WE MADE IT TO RAPALLO, ITALY AND HEADED STRAIGHT TO PORTOFINO!!! (Saturday, 8-28-2021)

We arrived in Rapallo, Italy after a couple of hours (driving) and checked into our delightful Airbnb!  We decided quickly to hop a cab to Portofino, which took about twenty minutes on the most terrifyingly (is that even a word?) narrow and steep road EVER!  John remembered that road because he drove it in 2013–and THAT is why we chose a cab ride! 😁😁😁  Portofino is the number one photographed and painted port IN THE WORLD!  It is ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!

We chose pizza for dinner at a darling cafe looking over the port.  I’m not sure what was better—the pizza or the view!  And it was the BEST pizza I have ever eaten!!!

Will you look at this pizza!  It was truly OMG, DELICIOUS!!!

And, of course, we had to do the touristy thing—surely it will help us remember where in the world we were in a few years!

Even the rich and famous have a laundry day every now and then!

And that was a wrap in Portofino!

We took a bus that we THOUGHT would take us back home to Rapallo, however, it let us out in Santa Margherita!  We were glad it did!  Eventually we found our way to our Airbnb!  Another good day was had by all!

CIAO FOR NOW!

A DAY IN CANNES, FRANCE! (Friday, 8-27-2021)

We all decided that a day in Cannes, France sounded like the place to go today!  It was only about an hour and a half train ride from where we are staying and oh, what a train ride it was!  It followed the coastline all the way to Cannes!

When we got off the train and walked onto the streets, we immediately loved the feel of the city!  As you know, Cannes is to France as Hollywood is to the United States!

Patte and Mike got to dip their toes into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time!  While the water is absolutely gorgeous with its’ different shades of blues and aquas, the four of us agreed that there is no beach as lovely as our Anna Maria Island!

We stopped for lunch and had the most wonderful Frenchman as our waiter!  He was a joy to talk to and you could tell he appreciated the fact that Americans were coming to this part of the world once again!

It wasn’t exactly the Big Red Bus tour, but we grabbed a delightful tiny train that took us around town!  It ended up being the PERFECT way to see the highlights of Cannes!

This was indeed the land of the rich and famous!  The street art was really cool!

And the buildings, the churches, and the views were something else!

We rode the train back to Menton and grabbed dinner at a cafe near our hotel!  

It was our last night to enjoy this spectacular view and all four of us SOAKED IT IN!!

CIAO FOR NOW!

MONTE CARLO FOR THE WIN (NOT)! (Thursday, 8-26-2021)

 

We decided when we arrived in Menton that we would spend our first day in Monte Carlo in Monaco!  Can you say C A S I N O?

But first, a delightful breakfast in our little hotel’s patio area!

Monte Carlo is about a twenty minute train ride from Menton.  John and Mike got all dressed up in kakis, long sleeved shirts, sport coats and dress shoes.  Patte and I wore dresses, flip flops, and we each carried closed toed shoes in our purses.  Friends of ours (Dave and Michelle) told us that there was a strict dress code for getting into the casino.  We are rule followers, so we dressed accordingly!

The train ride was along the coast and the views were spectacular!

We arrived in Monte Carlo and found the area to be absolutely beautiful! 

Our first stop was to meet up with a friend from Dubai, Sandra, for lunch at the Cafe De Paris.  (A restaurant suggested by Sandra but highly recommended by our cousins, Ness and Ronnie!)

We enjoyed a delightful lunch (ask Patte about her sorbet lunch!) and it was WONDERFUL catching up with Sandra!  Thanks for driving to meet us, Sandra!

John and Mike put on their sport coats.  Patte and I changed into our closed toed shoes.  And we proceeded to get all the necessary photos before entering the world renowned Monte Carlo Casino!

Take note of what the people around us were wearing.  Do you see shorts?  Do you see flip flops?  Do you see guys in short sleeves?  Apparently, they let ANYONE IN!  John finally asked a guy working there about the so-called dress code rules.  Would you believe it is enforced starting at 7PM!  Unbelievable!  What can we say?  We live most of the year as Floridians…and we LOVE early bird specials! 🤣🤣🤣

It certainly didn’t take long to spend (donate) our $20 limit!  There was no clanging of money like in Vegas!  And there was hardly anyone there!  Clearly we showed up for the party WAY TOO EARLY!

On our way out we spotted our dinner destination!  Oh boy!

This was certainly a sweet ending to an interesting and FUN day!

CIAO FOR NOW!

And thanks for stopping by!