Ciao Italia! First stop: Piza.

Holding up the Leaning Tower of Piza.

Vodka Martini. On the rocks. Shaken, not stirred.

I arrived in my final destination - French Riviera. I spent an entire relaxing weekend out in Nice and Cannes - finally got to kick back and relax a bit and hang out at the beach. After my first night here, the weather finally made a change for the better which made wandering the beach and checking out the city much more enjoyable. And it was nice getting some sun on my skin as well.

In the evening I got myself all dressed up and headed to Monaco to spend some big money at the Monte Carlo. Sadly I came out empty handed and with less than I had started with. I didn't end up order the stereotypical James Bond martini - it was like $15. Monaco was still all set up from the Grand Prix and all I could think of when I passed by it was "Iron Man". I had so much fun in the French Riviera, but found Monte Carlo to be a bit overrated and not at great as every claimed it to be, but it was definitely an experience.

Bonjour Paris!

Paris – Wednesday, June 16, 2010 & Thursday, June 17, 2010

On Wednesday evening, I finally arrived in Paris – 2 fifty pound suite cases and all. Don’t ask me how I managed to get all that over from London. I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

But let me just tell you how amazing Paris is – WOW! I spent my Wednesday night kicking back on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower watching the World Cup game South Africa v. Uruguay. It was incredible! Most of you were back home watching it on your television screens or in a local bar, but I was in Paris watching it on a big screen and the Eiffel Tower was in my background with the city lights twinkling. Even though Africa lost (I was cheering for them too!) the atmosphere made it worth all the while.

Thursday was my round two in Paris. My touring began at the Eiffel Tower where I paid 3.50 Euro to climb the stairs to see a breath taking view. My legs were killing me after all those flights! From there I took the Metro – I now consider myself a pro at the Paris Metro’s & RER’s I’ve been on them so much today – to the Arc de Triomph. There I was hassled by gypsy’s who needed money for their brothers in Bosnia. They will seriously do anything for a Euro. None-the-less, I still managed to get past them and take some awesome touristy pictures of the Arc. The Arc is where 12 of the streets in Paris meet and I was told that if you rode your bike through there, you were most likely looking for a death wish. After many picture taking of the Arc de Triomph, I took a stroll down the street to do some shopping and of course, check out the Louis Vittoun store. The place was like its own little museum. It was insane!! Purses galore! I think I had died and gone to heaven. From there I visited the Norte Dame. I didn’t get the chance to go upstairs and see the bells, but I did get to go inside and check out the amazing stain class windows. It was raining once I was through visiting, so I got to see the gargoyles outside spouting the water out of their mouths. I ended my day of touring at Le Lourve where I got to see the glass pyramids like those from The Davinci Code.

On my way out of the city I did get to sneak a peak at a few other amazing buildings: Garnier’s Opera House (this is the place that inspired the famous Phantom of the Opera), Moulin Rouge, Napoleon’s bridges he built for each battle he had won, the church in which King Louis XIV had built for his family, the square where guillotines had splattered and stained the cobblestone streets in blood from the Reign of Terror, place where Napoleon was buried, Joan of Arc statue, and of course the bridge from Sex & the City Movie.

After that I spent my evening in a small little place right outside of Paris where I got myself a crepe – with nutella and banane’s of course! They also had a gorgeous church up there, that I think was possibly more gorgeous than Norte Dame. It was called Basilique due Sacre-Ceur de Montmatre. It was the place where Saint Denis was decapitated for his faith. I just can’t get over how amazing the ceilings were. Part of the ceiling was covered in stone angels while the rest had Jesus holding his arms wide open with all of his disciples on one side of him. The carvings and drawings on the wall were amazing as well.

A night and a day were definitely not enough time to get a full view of all the famous aspects of Paris, but now I know what I want to see when I come back! Paris is definitely so much better than people say and has so much to do. Although, I do have to agree with most… not the cleanliest of places, but I definitely loved being here. Tomorrow I’m off to Fountain Bleau and Bojouleau for some wine tasting, then it’s off to the French Riviera!