Le Jour Treize (Day 13)

 

It was a cloudy morning to wake up to today in Nice. Today we had our company visits, so we had to wake up and put on our business casual clothes. I was excited for breakfast, but somehow, we ended up not having that much time to eat this morning because Brady the dad is the most punctual person I know. He told me I had ten minutes to eat, and that wasn’t near enough time to enjoy the dark chocolate granola cereal, fruit, yogurt, orange juice, and coffee I wanted to enjoy. He even made me go all the way back to my room to get my nametag because I had forgotten it! ::sigh:: we agreed all of us girls would be laying in a ditch somewhere back in London or Paris if it weren’t for Brady…and the rest of our boys…but especially Brady. I’m learning how to be punctual and that it’s annoying for other people to wait on you whenever you say you will be there at a certain time. Some of ya’ll are snickering… I know it.

So, off we were to the Perfumerie in Nice! This is a HUGE perfume factory, where hundreds of smells are concocted and hand-made, all by hard core trained professionals called “Noses.” Hm. We had a tour, a presentation, and then we got to try out smells, lotions, and oils and buy (for a discount) whatever we wanted! Man, so many girls on this trip went nut-so over these smells (yes, they were wonderful), and pretty much bought the place out. Although I wanted to of course, I was content purchasing one small bottle of the best-smelling one called Belle Chérie (Beautiful Darling), and that was enough! It smells sweet, light, warm, and lady-like. I love it.

As soon as that was finished, we got back on the coaches and headed for the country of Monaco, which is the 2^nd smallest country in the world and also the wealthiest country in the world. This is where the Monte Carlo casino from James Bond’s movie, Casino Royale, is and also where the Grande Prix takes place. It took 20 minutes to get there, and the twisted drive up cliffs overlooking the blue Mediterranean was unbelievable! HUGE cliffs and mountain-like structures with villages, hotels, and homes with orange roofs encamped all over them were breathtaking to look at and swoon over. Also, the closer we got to Monaco, the more yachts and sailboats we saw; beautiful.

We were immediately turned loose to get food once there, and we all kind of scattered in this cramped, European, upper scale, market place looking area. We all thought the food was going to be ridiculously expensive, but it was super cheap! I guess for the tourists… Kelly and I had a pizza with basil and goat cheese chunks on it (heavenly) and then got some gelato afterward, of course. I got coffee flavored with lots of coffee beans all over it, even more heavenly than the pizza. We took a stroll through a garden area, took pictures of the beautiful scenery from a balcony area overlooking the ocean, then went to hear a presentation on Monaco and take a tour of the Monte Carlo Casino.

Ya’ll. This place is ridiculous. I learned that a yacht costs $1 billion per square meter here, that the rent of a condo place is $40,000 a month, and that BILLIONAIRES live/travel here. I’ve never seen so many Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and high-end stores in my entire life. They never suffer from debt, the citizens of Monaco are never allowed into the casinos (so they make all their money off tourists), and that there is no violence here. We toured the Monte Carlo Casino, and it was BEAUTIFUL; the architecture on the inside was incredible, there were crystal/glittery bars, and the toilets there cleaned themselves. It wasn’t quite as large as I had imagined, but still… beautiful. While on our tour, we even saw millionaires in suits legitimately gambling. One guy we saw had just put 15,000 Euros down to bet. I was sort of getting flustered at all the money that gets thrown away here and how addicting of a lifestyle this is for some people. Some of the wanna-be James Bond dudes on our trip were eating this stuff up, but it’s just not really my cup of tea I suppose. After the tour, some people stayed to gamble on the slots (one of our girls won 250 Euros!!), but the rest lost 50+…..WASTE! But I guess it’s for the experience, right?!

Instead of losing our money to a slot machine, Allison and I decided to walk around and go into the Valentino and Prada shops, although I couldn’t afford the $2,000 dresses…right mom and dad?! In the Prada store though, we talked to the most precious woman behind the counter and sort of asked her about her life and why she likes it here. She was the sweetest thing, and I bet she wasn’t used to people asking HER about her life or her interests; it was really cool.

On the way back, I had a lot of thinking time and discussion with Kelly. I cannot even fathom the life that those people live there! But it’s funny because I don’t desire that one bit, and the Lord gave me an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and contentment where I am right now and what He has in store for me, for we must not store up treasure here on Earth because we do not belong here, but we must store up treasure in Heaven. We are here in this life temporarily, living in this “tent” of a body, and one day, we will have treasures beyond anything I can even imagine, as I will spend forever worshipping my King.

Tonight, we ate dinner at an EXCELLENT Mexican food restaurant (yes, good Mexican food has been found here in Europe!!), and had good company and conversation; I stinkin’ love these people. They have become my little family, and we take good care of each other. The boys all chipped in and bought us a coral-colored rose from a lady selling them on the street and presented it to us at dinner; what cuties!! We played around on the beach some again, and then headed back to the hotel for rest. We have quite a day planned tomorrow; it’s our free day! EEEk! I’m loving my life. I’m dreaming, but no one ever wake me up!! I’M NEVER GOING HOME!