It's a beautiful day and we arrived at Villefranche in the French Rivera at 7am. We took a tender into the port and were welcomed by what I think is typical french fashion. In the windows of this hotel, you could see several people either having breakfast naked or in the middle of getting dressed.
Our pick up point is in an old fortress built in 1557 and the parking lot is where the moat used to be.
In fact there are several fortresses built on the surrounding hills.We met our tour guide and boarded our bus. There are three roads that take you to the Italian border from Nice. The low Corniche is the coast road that follows the sea, the middle Corniche is just atop the cliffs that rise vertically just inside the shore line and the high Corniche is further inland, and a breathtaking work of engineering of the sort for which both the French and the Swiss are justifiably famous. But few know that the original Grand Corniche was the Roman Via Aurelia, along which Roman Legions marched from Rome to the Rhone Valley and on to their outposts in Britain and Germany. In 1806 Napoleon built the first proper road that followed this path, but with breathtaking engineering and viaducts, the modern autoroute you travel on to Italy makes the journey incredibly easy.
We started out driving along the Middle Corniche to Eze. The views from the highway were incredible. It was a gorgeous day.
Eze during Roman times was an important village. It was called with the Italian name of Eza when was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, until 1861 when passed to France. 
As you climb the hilside you pass by a spice market. The smell at this spot is heavenly and you can tell it is there before you round the bend.
As you enter Eze you get a chance to look down on it's terraced gardens.
Eze is famous worldwide for the view on the sea from the top of its hill, and it is a renowned tourist site on the French Riviera. Eze is perched like an “eagle's nest” on a superb cliff located 427m above sea level which enables the village and its church (Notre Dame de l’Assomption built in 1764) to be seen from afar. Inside the church, an Egyptian cross acts as a reminder that the roots of the village dates back to the time of the Phoenicians, when they erected a temple there to honour the goddess Isis.
The small medieval village is famous for its beauty and charm. It has many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants that attract a large number of tourists and honeymooners. As a result Èze has become a "museum village", few local residents live here. 
The motto of the village is the phrase: "Isis Moriendo Renascor" (meaning "In death I am Reborn") and its emblem is a Phoenix perched on a bone.
The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix and dates back to 1306. Members of the lay order of the White Penitents of Eze, in charge of giving assistance to plague victims, would hold their meetings there. 
I loved the skull candle holder on the alter.
I loved taking pictures of the beautiful doors. Most of them I would almost have to duck to walk through.
This is my Eze pup. She was so stylish with a beautiful bow in her hair.
After I made the bus run late because I wanted to have a quick Cafe with milk, we boarded the bus to head back along the upper Corniche to Monico. The views from the highway are, of course, incredible.
The Principality of Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world, after Vatican City. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, 11 miles east of Nice and near the Italian border. It is surrounded on three sides by France. The principality is noted for its natural scenery and mild, sunny climate. It is also butt ass filthy stinking rich.
The Oceanographic Museum was inaugurated in 1910 by Monaco's modernist reformer, Prince Albert I. This monumental architectural work of art has an impressive façade towering above the sea, towering over the sheer cliff face to a height of 279 feet (85.04 meters). The museum houses remarkable collections of various species of sea fauna both stuffed and in skeletal form. The museum's holdings also include a great variety of sea related objects, including model ships, sea animal skeletons, tools, weapons, etc. Including this yellow two man submarine. No word on if the beatles knew about it.
An aquarium is housed in the basement of the museum which showcases a spectacular array of flora and fauna. 4000 species of fish and over 200 families of invertebrates can be seen. It features a presentation of Mediterranean and tropical marine ecosystems. Jacques Cousteau was its director for many years, beginning in 1957.
From the museum we walked along a beautiful park with fountains and statues.
Saint Nicholas Cathedral, known also as Monaco Cathedral, is the 
cathedral where many of the Grimaldis were buried, including the most beloved Princess, 
Grace Kelly and more recently,
Rainier III. It has also been the site of a few weddings.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1875, and is on the site of the first parish church in Monaco built in 1252 and dedicated to St. Nicholas.
This beautiful building is the City Hall.
Princess Carolyn's home. It was very lovely.
And Princess Stephanie's home. Of course she rents it out because "she doesn't like it", which caused quite the uproar in the crowd. Apparently she prefers to hang out at the ski slopes.
Of course I saw more then one place that was for sale that I wish I was wealthy enough to buy. I would move to this place in a hot second given half the chance.
This is the royal palace and we stayed to watch the changing of the guards.
Of course I was much more interested in the local dogs. This is Willy.Once we were done in Monico we drove to Monte Carlo. We were served a lovely dinner at a local restaurant in typical french fashion. Bread, wine, chicken and dessert. I was dying because all I wanted to do was to go to the casino, but she had to get us all in together to avoid the charge and if we wanted to gamble we had to register our passports. I managed to sneak away once we got our ticket so I could start playing.
There are no cameras allowed inside, but it is very nice inside. I sat down at a slot machine and almost immediately won 10,000 credits ($500 euros). So I played for a few more minutes and then took my money and ran.
While waiting outside I took some time to take a photo of the mirrored fountain in front of the casino in which you can see a reflection of the whole thing. And I took some shots of the massive numbers of very expensive cars parked in front of the casino. I have never seen so much money in one spot before in my life.
Back on the boat by the time sunset hit and the view of the hills from my balcony was beautiful. I opened some champagne and relaxed while I took a few more shots of the area.
