The heat is on!

I finally packed my winter sheets away on July 3rd.  Summer has finally arrived in London!  And just in time for the flurry of activity throughout July.  Our first round of guests this month arrived on July 2nd all the way from Quincy!  Josh's brother, Chris, and his friend Tony stayed with us until the 15th.  They spent a few days in London, then took trips to Paris and Venice and then headed back to London for a few more days.  I think that they really enjoyed themselves and I know Josh loved having someone from his side visit!

Chris, Josh and I having dinner at Masala Zone

Josh and Chris at the Redbull Soapbox Race at Alexandria Palace

Josh and Chris in Piccadilly Circus

Tony getting a pic with the iconic phone booths!

 Josh took a few days off to run around London with Chris and Tony.  He tried to be a good tour guide...but at one point he put Chris and Tony on a boat ride along the Thames, not realizing it was going to be a 2.5 hour ride!  The Saturday before the guys left, we all headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards and then to Portobello Market in Notting Hill to do a little shopping.  I headed back home early to get ready for my trip to Nice!  After a couple of hours of packing, Josh, Chris and Tony returned and I said my goodbyes so I could head to Gatwick airport for my early morning flight.

The next morning I was on my way to Nice to meet up with my SIL Amanda and her friend Erin who was visiting from Missouri.  Nice was beautiful!  The day we arrived we headed to our rented flat to drop off our bags and then headed out to find some food.  We then explored the city a bit, including a stop by the beach to dip our toes in the Mediterranean.  By midday we were tired and hot, so we picked up some snacks and wine and headed back to the flat to rest up.  After sharing some wine and girl talk we headed back out into Nice.  While out we saw some plane formations over the city and realized that the city was celebrating Bastille day, La Fete Nationale to the French.  Once it got dark we walked down to the beach, found a comfy spot and watched an amazing firework display!

The view from our flat.

Old town area of Nice.

Old Town Nice.

The beach!  And warm enough for swimming!

Rocks, not sand, but not too bad to walk on.

Amanda excited about the beach!

A selfie on the beach in Nice.  

Amanda and Erin.

A pic for my mom :)  Gelato!

A view of Nice from Castle Hill

Waiting for the fireworks

Happy Bastille Day!

We pretended it was Independence day fireworks since Amanda and I didn't get to see any on the 4th!

The next day we had a lazy morning, taking our time to wake up and start the day.  After packing ourselves a lunch we donned our swimsuits and headed down to the beach for some sun and relaxation.  It was glorious!

Beach time!

Finally in a swimsuit!  The last time I got to wear one on a beach was in Venice last July!

We saw lots of bare boobies on this beach.

Loving the beach!

My delicious lunch...and by the way, olive flavored chips are awesome!

After a few hours on the beach we went back to the flat for a rest and had a snack of fruit, cheese, olives and wine!  

Amanda and I at dinner.  

A huge bucket of mussels!  I almost couldn't finish!

Some delicious french patisserie from a shop down the street from our flat.  Yum! 

Amanda and Erin with their pastries!

Tuesday was our last day in Nice and our flight wasn't leaving until 8:30 that night, so we decided to do something wild and crazy...we went to another country!  Looking back it was probably a bad idea, but at the time it sounded like a great way to add another country to our list.  Monaco is the second smallest country in the world...second only to the Vatican.  It is bordered on three sides by France and the fourth side is the Mediterranean.  Monaco is famous for the city of Monte Carlo and the Monaco Grand Prix.  It is also considered a tax haven and a playground for the very rich and famous.  In fact, as we walked around the country it was hard not to notice that every store was super high end (Prada, Cartier, Tiffany's, etc.) and the cars were all Bentley's, Rolls Royces and Maserati's.  And the yachts...oh my those looked amazing.  

Yacht's in Monaco's harbor.

Monte Carlo casino

More Yachts!

I don't remember what this building was, but isn't it pretty!

Lush tropical gardens in Monaco.

A little church in the middle of the city.  There was a yummy gelato place just around the corner!

We ended up only having about an hour and a half to explore Monaco...which wasn't enough, but our trip there and back didn't go as planned.  We luckily made it to the airport in time for our flights back to London.  What a wonderful trip we had!  

Rachel