Paris - 19/07

Mainland Europe - Day 85
Dijon --> Paris

Paris was our last stop before heading back to Dublin. In most other cities we did as much as we could in 2 or 3 days, but in Paris we decided to give ourselves 5 days so we could enjoy the city but also chill out and have some quiet time before hitting hectic Dublin.

We had discovered from other cities that nighttime can be the best time to see all the sights as they are lit up with lights and the streets are filled with locals having fun. Paris was no different. We strolled along the Siene stopping to see some amazing street performers and dancers along the way. The next couple of days were stinking hot so we chilled in our hotel, snacking on chocolate croissants and coffee until the afternoon coolness.

We had heard about the rude Parisians so we were not expecting to meet any locals. Things couldn't have been more different. On our second night we ducked into a bar to escape the hail and ended up drinking with a bunch of locals for the rest of the night. When they discovered Dave was Aussie they kept calling him 'Kangaroo'.... pretty funny.

The following day we thought we should go to the Lourve. We didn't get there till about 2pm. We were told we couldn't possible do it in a day but 3 hours later we had covered most of it and were ready for a beer. Again we had a great night chatting to locals and tourists in the bars.

On our last day in Paris we got a visit from Shan. He flew from London just for the day. We mosied around the city, enjoyed some brekkie and beers and a very non French but delicious kebab before he had to leave.

With our final city done we headed north to catch a ferry back to England and then on to Ireland, stopping off along the way to fill the car with cheap French wine to bring home.

So long Europe. I hope we are back one day, but until then I will miss the great cuisine, amazing sights and fun people.

Bionaz - 13/07

Mainland Europe - Day 79
Aosta --> Bionaz --> Ollomont --> Bionaz

Surrounded by the beautiful Alps we decided to tackle one of them. There were plenty of 3 hour walks but decided we would be well able for a 5.5 hour walk. God knows why we thought this as throughout our trip we had a threshold of about 3-4 hours of sightseeing.

We set off loaded with enthusiasm, sunscreen and snacks. The scenery was stunning but We soon started hitting the snow line and looking straight across at the peaks in the distance.
By the time we reached the top we were both knackered but delighted!! After a lie down we commenced the decent, which was no easier then then accent.

Next thing the track we were walking on hit a glacier about 30 meters wide. Further down we could see it was melting and a stream was running underneath it. There had been no mention of this when we popped into the local tourist office that morning. Yikes...!! basically we were shitting ourselves. I was terrified that if we walked across we could fall through, Dave was more worried about slipping and hurtling down 300+ meters of sheer ice. The thought of walking back up the mountain was not appealing either so we gingerly padded across the ice and thankfully we made it to the other side. By the time we finally finished our walk it had taken us 7.5 hours, we were knackered and stinky. We went to the first bar we could find and got a couple of beers. One more problem.... we had to get back to our car. We had missed the last bus so we had to hitch. Luck was on our side and the second car that passed picked us up. Good ol' Italians come up trumps again. The lovely lady even went out of her way to drop us back.

There was a hostel near buy in restored old stone building. The guy who worked there was in the local pub so we had a couple of beers with him and then headed back to rest our exhausted bodies.

I could barely walk for the next two days but it felt great to have climbed our very own alp.

French-Italian Alps - 12/07

Mainland Europe - Day 78
Val Cenis Lanslebourg --> Val d'Isere --> Aosta

Leaving our hostel we stuck to the main roads and headed for the famous (so Yvonne tells me) ski mountain of Val d'Isere. You wouldn't believe the number of people we saw cycling up this crazily steep mountain. And to top it off most of them were grey haired and 50+ years old. Amazing!

When we left the riviera and headed for the mountains, we were really in two minds. We weren't sure whether to stick to the coast or to drive into the alps. But after reaching the top of Val d'Isere we knew we had made the right decision. The coastlines in Europe can be stunning, but in all honesty Australia's coast is every bit as beautiful, if not more.

The alps on the other hand can't be compared to any mountain range in Australia. There is something almost mythical about these giant peaks that stay snow covered all year round. They are simply breathtaking.

At the summit a bunch of fellas on dodgy little motorcycles asked me to take a group picture. They were a funny looking bunch so I grabbed on our own camera too :)

By now Yvonne and I had the mountain bug, so we headed over the Italian border into the town of Aosta. Our guide book recommended this as a good place to base ourselves for some mountain trekking. It was time to put motorised assistance aside and tackle a mountain one on one.

Val Cenis Lanslebourg - 11/07

Mainland Europe - Day 77
Sospel --> Val Cenis Lanslebourg

We left Sospel quite early and it was lucky we did. Our rambling route through the alps found us climbing a huge mountain on what turned out to be a dirt road. We weren't quite sure what a road category of 'other' meant on our map, but it this instance it turned out to be 'very rough practically off road terrain'.

This all said, it was more than worth it. It did take us nearly 4 hours to cover less than 50kms, but we discovered some amazing landscapes with the sort of views you see on tourism commercials.

Even though the weather was warm there was still plenty of snow around, so we made the obligatory stop on the side of the road for some snow eating and a quick snow ball fight.

We ended the day in the town of Val Cenis Lanslebourg. A ski town in the French Alps that offers all year skiing, glacial in the summer. Our budget conscious habits found us staying the night in a great international hostel, half the price of every hotel in town. With breakfast included ... yeah baby!!

Sospel - 10/07

Mainland Europe - Day 76
Biot --> Sospel

We said goodbye to the French Riviera and headed back to the Alps. We were on the road for less then an hour when we started to hit the first of the mountains. And before long the overly winding roads became all too common. Roads like this make for seriously slow going, but also provide seriously beautiful views.

We weren't really sure where we were heading ... just into the mountains. But when we came across Sospel we knew we'd found our home for the night. Sospel is a cute little town with all the things that make mountain villages memorable (well at least for us). A river running through the middle, an old bridge, a couple of pubs, a few restaurants and cheap accommodation.

We only stayed the one night but it was just what we were looking for. We had a few beers at the local pub and lovely meal in a tiny restaurant. I think Sospel might actually be some sort of historically significant place, but we never really worked it out. All I can really confirm is that it was a great place for an overnight stay when you're heading into the French Italian Alps.

Aquasplash & Marine Land - 10/07

Mainland Europe - Day 76
Biot

After the glamour and glitz of Monaco Yvonne and I both felt like we should get back in touch with our inner child. And what better way then at a the mother of all water parks, Aquasplash. I'm pretty sure that we were the only adults there that didn't have children, but it didn't stop us :)

The slides were amazing and I pushed urban myths, about razor blades wedged into cracks, from my mind. After about 4 hours we were 100% Aquasplashed, so we headed over to the adjoining Marine Land to see the shows.

I'd never seen Killer Whales in action before and I can tell you it's not something that I'm likely to forget. They were beyond amazing. I was mesmerised by these massive animals. It's so hard to believe that they can be trained in such a way. If you've never seen them before, put it on your list of things to do.

When the show finished we rushed to the next venue, where we were equally amazed by the dolphins. I hate to say it but Flipper had nothing on these French dolphins. They were not only faster than lightning, but could be ridden like surf boards, throw a man 10 feet into the air and even toss huge balls into the audience. So cool!

Nice and Monaco - 09/07

Mainland Europe - Day 75
Biot --> Nice --> Monaco --> Biot

Nice for lunch and Monaco for dinner! Yvonne and I both had to laugh about our plan for the day. It sounded like something from lifestyles of the rich and famous :)

We once again made use of the rail system and in less then 30 minutes we were in Nice. I'd have to say that we were both quite surprised with what we found. Nice is simply lovely, not that I was expecting something awful. I guess I just didn't have any expectations at all. But a sea side city with such a beautiful beach, full of people sun bathing, swimming, para-sailing and playing beach volleyball, was always going to impress.

We strolled along the beach, ate some lunch, wondered through the old city and bought a few souvenirs. We passed by so many beautiful little restaurants that we started doubting our plan for dinner in Monaco. But it's not often that you can say "Let's pop over to Monaco for a bite to eat", so we said goodbye to Nice, jumped on the bus and found ourselves in Monaco 45 minutes later.

Monaco is the worlds second smallest country, but it must have all of the worlds largest boats docked in its ports. We spent a good while just wondering around the port, in absolute awe of the size and number of the boats to be seen. The decks of the larger ships held everything from jacuzzis to basketball courts. I couldn't start to imagine how much money was floating there on the coast of Monaco.

We walked a bit, but soon discovered that all the buses were only 1 euro a trip, so we also took a few bus rides. As the evening set in we found ourselves at the doors to Monte Carlo Casino. In our shorts and thongs we were never going to get in, so we joined the hundreds of other tourists and gawked at the million dollar sport cars that lined the entrance. The wealth on display in Monaco was simply amazing.

As it turns out we didn't even end up eating dinner. Our day of sight seeing had left us both tired rather than hungry. As there were no guards we stole a free trip home on the train. Which made for an interesting journey, with Yvonne and I both nervously looking over our shoulders for inspectors. Nice and Monaco were both beautiful, but I'd probably say Nice was more my style. Besides I'd never cut it in Monaco with my Toyota Corolla.