Monaco and Menton

Time to get back and finish up the Europe trip blog. I still think about little Sonic whenever I see Super alone in his tank. I guess she is in a better place. Beats suffering in pain. I need to move on and stop thinking about her in her final days. So here goes...

This is Monaco! City of the rich and famous. When the bus we took hit the city, you just knew. Nearly every car that zoomed past was a luxury car. And there were the presence of the skyscapers and the private yachts and the expensive boutiques. I felt desperately poor in the face of such ostentious wealth.

 Here is the famous casino. Nope, I didn't step in. I wasn't going to lose my Euros anytime soon.

 This scooter is so pretty! Love the whole look. There were two of them parked right outside a boutique called "Pretty You" (what else?) that sells Gina shoes and evening gowns costing tens of thousands. What a waste of a pretty scooter to just sit outside as decor.

 Hotel de Paris...one of the grandest hotels I've seen. We went inside to have a look and it costs about Euros 700 for a night. I snapped a pic of the golden ceiling before I was stopped by the butler.

Unfortunately it was late and we had to get back to Nice where we are based...but....

 ...here we are, back the next day! Can't get enough of the decadence!! haha!

Haha yes I realize I have a Monaco Grand Prix cap on. This was their cactus garden just overlooking the bay. 

Just an example of the decadence. Look carefully. Can you see that the seat covers are made of LV fabric? We don't know if it's fake or real but I guess it fits right into the culture.

Here's the castle grounds, cordoned off here and there to allow the royalty to zip in and out. Frankly, after Versailles, this is nothing. There were however some nice souvenir shops and restaurants in the vicinity. 

If you had to climb all these steps (x3) to get up there, then the trip better be worth it.

There were some cannon balls all over the place, much like Singapore's Fort Siloso.

Monaco doesn't let you forget about Princess Grace. She had many memorials like this all over the place, showing off her beauty at various occasions.

This is the reason for climbing up the arduous steps.

This souvenir shop was selling cute automobile miniatures. Then just around the next bend....

a real Vespa GT, life size! My favourite colour for a Vespa.

Anyway, enough of Monaco, the next stop...Menton. If you took the train all the way to the end from Monaco, Menton is what you get. Quite opposite of what Monaco was. It is a sleepy town with a nice garden and gorgeous deep blue seas.

I liked this idea of a frame in the garden...super cool! I look like part of a painting now!

Just look at the colour of the sea here...azure blue!! The sun could kill though.

Oh, and no hopes for sandy beaches. The beaches are all rocky and stony and bound to leave ugly marks in your butt when you sit on your towel.

We didn't spend much time here. So back to the garden. Whoever created this had a quirky sense of humour. A bathtub! The shower cap was flitting around on the grass, so we grabbed it to complete the bath-time look. And no, I am not going to strip down to make the look more authentic. LOL.

When I came back from France, I found myself so much heavier. Here's why...French pastries! When you stroll past the confectioneries, there is no way you are not tempted by the smells and the colourful displays of delicious delicacies.

Anyway...here is where I stop. Too many photos. Up next...Provence.

No Parking!!! Not Now! Not Here! Never at All!!

 Passed by a sign the other day that was so amusing. This construction site was chock full of bicycles and illegal parking. Guess the developers with decided to get VERY VERY specific. Well, at least if I couldn't park here, I got a laugh.

R.I.P Sonic

22.10.2010

That was the date Sonic the hedgehog left us. This post is in memory of her.

2 Feb 2009. Sonic and Super were the only ones who were uncurled in the batch. So naturally we picked them back. They were siblings.

They were just 2 months old. Small enough to fit into my palm.

This is Super her brother in their first tank. Sonic was more shy and preferred to hide.

Here's how flexible they are. They feel so soft underneath it's like marshmallow. Somehow they like to produce the foam when they lick themselves.

 Sonic was the touchy one. She curls into this ball when she gets turned over. But she's so chubby that she can't disappear totally. She gets scared easily and huffs quite a lot to protect herself. I attribute that grouchiness to a bad experience when she was young. She got stuck in a tight spot and we had to dig her out with a stick. I guess that incident stuck in her mind.

Here's one of her soundly asleep with her head in a toilet roll so that it appears dark. Just in case you're wondering, the metal spokes above are just the ends of the water bottles.

Here's Sonic feeling ill. She kept lying on her side after the bout with pneumonia. We thought she had recovered as she was eating normally. We thought it was just that she had become paralyzed on one side as a result of it.

Yesterday, she was so ill that she refused to eat her favourite meal worms and drink water. I rushed her to the vet where they tried to resuscitate her and force feed her. It was too late... At 2pm they called me that she wasn't doing well. Then the vet called me personally to explain that they tried everything they could, that her temperature went up a bit, but then she vomited twice and collapsed. Sonic was gone. And it's all my fault for not getting her early medical help.

Here's Sonic when I got her back from the vet. It was very hard to control the tears when they handed her to me, even though she was all wrapped up in newspapers. Holding her brought home the reality that she was gone. At home, I took her out to have a last look at her before conducting my private funeral and burial. She looked like she's sleeping soundly but so pale and so stiff. I tried to stroke her spikes but they were prickly cos of rigor mortis.

Ear and chest infection killed her. I feel so guilty and terribly sad. I haven't been a great owner. She didn't even spend 2 years on earth before leaving so prematurely. Let's hope Super outlives her till a ripe old age.

Goodbye Sonic, we miss you and will think of you.

R.I.P.

Nice, Ville French, Eze

Arrived in Nice, France.  When we disembarked from the plane, what struck me was how the people were all dressed casually in resort wear while I was still strutting in my boots from the Paris flight. I felt really out of place in the bright sunshine walking among tanned tourists, so I decided to fit in. We rested for a while, then I changed into sometime casual and walked out....into a light drizzle! Wahhhhhh! *beat chest* It was getting cold but I decided that my pashmina shawl would do the job. Bad idea.

Anyway, above are pictures of the square in the shopping street, right outside Nespresso boutique. (If you made any purchase, you stand to savor a nice hot expresso and a choc.) Anyway, I thought the sculptures of the bald men on tall poles were cool. Bizarre, but cool.

We took one of these electric cars equipped with a pre-programmed GPS. It was a cool tour at a good price. Was only 50 euros for an hour's tour. We could choose the routes and it was fun to zip about in a ultra small car. I felt quite vulnerable among all the regular cars, and the top speed was only about 60km/h. So it was a little frustrating and stressful trying to change lanes. We had fun though.

Anyway, here's sunset at the famous beach.

And here's me missing my Tiger. The westies here are so super-cute with their round heads and short snouts. I need to find Tiger a European wife.

 At Ville-French Sur-la-Mer. This little town just 15mins off Nice is really quaint and has the nicest photo spots and a small beach for tanning. The only thing is that I was really melting under the hot sun, even with sunnies, hat and umbrella.

 There is a castle here....

...with a free exhibition of medieval figurines.

Souvenir shop at Eze Village. I like the turtle on the right with the cheesy smile.

It was a small village, but I love this place the most from among the places in Provence...

....and here's why....

One of the loveliest hotels on the French Riveria owned by an old lady who lived upstairs on the top floor. I know this because a friend who has cash to burn has stayed here before. Inside, be prepared to be awed by the awesome art collection.

Anyway, am tired. Will continue another day. This blogspot photos uploader is giving me such a headache.