how fast we could move our legs like the dancers did.. I think I need a bit more practice.

After the show we met up with the others and then kiki gave us a pep talk that sounded like it was from a movie. You know you've got an incredible tour guide when he can get a group of 30 people buzzing with excitement in about 30seconds – so much so that one of the bouncers at the bar came over and asked us to calm down because we were chanting and singing and just being loud.

We all piled into taxis (which I noticed throughout the trip were really cheap) and asked the driver in our horiffic spanish to take us to a club on the beach. Now for those of you who know me, I bet you're shocked at the fact that I went to a club, and trust me, so was I. But I thought how many times in my life will I be able to say I went to a beach club in Barcelona? So I just did it! I didn't stay too long however because it was absolutley packed and stupidly hot, but I gave it a go! We were warned not to go anywhere by ourselves and to watch out for pick-pockets, so I caught a cab with three of the girls from the tour and went to bed as soon as we got to the hostel. Unfortunatley others on the tour didn't have such a good first night.

We found out the next morning that five people had had their phones stolen, which made us all a lot more paranoid about our belongings, so yes, that day I walked around Barcelona with a padlock on my handbag..

Me, Rachel, Stacey and Carin decided to see the city via bus, because it was 30+degrees at 9am and it only got hotter, so on we hopped and got a guided tour of the city while trying to stay as cool as possible which wasn't easy. We were driven past the beaches, the gothic quarter, and up to park guell where we got off the bus. We didn't go into the park because the line for tickets was probably two hours long and in the full sun, so we just walked around the outside and then slowly made our way back to the bus stop. We stopped to get some gelato to cool us down on the way to the bus which was a genius idea. We got the bus back to the hostel – the stop was right outside because one of gaudi's buildings was a 20metre walk down the street, and then we got tapas for lunch. I think we all got a bit carried away with our ordering and there was so much food that we couldn't finish, but it was so yummy!

I thought Gaudi's buildings looked like a cross between a sandcastle, and something that should be in a Dr Seuss book..

The options. It was a really hard decision...

We definitely got a bit carried away..

After a quick break at the hostel to do some washing and have a shower, we got a taxi to the Sagrada Familia, because we'd booked tickets to see the interior.

I don't think anything has ever literally taken my breath away, except for that building. I don't think I spoke for about five minutes because I was stunned by it. There's no way I can explain it to you and do it justice, but just imagine white marble coloums that branch out like trees at the top, and then stained glass windows that paint the marble when the sun shines through them.

Not even the photos do it justice, but here are a bunch of them to show you what I mean

We must have spent over two hours in there just taking it all in, and when we eventually left it was all we could talk about for the rest of the night.

The four of us went out for dinner and had the best pizza, which was made even better because our table was on a little balcony that overlooked the street.

After we finished stuffing ourselves full of pizza we wandered back down les rambles (barcelona's main shopping street) and got a few souvineers before making our way back to the hostel. We had quite a tame night compared to everyone else, who went to a shot bar where they sold 1euro shots.. Poor Tattoo Tom who had his phone stolen the night before went out wearing his watch (which he was sure couldn't be stolen) and woke up on a bench without it. So from then on he was known as Barca-Tom.

We had an early start the next morning so we went to bed after we'd made the most of the free wifi at the hostel.

Next stop: French Rivera!