Villefranche, Monaco & Cannes
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Villafranche is a town full of small streets and unique houses that just reek a European flavour. Brightly coloured houses rise beside the narrow streets and steep
stairways that rise from the harbour. There is a moderate climate here with lots of sandy beaches but real estate prices dictate that only the very rich can afford to live here.
Famous people such as Katherine Mansfield, Jean Costeau, Aldous Huxley and Tina Turner have property here. Boutiques and cafes line the harbourfront
just like in the magazines!
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The local bus was a great way to see the sights as we drove towards Monaco. It didn't take too long and
we soon found our way up on top of the hill near the Monte-Carlo Casino. The casino was designed by Charles Garnier,
in 1878. The very decorative gaming rooms feature stained glass windows, paintings, bronze lamps and sculptures. We weren't
dressed properly to enter so we walked down behind the building and had a great view of the harbour and all the exclusive yachts. There were
many in as the Monaco Grand Prix was to be raced the following week. All the stands were erected and many trailers with the very valuable cars were
parked in the pit areas. A great place for a tourist in to be at this time of year!
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We tendered off our ship this morning and docked amongst all the fabulous yachts in the harbour. This is a special week in Cannes as the Film Festival was being held.
After walking down the promenade, we noticed there were lots of film related activities happening. Signs and posters of current and coming films, people advertising
their film related goods and many people walking about. May is incredible here and the weather was perfect! We then caught a hop on hop off bus and toured the city
to see more sights. Definitely the French Riviera comes abuzz when all the stars come to town.
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Time to board the Marco Polo again after another day of exploring. Afternoon tea awaited us and was very much appreciated after such a busy day. We then sat back and watched the shore as we enjoyed the sail out
in the late afternoon. That evening the Philipino crew put on a concert for us which we enjoyed immensely.
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