Time to get back to blogging the trip...almost done, though by now it seems forever ago. Less than a month ago I was basking in the French Riviera sun and it seems but a distant memory replaced by the demands of my current bliss.
Day 9--Monaco
I had high expectations for Monaco after hearing my aunt (the quintessential romantic) tell stories about the Prince's Castle and all. It was a magnificent port! Our ship docked front and center to this intriguing little country.
Per our usual, we had breakfast on the aft deck.
The Castle in the distance:
Then we got off the boat to go exploring.
All I can say is there is some
serious money wrapped up in a tiny little package called Monaco! This beauty here is #64 of World's 100 Largest Yachts (229'7"), owned by French billionaire Bernard Arnault.
Lady Moura in back, is #27, owned by a Saudi Arabian businessman. (343'10") Atlantis II in the middle is #20 (379'10").
Aunt Bonnie had told us how blue the water is...like the Caribbean.
Everything is built onto the side of the cliff. This breathtaking building is the Oceanographic Museum. You can barely see it, but it you look closely, you can actually see more cliff inside that middle arch as it goes up and into the building.
Yay for palm trees!
Every square inch was clean and well manicured.
This is the church where Grace Kelly married her prince. She left her mark for sure; quite the legend in Monaco.
Burial plots of past Bishops:
We finally made it to the castle which didn't look as castle-ish as I was expecting.
Seventeen steps, turn around, seventeen steps, turn around. Again and again. All day long.
As we waited for the changing of the guard at 11:55am, I took a few pictures of the surrounding area.
Seriously???? A) I didn't realize these were still being made...why? B) You're an American on a European vacation and you bring a stinkin' disposable camera with 24 lousy, archaic film pictures in it???
We were among these ridiculous tourists.
This guy wore this silly smirk the whole time:
There's our ship in the distance:
Colombo's panoramic:
School in session with a man-made area flat enough to play on.
On our walk back down to sea level, we walked through this gorgeous garden.
I ADORE this statue!
Oh, there's a better shot of Lady Moura:
Oktoberfest in Monaco:
We walked over to the Monte-Carlo Casino. Think James Bond.
Interestingly enough, it didn't open until 2pm, so we wandered around outside some more.
Can you guess?
Adam and Eve. Ridiculous, right?
Beautiful Hotel Paris:
There were no cameras allowed in the Casino. Also no jeans or flip-flops or cell phones. I had to check the camera at the door. It wasn't huge at all, but what it lacked in size it made up for in glitz. It was honestly straight out of a movie. So grand!
We took one loop around and then headed back to the boat for a late lunch.
This is a great example of the 'layers' of Monaco built into the side of the cliff.
Private school recess:
This sweet old man had the same routine every day, or at least what we saw of him. He worked out, used the hot tub, and got all spiffed up for dinner. We took a picture because we thought he reminded us of the
Despicable Me guy.
I could put this one on my wall...love it! Monaco by night.
Day 10--Nice, France
The night before we supposed to actually sail to Nice as a port, but with high seas and strong winds the ship was advised to stay put. It didn't change much for us except to get to Nice we had to take a 45 minute bus ride.
The beach is rocks. Big, oval, smooth rocks.
Nice was bustling on this gorgeous Saturday morning. One block off the beach was a huge farmer's market.
The sky seemed threatening so we cut our exploring short thinking it would let loose at any moment. It never did.
The alleys were so narrow.
So, so clean!
There's Ese, the mountain top village. I really wanted to do that excursion but the weather didn't cooperate anyway.
Back at the ship, here's the view of the Casino from our ship:
Hotel Paris:
A fourth Top 100--#56 Cake Walk, 280'8". Like a said, there's a bit of money in Monaco.
We sat and watched the lights flicker on in this magical place.
Back in our room for bed, our diligent steward left his print.
