brian's blog

Okay, procrastinating's over. First up are photos from the French Riviera and Italy's Cinque Terre.

The Riviera turned out to be a little disappointing since it was dark, rainy, and cold much of the time; it was hardly the image we had been expecting. But we splurged on a fancy French restaurant overlooking the sea, with attentive and impeccably polite waiters hovering in the background waiting to pounce at the slightest glance thrown their way. It was quite an experience, and definitely reminded me that I'm not quite sophisticated enough to eat at a place like that. Give me 25 years, if I'm lucky.

Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco was fun, too. Unlike the many flashy and noisy Vegas-style casinos out there, Monte Carlo is classy, polished, and dignified, matching my James Bond image of what a casino should be. We walked in expecting to lose our budget of 70 Euros and instead walked out with 60 after winning at the roulette wheel and at the classic slots.

Yes, I said winning. I choose not to believe in your so-called "reality" where we actually lost 10. My reality distortion field says that the Intel Mac will be a good thing, so I'm buying that I won 60 Euros too.

Anyway. Cinque Terre and its five village hike was amazing, especially since we spread it out over two days. Check out the pictures for more. The secret is definitely out about this place, though; I saw many more tourists this time around versus the last. If you visit Europe anytime soon, check it out before the charm is swallowed up.