We spent about three hours in Avignon, a quaint, walled city that was home to the popes in the 1300s. It was not the finest moment for the Catholic Church as the Popes at that time were notoriously corrupt. We had a wonderful lunch at a café situated in a garden on top of a hill overlooking the Rhône River and the surrounding countryside. You could see for 20 miles in almost every direction.
We then traveled to Monaco and for some reason I couldn't get the voice of Robin Leach and scenes from his lifestyles of the rich and famous out of my head. In all seriousness, Monaco is an impressive place, with opulence and wealth on display at every turn.
I have a new appreciation for the drivers in the Monaco Grand Prix. The streets are narrow very difficult to maneuver. Our bus driver did an impressive 0 to 20 miles an hour in 30 seconds in an attempt to catch the Lamborghini that pulled up beside us.
One impressive building was the aquarium that was built in the early 1900s. For many years Jaques Cousteau was the director. The Beatles visited the site in the 1960s and Cousteau invited them to go for a ride in his submarine. The Beatles declined but it inspired two songs – The yellow submarine and the octopuses garden.
We had a lovely dinner and outdoor café next to the cathedral and ended the night bar hopping in Nice which has quite an amazing vibe.