Hanging In Monte Carlo.....That's How We Roll

Jeff and I started our last day in Europe with breakfast in bed…..last night’s pizza and a cold Coke……yum! We walked to the bus station and took another 1 Euro bus trip, this time to Monaco to spend the day hob-nobbing with the rich and famous. The 30 minute drive along the cliffs over the sea was breathtaking. This was the first day we had experienced overcast skies, but not to worry, the skies turned blue before we left later in the afternoon. This was a day of a lot of walking (over 18,000 steps acc. to the pedometer) and most of it was either up steps or very steep inclines or it was a steep downhill grade. But the scenery was so fantastic and the people-watching was so interesting that we hardly noticed how hot, out of breath and terribly thirsty we were.

We saw the famous Monte Carlo Casino (hellooo James Bond) which was really beautiful. We stepped into the Hotel de Paris next door since my Top 10 book said we absolutely must see it. It was the fanciest hotel I’ve ever seen! In fact, I’m surprised the doorman, dressed in coat and tails and a top hat would even let us in…..not that we didn’t fit in wearing our tennis shoes/flip flops, camera and backpacks! There were people pulling up in fancy cars to the casino as well as the hotel wearing expensive clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry. Just to put things in perspective, Jeff saw a lady tip a hotel employee 20 Euros (nearly $35) just for watching her fancy car while she popped into the hotel for a few minutes. There were men in black suits with ear pieces and wireless microphones all over the area of the casino and hotel and I’m sure they were making sure the way was clear for us as we descended the next big hill to make our way down to the harbor which was full of yachts as well as a cruise ship. We stopped for lunch at a café on the harbor and enjoyed the opportunity to soak in the beautiful scenery, and then made the trek up the next mountain (not exaggerating, it was a mountain) to the old part of Monaco. Seems there’s no other way up than by foot, although I have a sneaky feeling if you have a hotel reservation in that part of town you might be allowed to drive up there…..would hate to roll my luggage up that hill. Once we arrived at the tippy top, we were at the palace courtyard. I’m not sure, but I don’t think any of the Grimaldi royal family was at home today or I'm sure they would have come outside to offer us a cold drink on this hot day and congratulate me for making the hike in flip flops! There were more cute, curvy little streets with souvenir shops and restaurants. But the crème de la crème was going into the Monaco Cathedral (a.k.a. Saint Nicholas Cathedral) where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier were married in 1956. It was beautiful, like all the cathedrals in Europe, and it was cool to know that someone from our era had actually used it regularly.

On our way down that mountain, we stopped to enjoy the harbor from our vantage point since the sun had come out and was shining on the boats and the water. Back at the harbor, we walked right up next to the yachts and it was so interesting because the owners' cars were parked along side the moored yachts: Lotus, Ferrari, Austin Marten, Bentley and a few Rolls Royces. We sat and sipped at another cute outdoor café and were mesmerized by the sun, water, boats and all the activity of this fancy little cove on the Riviera. Ahhhhhh!

We walked back up another hill to the casino/fancy hotel plaza on the way to catch our bus back to Nice. Of course, we stopped for a while to people-watch (those rich folks are pretty entertaining) and to take pictures since the sun and blue sky made the whole area sparkle. The landscaping (palm trees, oleanders, fountains, colorful flower beds) is a lovely accent for the grandiose buildings. Goodbye wealth and grandeur!

The bus ride back to Nice was on a different road than the one on the way over and we went through several fancy villages. For the last night of our trip, we decided to have a picnic on the beach (Jeff’s idea!) since we were afraid we might not find a restaurant meal to equal the last two nights we’ve had here. So we bought a bottle of wine, baguette sandwich and a salad and walked to the beach. We sat on our beach towel (yes, I actually brought one from home for such a time as this!) on the small smooth stones, just at the edge of the water, enjoying our supper and watching the people play in the sea during the last couple of hours of daylight. We loved watching the naked little boy, about three years old, laughing and playing in the waves with his big sister (interestingly, his Middle Eastern mother sitting on the beach was dressed from head to toe). We enjoyed watching a father and son (about 35 and 70 years old) as they stepped into the Mediterranean to conquer the waves that were much warmer than their native Ireland waters. We got a kick out of watching a chocolate German shorthair bird dog chase the waves in the sea and the birds on the beach. Most of all, we enjoyed watching the sky turn from daylight to dusk, seeing the waves wash over the little stones, listening to the water meet the land and reminiscing about all the adventures, tastes and sights of the past twelve days. As the moon began to glow on the sea, we knew without a doubt that this trip to Spain and France was a good investment of our time, our money and our selves.

Click here for today's pictures. Click on Slideshow, then click on Full Screen in upper right.