Highlight: Observing the fine female form while lying on the sunny, sandy beaches of Cannes.
Lowlight: Listening to Ben squeal whenever he noticed a topless woman walk by.
Fun Fact: Monaco has more millionaires and police officers per capita than any other country.
Money spent: €38.50
Ben Frustration Index(BFI): 1
Pairs of clean underwear left: 5
Book Page: 566

Today we made day trips to Cannes and Monte Carlo, Monaco. The convention centre in Cannes was hosting a Business Objects conference. At first I was like “Hey, I recognize that name…do I know someone who works there?” Then I realized I will be working there in 1 1/2 months. Work is definitely the last thing on my mind. I tried to find a BO employee to talk to, but all I could find were conference attendees from HP.

We spent most of the day on the beach at Cannes – a sand beach! And the wind had died down so it was delightful. I read my book and Ben used his book as a pillow in between ogling topless women (of which there were a lot more of higher quality than Nice). I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the view, but Ben kept making audible noises all day.

As a personal update, I’m almost done my book, my chest cold is fading, and I have a great tan without any burning. The beach has been good to me.

Monaco was a bit disappointing. The train station was lavish, as was much of the city. All the buildings are perched on a sharp rocky cliff, with the railway line and highway buried under ground. Narrow streets, clean and devoid of litter or beggars, wound up the mountain-side, the only clutter being the stacks of tires for the upcoming Formula 1 car race. Giant yachts were parked in the docks and everyone seemed to drive BMW’s. But the biggest highlight for me was all the free public washrooms. No paying for toilets here. Instead of nailing tourists 40 cents at a time, they prefer to get your money in the casino by the thousands.

We were able to enter the casino lobby and Ben even paid €10 to go in and gamble (I think he won €5 on the roulette table). I was surprised they let us in the lobby, never mind let Ben in to gamble with our shabby attire.

The other stop in Monte Carlo was the Prince’s Palace, which involved another hike up a large hill. We looked around a bit, took some pictures, then had another sprint to catch our train back to Nice, which is always exhilarating.