Monte Carlo, Monaco

Another day, another country...this time one of the world's smallest countries, Monaco and it's main region Monte Carlo. The only smaller country is The Vatican City, Monaco is well known for its Casino, Princess Grace, and of course the famous Formula 1 car race, but more about that later.

We had a tour, rather temptingly titled "Jewels of Cote d'Azur" which was basically a bus ride along the French Riviera to Nice, visiting the small town of Eze along the way. Eze is a village perched high on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Mediterranean. There are only about 50 inhabitants that live there which is quite understandable because you have to climb rather steepish hills to get there - cars can only go so far. We wandered around the narrow alleyways until we found a courtyard that had fantastic views. Brad was busy getting some photos when a well dressed gentleman came after us to advise us this was a private terrace - there was a sign on the gate (if they wanted it private they should have closed the gate). Didn't matter, Brad had already taken the photos.

Then we headed to Nice, which is really just another city. Their beach is covered in large pebbles about the size of your palm, not really conducive to sunbathing but the water looked nice. Had a large flat area dotted with water jets that kids, adults and dogs were enjoying and I would not have minded having a go myself but we were off to lunch and I don't think a wet t-shirt was quite appropriate.

After lunch it was back to Monte Carlo to check out some of the highlights such as the palace where Princess Grace/Prince Rainier lived and where Princess Caroline lives, the cathedral they were buried in, and nd the Monte Carlo Casino (ho humm....just another casino that costs €12 to just enter the gambling area although we were permitted to enter the main hall free of charge).

Finally, to end the day we walked past of the Grand Prix circuit. The race is on next month and all the barricades and grandstands were being erected - crowds of people everywhere - absolute mayhem! Still, it was a good day even though we were very tired at the end.Read more