Month: April 2013

130401 Transfer Nice to “Scenic Emerald”

Sign outside Departures at Nice Airport
Tree lined road into Tarascon
Those towels are made into Easter Bunnies
Lyn about to do the first thing she does after getting in a room – take photos.
“Scenic Emerald” – well the front half.
The “Scenic Emerald” lounge
Scenic Tailormade GPS Tours Device.

Today is taken up packing and turning up at the meeting point with the Scenic Tours Nice Representative.  We have a 4-hour coach transfer to the ship, which is docked at Tarascon.  The weather is overcast with a little drizzle now and then.  About 10km out from the town of Tarascon, we travel a country road with plain trees lining the road on both sides all the way into town.  If you go off the road, you are bound to hit a tree.  As this is the first ever departure for Scenic from this port, the driver does a couple of ‘U-turns” before getting us to ship-side, but we are able to have a ‘free-tour’ in the mean time.

We were on the “Scenic Emerald” in 2010 from Amsterdam to Budapest and it is a bit like returning home.  The cabin decor has been refurbished and the public areas modified a little, but generally, things happen the same.  All passengers have a butler now.  Drinks are included and the room mini-bar is restocked each day for free.  One of the dining room staff remembered us from the previous cruise.  After a short interview with the Dining room supervisor, the crew in the kitchen and dining room are ready for my ‘low salt’ diet so should be fine in the meals area.

The Meniere’s is a problem but it doesn’t stop me from doing what I want to do, usually.  I don’t have any hesitation to let others know the ‘silent fear’ we all go through 24/7, not looking for sympathy but to educate others about this ‘silent sickness’ that for many is debilitating and life changing.  I recognize that I have been one of the lucky ones when I read stories of others’ plights and adjusted lifestyles.

After the normal registration procedures, we have a buffet dinner, followed by the emergency briefing and procedures.  The make up of the passengers is not just Australian this time.  There are Scottish, Canadians, New Zealanders, English, Americans – Scenic must have been marketing in many countries lately.  Some of them don’t know to be quiet when announcements are being made so ‘Meniere’s me’ has been missing some of those important announcements.  On our return to the cabin, our baggage is waiting to be unpacked.  Lyn is ‘not happy Lyn’, as a hair ‘tonic’ bottle has leaked in her new suitcase.  Tut tut!!

Scenic Tours now have a technology edge over its competitors.  Each of us has been given a new device called the Scenic Tailormade.  The device is so new; the developer is on board to help us if some gremlin shows up in the operation of it in real life testing.  This is GPS technology and the limit of use is boundless.  The device enables us to hear commentary along the waterways about ‘anything’ that we pass by. If we are having ‘free-time’ somewhere in a town, it will direct us back to the ship.  There are guided tours which we can use the device for in any town.  No doubt, the ship can send the passenger a message to say ‘return to the ship – or we will leave without you”.

We are looking forward to this river cruise in the south of France – the only trouble is it is only seven nights.  Enjoy the daily posts that we plan to make each day.

130331 Nice Day 3

Castle Hill
Narrow streets of Saint Paul de Vence
Changing of the guard at Monaco Palace
The marina near the Grand Prix site.
Monte Carlo Casino
Ah – just the one please
Julie Andrews hand print at Cannes
‘Taste’ testing
Too hard to walk away from.
Eze – on a hill.
At Eze
Lunch with a view to kill – similar to Tuscanny.
The ‘Red Carpet’ in Cannes

Today, we join a small group of people on a bus tour to Monaco and Cannes. There was 2 Japanese, 4 Turks, 4 Americans 1 Indian lady working for The United Nations in Switzerland and us 2.

Today is going to be a good day; the sky is blue and the air is clear.  We started the tour with a view spot looking over the coastline towards Monaco. The guide informs us that we have very little traffic to contend with, at least for the morning, as French people don’t get going until after mid day on a Sunday.

Our first stop is at a perfumery where we are shown through the factory before the testing, followed by the sales pitch. No prize for guessing where they obtain the eucalyptus. We are told that a certain crème is anti-aging, and so a small portion on the back of my hand is becoming younger than the rest of me – now that’s going to look stupid!

Just near the perfumery is an interesting little medieval village called Eze.  It is stuck on a hill – and I mean ‘stuck on a hill’, and looks out over the sea. There is no way you can drive the streets, as the ‘roads’ are only two persons wide. All the builds are used as shops and we find some very good handicrafts. Time only allows us 50 minutes here.

The main point of interest this morning is to be at the changing of the guard at the Monaco Palace.  This only happens on days of ‘no rain’ and today is a sunny day.  The streets are very narrow and wind through tunnels and buildings to get anywhere, as Monaco is built on, and against, cliffs.  We are ‘blessed’ that there is not a lot of traffic.  On a weekday, ‘poor people’ come to Monaco in their droves to see how the ‘rich people’ live.  We are amongst the poor today.

There is a walk up to the palace where we find thousands of others wanting to witness the same performance of the changing of the guard.  It is ironic that there is no crime in the country of Monaco but they still have guards at the Palace.  The performance lasts around 5 minutes and is done to perfection of course, but it is hard to get any still photos due to the crowds of people that are willing to shuffle you out of a good position – worse than a certain nationality we are familiar with.  At the conclusion, we venture into the streets to purchase souvenirs to take home.

After an hour, we meet up with the bus for a drive around the Grand Prix track at Monte Carlo.  Our driver nearly manages to get around the full circuit but we miss out on the grid area and have to turn back. We stop for a photo shoot at the Casino and a walk around the exotic cars parked in the square in front of the casino.  Crowds, seemingly like paparazzi, are waiting for celebrities to turn up to pose for them – ha-ha!

It is a 40-minute drive from Monte Carlo/Monaco to another ‘stuck on a hill’ village.  This is Saint Paul de Vencee where there are many painters and actors who have chosen to live for its artist atmosphere.  The streets here are also very narrow and there are crowds of people venturing into the little nooks and crannies to view very quaint shops in buildings that do not seem to follow a building plan that we are accustomed to.

Further on, is the town of Antibes.  This port used to be known as Antipodes in the early days.  There is a marina with many luxurious yachts lined up for us to view – such opulence.  I’m sure that Greg Norman used to moor his yacht here before his marriage breakup.

Our last stop is Cannes.  Cannes is known for the film festival and we are given the opportunity to view ‘the Red Carpet’.  The streets are very busy now with many tourists straining to see a celebrity going about their ‘private’ business.

What a great tour to go on.  If ever you come to Nice, make sure you try this tour as it gives you just enough information to want to stay longer.  We believe we could stay the whole day in the Monte Carlo/Monaco region – there is just so much to see and feel about the place.  However, to stay in the Hotel opposite the Casino is over 3000 Euros per night. That is more than the return airfare from Australia.